Colin Cowherd: Browns Are The Best Bet To Win AFC North In 2020

Fox Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd thinks the Cleveland Browns are the best bet to win the AFC North in 2020.

FOX Bet lists the Browns at +550 to win the division, meaning if they win the AFC North, a $100 bet wins $550 for a $650 total payout.

“The Browns are the best bet, easily,” Cowherd said.

Ravens? Nope.

Steelers? Nah.@ColinCowherd says the @Browns are "easily" the best bet to win the AFC North 👀 pic.twitter.com/9gCqZZQ4hX

— FOX Bet (@FOXBet) August 11, 2020

Cowherd also believes the Baltimore Ravens will go 16-0.

It turns out, both ideas can be true.

Cowherd apparently believes it’s possible to be high on one team (the Ravens) while thinking another (the Browns) has a better value.

“I think Baltimore is going to go 16-0, and I think they’re going to fly through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl,” Cowherd said. “I’ve never predicted that before.”

Two teams in the modern era have gone undefeated in the regular season: the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots.

Cowherd said the Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have the best rosters in the NFL.

“Baltimore is the two scariest things in football: stacked and pissed,” Cowherd said.

"Baltimore is going to go 16-0, fly through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl… The @Ravens are the two scariest things in football — stacked and pissed." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/2irT7yVLNP

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 6, 2020

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson became just the second unanimous MVP in NFL history last season.

Cowherd predicted Jackson will bounce back after suffering back-to-back playoff losses during the past two seasons.

“Half the league doesn’t buy into Lamar Jackson,” Cowherd said. “I could say more than half the league. That’s never happened in my life. We didn’t doubt a young Peyton [Manning], or a young Brett Favre or a young Patrick [Mahomes].”

The Ravens are the favorite to win the AFC North at -188.

If the Ravens win the division, it would mark their third consecutive AFC North title.

No team has won the AFC North three seasons in a row since the NFL reconfigured its divisions in 2002.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are listed at +280 to win the AFC North, while the Bengals are listed at +2,500.

Cowherd predicted the Browns will finish 9-7, the Steelers 7-9 and the Bengals 2-14.

Earlier this offseason, Cowherd also predicted the Browns will get rid of quarterback Baker Mayfield if the team fails to make the postseason in 2020.

Cowherd has been critical of the Browns, Mayfield and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the past.

The Browns are vying for their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season and their first division title since 1989.

The 17-year postseason absence marks the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL).

Starting in 2020, seven teams per conference will make the postseason as part of the NFL’s expanded playoff format.

In August 2019, the Browns were considered favorites to win the AFC North before the start of the regular season.

The Browns finished with 6-10 record in 2019, which prompted the firings of head coach Freddie Kitchens and general manager John Dorsey.