Cardinals vs. Browns: What's the Game Plan for Arizona?

The Arizona Cardinals should throw caution to the wind and boldly ignore Robert Frost's oft-referenced lament against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.

In simple, plain English, Arizona should take the road less traveled. In football terms, it should run the football. A lot.

The Cardinals' success this season has been built around a playmaking defense and the ability to move the ball through the air on offense. Following that particular plan could prove foolish against Cleveland.

Let's take a look at why that's the case.

Offensive game plan

It could be pointed out that the Browns are Pro Football Focus's second-worst graded run defense. It could even be left at that. 

By why stop there when we can all have fun together with pictures and badly photoshopped arrows?

Here's a problem that shows up with alarming frequency when the Browns are trying to stop the run: They don't actually realize that they're trying to stop the run. On this particular play, they get a bit burned on a blitz, but still, no one reads the run call.

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Running back Todd Gurley is past the line of scrimmage before either corner turns around, and safety Jordan Poyer is playing deep coverage. Donte Whitner knows what's going on, but alas, he's on the other side of the field. This is an easy first down for the Rams.

Any team can get carved up on a run blitz gone awry, but where the Browns excel and failing to stop the run is when they've actually put themselves in a position to make a play. Here, they have a player clogging up both potential holes through which Gurley can run:

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What happens? Karlos Dansby overpursues and whiffs on an arm tackle, resulting in a 12-yard gain for Gurley. Stopping the run is a mindset, and it's a mindset the Browns are nonchalant in engaging.

Not only should Arizona make liberal use of the running game on Sunday, it should take the opportunity to get clever. Throwing in an element of misdirection—perhaps a jet sweep or two—could make the Browns even slower to react to the ball.

Cleveland's secondary has been mediocre this season, although it'll be boosted by the returns of cornerback Joe Haden and free safety Tashaun Gipson on Sunday. They're a talented group, which gives Arizona even more incentive to lean a bit more on its backfield.

Quarterback Carson Palmer will have to be particularly wary of Gipson. The fourth-year player has 12 interceptions in his last 31 games and is always looking to make a play on the ball.

The Cardinals have had more success than anyone expected running the football this year, and it would be wise to let the ground game try to win them this game.

Defensive game plan

Aaron Josefczyk/Associated Press

Curiously enough, Cleveland's offense has a lot of the same headaches as its defense. Namely, it doesn't run the ball well, but the passing game kind of gets by alright. 

The Browns will mix power back Isaiah Crowell with scatback Duke Johnson in the backfield, although tweener Robert Turbin is starting to see his share of carries. None of them have been particularly effective, though, with all three averaging below four yards per carry.

Cleveland's passing game is a lot more interesting. 

Beyond Travis Benjamin's ability to make a play deep every now and then, the Browns lack any kind of discernible talent at wide receiver. So what do they do?

They chip away underneath all game long. And it's kind of effective. To whit, they're eighth in the league in yards per game and ninth in quarterback rating as a unit.

Safeties Tony Jefferson, Tyrann Mathieu and Rashad Johnson will have to be on point tracking tight end Gary Barnidge and the aforementioned Johnson. Both run solid routes and are adept at finding space. While Barnidge has put up the more eye-popping numbers, Johnson does hold this fun statistic: He's caught 31 of 35 targets this year. 

Given the overwhelming talent at the position, one would imagine it difficult for James Bettcher not to just tell his safeties to simply run around and dominate every game. This week, however, that's almost the game plan. The trio (or quartet if we're counting Deone Bucannon) will have to lead the charge in snuffing out all of Josh McCown's safety valves.

Key players and matchups

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Arizona's offensive line

In an odd kind of way, this could prove to be one of the tougher tests for the big guys up front. They've played well enough this year that people are expecting them to play well on Sunday, especially given Cleveland's struggles on defense.

The truth is? That pressure is warranted. There's no excuse for the Cardinals offensive line to not answer the bell on Sunday. It needs to play well and open up running lanes for running back Chris Johnson and company.

John Brown

Smokey's status is still unknown for Sunday, and whether the wide receiver sits or plays will obviously have a big impact on Arizona's offensive success. Per Fox Sports 910's Mike Jurecki, Brown is a game-time decision.

Brown's ability to play—and play effectively—on Sunday would permit Arizona to retain its numbers advantage in the passing game. Cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Haden are good enough to give Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd trouble, and the lack of a third reliable threat would mean the Cardinals are unable to choose which matchup to exploit.

Bruce Arians, Tom Moore and Harold Goodwin

This might be cheating, but it's so important. It's not easy to coach against personal belief and philosophy, but that's likely going to be the best thing for Arizona on Sunday.

These three guys have built the offense around the vertical passing game. They want the ball pushed down the field. Will they be patient with the running game against Cleveland? If the game is close, will they trust their trio of running backs to claim victory?

The best coaches in any sport are those who are flexible and willing to adapt to situations. Sunday's game could prove a good test for head coach Arians and his staff.

Prediction

The game against Cleveland requires a straightforward approach for Arizona, and in an act of solidarity, I'll take the same path.

Arizona is going to win this game in a thorough, decisive manner. This is not going to be the explosive blowout we saw earlier in the season from the Cardinals, but they'll push the Browns around a fair bit on offense and defense. 

Chris Johnson will indeed lead the way, although it won't come as a surprise if Andre Ellington or David Johnson hits a home run at some point. 

On defense, the Cardinals will get to do all the things they enjoy most, which largely consists of flying around everywhere and causing a nuisance. Honey Badger might just go ahead and have himself a day.

Final score: Arizona 31, Cleveland 17