If oddsmakers are close on their predictions for Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, perhaps Cleveland Browns fans will see their team break out of the malaise that has plagued the franchise for years, even decades. However, if those same oddsmakers are correct, Cincinnati Bengals fans might be looking at a return to the AFC Championship game or even a trip to the Super Bowl.
Circa Sports has made Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year Award, and Circa also has Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow in the top 10 among all offensive players.
Fans interested in Ohio sports betting can’t place a bet on Circa in the state but they could if they are in Las Vegas at any point. Circa operates at the moment in Nevada, Iowa and Colorado.
Chase is +1100 at Circa to be the offensive MVP. In 2022, Chase’s second season, the wide receiver had 87 catches for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns. However, those stats were accumulated in just 12 games. Chase missed four games with a hip injury and the Bengals had a game with Buffalo canceled when the Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered an on-field cardiac arrest. In three playoff games last season, Chase had another 20 catches for 220 yards and two TDs.
Chase’s chances in 2023 are buoyed by his quarterback. Joe Burrow -- who gave his team and its fans a scare when he was helped off the field in training camp on July 27 with what is being reported as a calf strain – is listed at +3000 to be the Offensive Player of the Year. That placed Burrow tied for eighth on the odds list for Offensive PoY with Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson.
The Burrow to Chase combination alone is enough to make fans keep a close eye on the Bengals Super Bowl odds.
Last season, Burrow led the Bengals to a 12-4 record and the AFC title game as he passed for 4,475 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Browns Have Chubb, Garrett in Mix
Meanwhile, Cleveland has players on both sides of the ball who are in the top three for Player of the Year honors, according to Circa oddsmakers.
Running back Nick Chubb, headed into his sixth season, is listed at +1700 to win Offensive Player of the Year, placing him third on that list behind the Bengals’ Chase, and No. 2 Justin Jefferson, Minnesota’s wide receiver.
Last season, Chubb carried the ball 302 times for 1,525 yards (about a 5.0-yard average) and 12 touchdowns, and he added 27 catches for 239 yards and a touchdown. Chubb has averaged 1,446 yards from scrimmage over his five seasons in the NFL. You can see Chubb’s and the Browns playoff chances all season long.
For Defensive Player of the Year, the Browns’ seventh-year defensive end, Myles Garrett, is listed at +800 behind only Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons, who is +460. In 2022, Garrett had 16 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and 60 total tackles.
For wagers on the Bengals, Browns or any NFL team, you will want to be armed with an Ohio sportsbook promo code.
