National Football League

2024 NFL odds: Red-hot Flacco, Browns surge in popularity with Super Bowl bettors

Updated Jan. 4, 2024 3:02 p.m. ET

The Baltimore Ravens have wrapped up the top seed in the AFC and have drawn the most bets this week to win Super Bowl XLIII (+300, second in odds behind San Francisco (+220)).

The team to draw the second-most Super Bowl bets this week might surprise you.

It's Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns.

On a four-game winning streak, the Browns have clinched a playoff berth and sit at +3500 on the Super Bowl betting board, tied for the ninth-shortest odds with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Cleveland opened the season at +3500, but things quickly went south when running back Nick Chubb — who ran for more than 1,000 yards in each of the previous four seasons — suffered a season-ending torn MCL in Week 2.

After a two-game skid left the Browns with a 7-5 record, their odds lengthened all the way out to +7000.

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With hopes dashed and the season quickly slipping away, the team turned to none other than Flacco.

He was unsigned at the start of the season but was added to the practice squad on Nov. 20 and made his first start in Week 13 after the aforementioned two-game losing streak. He was the fourth starting quarterback for the Browns in 2023, following Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Another way the Browns have paid off for bettors is by being 10-5-1 against the spread (ATS), third-best in the league behind the Ravens and Detroit Lions (11-5).

Colin Cowherd, host of "The Herd," said the Browns have a nice mix of talent (especially on defense) and a leader in Kevin Stefanski, who's the heavy favorite to win Coach of the Year.

Joe Flacco's Browns are viable AFC championship team after TNF win

"This offense is undeniably better with Joe Flacco starting than Deshaun Watson. Sorry if it hurts your feelings, but in five starts, just five, Flacco's got 13 touchdown passes. Over two years, Deshaun Watson, in 12 starts, has one more than that," Cowherd said.

"The offense is better with Flacco. Stefanski's never been the problem. The people criticizing him don't get it, and those who don't get it, don't get [that] they don't get it."

Emmanuel Acho, host of "Speak," said Flacco's experience, mixed with coordinator Jim Schwartz's defense, has kept the Browns humming along. Flacco was MVP of Super Bowl XLVII for the Ravens in 2013.

Should teams fear Joe Flacco, Browns heading into the playoffs?

"I believe that teams should fear this Cleveland Browns team. Not because this Cleveland Browns team is the most lethal but because this Cleveland Browns team is the most sneaky," Acho said.

"Everybody knows, keeps their distance from a shark. They're sharks! This Cleveland Browns team might not be the most lethal, but they're the most sneaky."

Joy Taylor echoed Acho, saying the defense is what separates Cleveland from other teams.

"If you can give your offense an opportunity, and you take advantage of it, that's a scary team," Taylor said. "And they're playing with house money. Nobody expected them to be here. Nobody has expectations of the Browns."

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