Browns have lost two games in a row for the first time with Kevin Stefanski as Head Coach.
Browns beat up by Cardinals in more ways than 37-14 final score
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns 37-14 loss to Arizona Cardinals …
1. A total butt-kicking: The Browns lost two in a row for the first time under Kevin Stefanski and if that was the end of the story it would be OK. Sooner or later, that was going to happen. But the 37-14 loss to the Cardinals inflicted injuries to quarterback Baker Mayfield (left shoulder), running back Kareem Hunt (right calf), receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (right shoulder) and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (undisclosed). The Browns have a short turnaround before taking the field again Thursday night against the Denver Broncos. Playing behind both backup offensive tackles from the start, Mayfield was sacked five times, lost two fumbles and threw an interception in losing to former Oklahoma teammate Kyler Murray for the second time in their NFL careers. Mayfield did return to the game after his injury, but was pulled for Case Keenum when the game got out of hand in the fourth quarter. Murray finished with 20 of 30 passing and touchdowns to DeAndre Hopkins (two), Christian Kirk and A.J. Green in moving the NFL’s only undefeated team to 6-0. The Browns are 3-3.
2. Ouch: For the second time in five games Mayfield had to leave after injuring his left shoulder. And for the second time, Mayfield returned without missing a play. Mayfield hit the ground hard on his left shoulder on a sack by J.J. Watt with 6:26 left in the third quarter. After the Cardinals recovered the loose ball, players from both teams took a knee as Mayfield lay on the ground in pain. In a few minutes, he was escorted off the field and into the medical tent. Mayfield emerged from the tent after several minutes and grabbed a football and began loosening up. The Cardinals went on and scored a touchdown on a 9-yard pass to wide-open DeAndre Hopkins at the back of the end zone. When the Browns’ offense returned to the field with 2:48 to go, Mayfield was back in the saddle.
3. And down goes Hunt: The air was taken totally out of FirstEnergy Stadium when a fourth-and-4 pass for Odell Beckham Jr. from the Cardinals’ 7 fell incomplete with 12:06 to play in the fourth quarter. That wasn’t the worst of it. Running back Kareem Hunt remained down on the field and in serious pain with what was later termed a calf injury. Hunt was helped off the field by two trainers and then carted to the locker room.
4. Prayer answered: After the Cardinals tacked on their third field goal to go up, 23-7, with 43 seconds left in the first half, it appeared that would be the halftime score. The Browns took the ball at their 25 after a touchback and no timeouts. In five plays, they were at their 43 with :03 on the clock. Then this happened: Mayfield eluded pressure in the pocket with David Njoku, Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones streaking down the left side of the field. Mayfield had room to step up and sail the ball into the end zone. Peoples-Jones posted up cornerback Marco Wilson just inside the goal line and made the catch for a Hail Mary touchdown. It was Mayfield's first Hail Mary touchdown of his Browns career. Chase McLaughlin’s PAT made it a 23-14 game at halftime. Peoples-Jones also had an 11-yard touchdown pass in the first half.
5. OBJ down and out: Odell Beckham Jr. had to leave the game midway through the second quarter with an injury to his right shoulder. It happened when Beckham was hit by two defenders after a catch for 17 yards. At first, Beckham appeared to decline a visit to the medical tent, but eventually he entered it for a quick look and then trotted to the locker room. Beckham had another catch for 25 yards before the injury. Beckham returned to the field with 9:55 to go and promptly made a catch for 24 yards.
6. Flag crazy: Arizona’s second touchdown was a maddening exhibition of bad defense and flag-happy officiating. The Browns committed four defense penalties: pass interference on Denzel Ward for 8 yards; another pass interference on Ward for 24 yards; face mask on Malik McDowell for 8 yards; and unnecessary roughness of McDowell for 4 yards when he knocked Murray down while out of bounds. The Cardinals committed two offensive penalties before getting the touchdown on a quick pass to DeAndre Hopkins, who broke the ankles of Grant Delpit and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with a pivot move at the 10, and then bulled through Ronnie Harrison and John Johnson for the end zone.
7. Analytics, shmanalytics: So there’s this massive push in the analytics community to go for it on fourth down rather than punt or kick a field goal. Stefanski leads the way now with 12 fourth-down attempts. The Browns have made only five after missing on fourth-and-3 from the Cardinals’ 13 in the first quarter. The play blew up in a sack by linebacker Jordan Hicks. Mayfield now has taken sacks on four of 12 fourth-down attempts through six games. In the second quarter, Mayfield lost the ball on a blind-side sack by Markus Golden and also tossed an interception intended for Higgins. The Cards were held to field goals after both of the turnovers.
8: Not good: After giving up 47 points to the Chargers last week, all eyes were on the Browns’ defense. Well, on its first defensive possession, it allowed Murray to convert three downs on a 74-yard touchdown drive. One of the conversions was a 40-yard run by Chase Edmonds on a third-and-6 draw play. The touchdown came on third-and-19 from the Browns’ 21 when Murray connected with Christian Kirk over Troy Hill in the left corner of the end zone.
9. Ugh: At the end of the first quarter, the Browns had six penalties for 58 yards and only 47 yards of total offense.
10. Pre-game notes: Starting tackles Jedrick Wills (ankle) and Jack Conklin (knee) both were made inactive, which put backups Blake Hance and James Hudson in their place. It also made Alex Taylor the only backup tackle. Originally an undrafted free agent signed by the Browns in 2020, Taylor was waived in August, released from the Bears practice squad last week and re-signed by the Browns on Tuesday. Also, cornerback Greg Newsome was active after missing two games with a calf injury.
