Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray have vastly different relationships with Baker Mayfield. (SI.com)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Browns v. Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, 4:05 p.m., in State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Record: 3-9-1.
Last game: Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-17, in Glendale.
Coach: Kliff Kingsbury, 3-9-1, first year.
Series record: Browns lead, 33-14-3.
Last meeting: Cardinals won, 34-20, Nov. 1, 2015, in Cleveland.
League rankings: Offense is 24th overall (15th rushing, 24th passing), defense is 32nd overall (24th rushing, 32nd passing) and turnover differential is plus-2.
Things I think
1.One of Baker Mayfield’s earliest feuds was at Texas Tech with coach Kliff Kingsbury, making this first NFL encounter between them a big story in Big 12 country. Mayfield walked on to Texas Tech in 2013 and earned the starting job. Mayfield went 5-0 until suffering a leg injury. When Mayfield got healthy, Kingsbury turned his back on him, Mayfield has claimed, and wouldn’t give him the job back. Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma, walking on a second time, and earned the Sooners’ starting job in 2015. In 2016, Mayfield’s Sooners stormed into Lubbock, TX, and defeated Kingsbury’s Red Raiders QB’d by Patrick Mahomes in a legendary slugfest, 66-59. The following year, Mayfield prevailed again, 49-27. As we know, Mayfield doesn’t forgive or forget easily. But his feud with Kingsbury has cooled somewhat due to the fact Kingsbury now coaches Kyler Murray, Mayfield’s good friend and successor at Oklahoma.
2.Murray not only succeeded Mayfield on the field, he followed his footsteps to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2018 and earning the No. 1 selection in the 2019 draft. Murray, 5-10 and 207 pounds, has not been able to fully utilize his strong arm because of the absence lack of an on-top receiver. As a result, Murray has dinked-and-dunked his way through his rookie year (64.1 percent, 6.7 yards per attempt, 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 86.9 rating). Murray’s 46 sacks for 305 yards speak to his propensity to circle back in duress while trying to make a play instead of throwing away the ball. While extremely mobile – he leads the team with 448 rushing yards and co-leads with four rush touchdowns – Murray is not used a lot on designed runs by Kingsbury.
3.Kingsbury’s rookie season in the NFL started off surprisingly well. The Cardinals were 3-3-1 – beating the Bengals, Falcons and Giants in succession – but have since lost six in a row. Repeated poor drafts and personnel decisions before Kingsbury’s arrival haunt the Cardinals, particularly on defense. The Cardinals are 32nd in yards and 32nd in touchdown passes allowed under coordinator Vance Joseph.
4.Three mainstays on the roster have been unable to stem the losses. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, 36, has been a low-impact possession receiver for a long time now (64 receptions, 669 yards, three touchdowns). Running back David Johnson has been reduced to a receiving back (35, 366, 4). And cornerback Patrick Peterson (one interception) has never recovered from a six-game PED suspension to start the season.
Did you know … ?
1.Pass rusher Chandler Jones might be the NFL’s best unknown player. Since joining the Cardinals in a trade with the Patriots in 2015, Jones leads the NFL with 55 sacks, is second with 15 forced fumbles and third with 63 tackles for loss. Yet he didn’t make the NFL Network’s top 100 players list last year. He is second in the NFL this year with 14 sacks.
2.Former Browns kicker and seventh-round draft pick Zane Gonzalez has had a breakout year. Gonzalez is third in the NFL in field goals (27 of 30), has the longest active streak of field goal makes (17 in a row) and is fifth among kickers with 104 points.
3.Punter Andy Lee averaged 46.7 yards in the 2015 season in Cleveland. Now 37 and in his 16th NFL season, Lee is enjoying the thin air in Arizona. He is second in the NFL with a gross average of 48.5 yards.
Small world: Kicker Zane Gonzalez (2017-18), punter Andy Lee (2015) and linebacker Tanner Vallejo (2018) all played for the Browns … Receiver Andy Isabella attended Mayfield High School … Tight ends coach Steve Heiden played for the Browns (2002-09) … Linebackers coach Bill Davis was Browns defensive assistant (1999) and linebackers coach (2011-12).