Cardinals vs. Browns: Full Arizona Game Preview

The Arizona Cardinals will begin a stretch of four road games in five contests in Cleveland against the Browns on Sunday afternoon.

Arizona appears to have regained some of its footing with a 26-18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 after losing two of its previous three games. If not for a slew of special teams blunders, the victory would have been altogether more convincing and a greater source of confidence for the Cardinals.

The 5-2 Cardinals will have to avoid overlooking the 2-5 Browns before their schedule turns difficult in the second half of the season. Saddled by deficiencies on both sides of the ball, the Browns have dropped their last two games, including a 24-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams last Sunday. 

Click ahead for the full midweek preview, including the latest notes and injury news.

Date: Sunday, Nov. 1

Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

News and Notes

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Markus Golden making some noise

The rookie linebacker hasn't been jumping out of the box score, but he's beginning to make his mark on the game. Via Shaun Church of Revenge of the Birds, Golden has already racked up 22 pressures on the season, something that has not gone unnoticed by his coach. 

According to Lisa Matthews of the team's official website, Bruce Arians said Golden was ahead of his developmental schedule, which isn't the kind of praise rookies normally hear.

Arizona still needs Golden and the rest of the team's pass-rushers to finish plays with sacks, but Golden's progress is a major step in the right direction. With Dwight Freeney notching a sack on Monday night and Alex Okafor's return imminent, the Cardinals might have the ability to generate legitimate pressure.

Josh McCown expected to start

According to ESPN's Adam Caplan, McCown is on track to play on Sunday after leaving Cleveland's Week 7 game with an injured shoulder. 

The former Cardinals quarterback has performed capably in Cleveland's depleted offense this season, throwing eight touchdowns against only three interceptions. Still, there are plenty of fans who would prefer the 2-5 Browns give Johnny Manziel an opportunity to play, even if that's solely for the entertainment value.

While McCown is the steadier hand, his presence under center will make it easier for James Bettcher to plan for Cleveland's offense. Manziel is erratic (on the field) at the best of times, but his ability to improvise can present difficulties for a defensive coordinator. 

Arizona does have significant injury news, which you can, as always, find on the next slide.

Latest Arizona Injury News

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

The Cardinals released the following injury report on their official site following Wednesday's practice. It's getting a bit lengthy.

CB Justin Bethel	Foot
WR John Brown	Hamstring
S Deone Bucannon	Elbow
TE Darren Fells	Shoulder
LB Dwight Freeney	Finger
WR Brittan Golden	Groin
LB Alex Okafor	Calf
CB Jerraud Powers	Hamstring
DT Frostee Rucker	Quadriceps
C Lyle Sendlein	Ankle

Bethel, Bucannon and Freeney were listed as limited participants, while the rest did not practice. It is important to remember it's likely Arians and the coaching staff were giving certain players an extra day to heal following a Monday night game.

According to Kyle Odegard of the team's official website, Powers is expected to miss a couple of weeks with the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the majority of Monday's game. It's possible he returns after the team's Week 9 bye. Bethel is expected to start in Powers' place, despite his foot injury.

Okafor could make his return Sunday, according to AZCentral.com's Kent Somers. It sounds like the outside linebacker is going to be a game-time decision.

There's been no update on Fells, so it's safe to assume we won't see him again until after the bye week. Jermaine Gresham was effective in his place on Monday, catching four passes for 62 yards. 

As for everyone else, there's no reason yet to worry over their status for Sunday. With the short week, any red flags should be placed on hold until Thursday. 

Key Matchup

Andrew Weber/Getty Images

Arizona's safeties versus Gary Barnidge

The Browns have two pass-catchers who have taken fantasy football by storm this year, wide receiver Travis Benjamin and tight end Gary Barnidge. Patrick Peterson exists to deal with Benjamin, so the focus here goes to the 30-year-old tight end few people paid much attention to before this season.

Since breaking out in Week 3 against the Oakland Raiders, Barnidge has 29 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns, making him the most productive tight end in the NFL not named Rob Gronkowski.

No one's exactly sure how this happened, but it has, and now James Bettcher has to come up with a way to stop him or this game's going to be closer than Bruce Arians wants.

Before Tony Jefferson's game-saving interception, the Cardinals safeties didn't look particularly convincing against Baltimore's tight ends on Monday night. Crockett Gillmore and Nick Boyle combined for 73 yards on seven receptions, with the former being simply too big for Jefferson to handle on several occasions. 

Barnidge isn't much smaller than Gillmore, and the odds are against Jefferson, Rashad Johnson and Tyrann Mathieu growing a few inches during the week. Positioning and technique will be crucial if they're going to be the first secondary to slow Barnidge down since he arrived on the NFL's collective radar.

Is Barnidge going to be the difference between an Arizona win and an Arizona loss? Well, no. But he can make the game a lot closer than it needs to be, and the Cardinals would be wise to eliminate him as a threat in Cleveland's otherwise impotent offense.

3 Things to Watch

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Calais Campbell vs. Joe Thomas

If you're a fan of watching linemen doing their thing, this is the kind of matchup you live for. Few linemen have played at the levels reached by Campbell and Thomas over the past several seasons. 

Owing to the Cardinals odd front, it remains to be seen how often they'll go one-on-one, but when and if they do, it'd be foolish to take your eyes off the two Pro Bowlers.

Special teams

Arizona's special teams haven't been a point of pride this season, but never have they been worse than in Monday's game against Baltimore. The third phase let the Ravens back into the game and very nearly opened the door for Baltimore to tied the score.

Asking too much of Drew Butler looks to be a foolish endeavor, but the Cardinals will need more consistency from Chandler Catanzaro, who has now missed two extra points in addition to two field goals. And someone making a play in the return game wouldn't hurt, either. David Johnson's kickoff return for a touchdown feels like it happened ages ago.

Justin Bethel

As mentioned in the injury update, Bethel is slated to get the start opposite Peterson at corner on Sunday. It will be his first career start.

Bethel looked a bit shaky against Baltimore following Jerraud Powers' injury, getting beat badly by Chris Givens for a 31-yard gain. While they may lack the weapons to make it easy, Cleveland will try to pick on Bethel as much as possible.

Prediction: Arizona 31, Cleveland 17

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

It may not look like it on paper, but this is a big game for the Cardinals' season. 

Arizona's first game after its Week 9 bye is on the road in Seattle, and it absolutely does not want to enter that matchup only one game ahead of the Seahawks in the NFC West. Seattle will spend Week 8 in Dallas playing the struggling Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are still looking up at Green Bay, Carolina and Atlanta in the race for a bye in the NFC playoffs. Losing any more ground in that chase will be devastating with the second half of the season just around the corner.

It's an ugly phrase and an even uglier mindset for a team to have, but sometimes one just has to compile victories. 

Arizona knows what's at stake, and it knows the Cleveland Browns are not a very good football team. If it comes out with the intention of doing anything but dominate, it would be both a massive shock and a massive disappointment.

The Cardinals are simply too talented and too focused to let this one slip through their fingers. Check back on Friday for the how and the why as we take a look at Arizona's game plan.

Final prediction: Arizona 31, Cleveland 17