Cardinals vs. Browns: Full Cleveland Game Preview
Even at 2-5 and facing an uphill battle the rest of the 2015 season, Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine is sticking with Josh McCown as his quarterback for the foreseeable future—a future the coach knows he may or may not play a part in.
McCown has been beaten up all season and underwent an MRI Monday to diagnose an injury to his right shoulder that he suffered in the fourth quarter of the team’s 24-6 loss in St. Louis.
This got us all wondering if Johnny Manziel would play in his place, if McCown was unable to go in Week 8, or maybe even if he was ready to suit up. If the team keeps drifting further out of contention, it would behoove Pettine and his staff to give the youngster a shot to learn with some in-game repetitions.
Clearly, we haven’t reached that point, at least in Pettine’s eyes.
“If our starting quarterback is physically able to play, will we play him?” Pettine said defiantly this week. “Yes.”
Losing the next three against Arizona, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh would probably change that sentiment, especially if the higher rungs of the organization apply pressure to get Manziel on the field.
But Pettine might not even have to make that choice if McCown’s shoulder injury keeps him out of practice this week. Manziel’s embarrassing showing against the Bengals last season is likely a thing of the past, though, given his improved commitment and performance this season. Unfortunately for Manziel and the Browns, the Arizona Cardinals boast one of the best defenses in the NFL, so any week but this one would probably make for a better learning session.
Either way you look at it, a less-than-100 percent McCown or a still green Manziel behind center doesn’t bode well for Cleveland’s chances against the Cards.
Viewing Info
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
Date: Sunday, November 1
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Week 7 Results and Recap
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The Cincinnati Bengals took Week 7 off but didn’t lose any ground in the AFC North, as Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland all lost by more than a touchdown. Barring a late-season collapse, it’s hard to see a scenario in which the red-hot Bengals don’t run away with the division.
A matchup with Pittsburgh this week could change that, but there doesn’t appear to be much fight left in either the Browns or Ravens.
Cleveland moved the ball well in its trip to St. Louis but was decimated by turnovers and penalties. Some teams may be able to overcome squandering drives despite moving the ball well offensively, but not the Browns with their fascinatingly erratic defense.
AFC North Division Standings
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Streak |
| Bengals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 182 | 122 | W6 |
| Steelers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 158 | 131 | L1 |
| Browns | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 147 | 182 | L2 |
| Ravens | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 161 | 188 | L3 |
News and Notes
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NFL Investigation of Johnny Manziel Should End “Soon”
Browns general manager Ray Farmer said the team chose not to keep Manziel active over the past two weeks based on the information it had at its disposal. But an update from ESPN.com’s Pat McManamon indicates the team couldn’t have suspended him even if it wanted to, because the league handles personal conduct violations.
During a Wednesday press conference, coach Mike Pettine said Manziel would be talked to “imminently” by the league, and mere moments after that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport chimed in with a report that the league was prepared to wrap up its investigation by the end of the week.
Pettine was right. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer reported later Wednesday that Manziel spoke with NFL investigator Lisa Friel to discuss the incident.
Manziel’s availability this week is important for the Browns with McCown nursing his sore shoulder, but he’s not vital if that means supporting potentially criminal behavior. Although, as we have seen, the NFL’s track record in personal misconduct—especially domestic violence issues—is imperfect, to put it kindly.
Hayes Pullard Signed to Jacksonville’s Active Roster
In what will go down as an insignificant day for the Browns, Wednesday saw the Jacksonville Jaguars grab rookie linebacker Hayes Pullard of the Browns practice squad. In order to do so, they had to sign him to their 53-man roster. In order to make room, Jacksonville waived another former Browns linebacker, James-Michael Johnson. To fill the empty spot, Cleveland signed defensive back Chance Casey to its practice squad.
This isn’t an immediate concern. Losing a seventh-round pick from a practice squad won’t turn the Browns’ season around, but it’s a disappointing result for a player whom many were high on. Pullard looked like he could be a competent depth player at inside linebacker with some seasoning.
Instead, the Browns have kept Tank Carder on their 53-man roster because of his special teams contributions. However, he hasn’t been playing special teams because of injuries, which has left Chris Kirksey to fill that role, defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Losing young and promising players is part of the game, but keeping a player like Carder instead of Pullard on a 2-5 team that’s spiraling into hopeless territory is certainly a head-scratcher.
Latest Injury News
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| Player | Position | Injury |
| Andrew Hawkins | WR | Concussion |
| Tashaun Gipson | DB | Ankle |
| Joe Haden | DB | Finger/Concussion |
| Johnny Manziel | QB | Right Elbow |
| Craig Robertson | LB | Ankle |
| John Hughes | DL | Knee |
| K'Waun Williams | DB | Hamstring |
| Marlon Moore | WR | Hamstring |
| Rob Housler | TE | Hamstring |
| Josh McCown | QB | Right shoulder/Ribs |
| Jordan Poyer | DB | Shoulder |
Joe Haden—cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol—Craig Robertson and Tashaun Gipson returned to practice Wednesday, but all were limited, and none is a sure thing to play in Week 8. Haden is still nursing a broken finger, but he did play with it before suffering his concussion in Week 5.
Receiver Andrew Hawkins is still in concussion protocol after suffering the injury late last week on an unknown play. Players’ recovery times vary in response to head trauma. Two weeks ago, Kansas City Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin was concussed, cleared protocol and practiced Friday but was held out of the team’s Week 7 matchup for precautionary reasons.
Quarterback Josh McCown left last week’s matchup in St. Louis with an injury to his throwing shoulder. Manziel entered the game for the team’s final drive. He will be the guy taking the first-team practice reps until McCown is cleared to return to practice. If he does make it back and is cleared to play, Pettine said McCown will be the starter against the Cardinals.
Pettine also said safety Jordan Poyer “will be out” with his shoulder injury. That doesn’t sound optimistic for his chances of playing this weekend. If Gipson and Poyer both miss time, Pettine said cornerback K’Waun Williams has been “cross-trained” to play safety, and defensive backs Johnson Bademosi and Don Jones could also pitch in there in a pinch.
All injury information courtesy of Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.
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Key Matchups
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Cardinals Defensive Backs vs. Browns Quarterback
We don’t know who will be under center for Cleveland, but we do know who will be in Arizona’s takeaway-leading secondary. Tyrann Mathieu, Tony Jefferson and Justin Bethel have each returned one for a touchdown. Rashad Johnson leads the team with three interceptions, and Patrick Peterson, Mathieu and Jefferson are close behind with two apiece.
Getting those 12 picks has helped Arizona's pass defense, a unit that ranks in the upper half of the league in nearly every pass-defense category. The only apparent weakness has been in big plays allowed, surrendering six passes for 40 or more yards so far.
The Cardinals' 12 sacks aren’t intimidating, but they do pressure quarterbacks and force them to get rid of the ball in a hurry, leading to those takeaways and incompletions. Opposing quarterbacks have just a 73.5 QB rating—fifth-lowest in the league—when throwing the ball against them.
RB Chris Johnson vs. Browns Rush Defense
It would be great to talk about another matchup for once, but when the Browns are involved, opposing running backs are going to be featured—at least until they prove they can stop someone from reaching 150 yards rushing.
That’s right, the Browns have surrendered over 150 yards in six of their seven games this season and are dead last in the NFL, allowing 151 yards per game on the ground.
Johnson is in the middle of a renaissance of sorts, ranking surprisingly second in total rushing yards through seven weeks. He’s on pace for 1,296 yards, which would put him over 1,000 yards rushing for the first time since 2013 and would be his highest total since he rushed for 1,364 yards in 2010.
X-Factor
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Browns X-Factor of the Week: RB Robert Turbin
In six games against Arizona as a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Robert Turbin has 39 attempts and 178 rushing yards—a 4.56 yards-per-carry average. His experience against them should help his ability to find running lanes.
Isaiah Crowell has been wildly unproductive and is now recovering from hurt ribs. Plus, per Football Outsiders, Turbin out-snapped Crowell 27-19 last week, possibly due to his injury, but probably because of his poor play, too.
Given his familiarity with Arizona’s defense, increased playing time, downhill rushing approach and ability to hit holes quickly—those close quickly in Cleveland—it wouldn’t be surprising if Turbin makes a difference for the Browns this week.
Prediction: Cardinals 24, Browns 18
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The Cardinals have a top-10 offense and a top-five defense, so it’s hard to see how the Browns can win this one, at least on paper. They have been competitive, though, and have taken teams to the final whistle several times—pretty unexpectedly against Denver.
If not for an offside penalty against Tramon Williams and a missed throwaway interception by McCown, the Browns could potentially be sitting at least at 4-3 heading into this week. But that’s not a fun game to play, because good teams find ways to win those close games, while the Browns seemingly find ways to lose them.
That’s a culture problem. So is being unable to play consistently for four quarters, something the Browns have yet to do this season, even in two wins over Baltimore and Tennessee—those teams have a combined record of 2-11.
Cleveland’s lacking pass rush, Johnson’s resurgence and the Browns defense’s inability to slow down rushers will give the Cards too many offensive options. Carson Palmer has too many weapons to make us think Cleveland can win in a home upset, but it should still make the game competitive.
The Browns are a lot of things, but they don’t appear to be a team that has quit, at least not yet.
Prediction: Cardinals 24, Browns 18
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and injury updates courtesy of press release e-mails from Browns communication managers Dan Murphy and Rob McBurnett.
All stats via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Mike Hoag (@MikeHoagJr) covers the Cleveland Browns for Bleacher Report and is the managing editor of Browns Beat.
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