Arizona Cardinals: 6 Keys To Beating the Cleveland Browns

Don't look now, but the NFC West has the small shot of getting two teams in the NFC playoffs.  

After the Arizona Cardinals lost six straight games and had a 1-6 record, you probably would have laughed me out of the building if I said that Arizona would have a chance. 

I laughed too, and honestly, I still get a slight chuckle out of the thought, although that chuckle gets shorter and shorter each week. 

Now, those five painful losses earlier in the year really start to sting. 

Sure, there are still quite a few things that have to happen for the Cardinals to even get a shot at the playoffs, and one thing is sweep their remaining three games.

First and foremost, we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Let's concentrate on the task at hand Sunday which is playing the Cleveland Browns. 

Here are six keys to beating the 4-9 Browns.

Establish the Run Early and Often

It looks like Beanie is still a little banged up with that knee injury. The last two weeks, he just hasn't got it going in the running game. Sure, he did play two tough run defenses in the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, but it almost feels like he's starting to share a few carries with LaRod Stephens-Howling.

Make no mistake Beanie is still the No. 1 starter. But in a game like this one coming Sunday, there should be a commitment to the run especially if Kevin Kolb isn't playing. 

Beanie needs at least 15 touches in this game especially if the Cardinals have a lead at the end of the game.

Protect John Skelton

This isn't a stated fact that John Skelton will start over Kevin Kolb this week, but knowing the sensitivity of the concussion issue in the NFL right now, I think we can expect at least one week of rest for Kolb.

We have heard too much about Tim Tebow the last few weeks and don't expect that to die down anytime soon. 

However, the Cardinals have their own little Tim Tebow on their roster, and his name is John Skelton. 

Does he play horrendous for three quarters ? Check.

Does he come alive in the fourth quarter ? Check.

Does he win ugly? You betcha.

Does he have a shockingly good record this year? Boy, does he.  4-1

Are people starting to take notice of him? Eh. Tebow really has monopolized the limelight although I think John is a better quarterback than Tebow, but you're starting to see other people take notice.

If the offensive line can protect Skelton like they did Sunday against the 49ers, you may see another impressive performance from Skelton this Sunday.

Get Larry Fitzgerald the Ball

It's no secret that when Larry gets over 100 yards receiving, the Cardinals have a good shot at winning. This past Sunday's game was more proof that the Cardinals have to keep Larry involved early and often in order to be successful.

Some of his best catches have been in the last few weeks during his winning streak.  

Here's a profound statement.  If you throw the ball to Larry even when double covered, your chances are still pretty good that it will be caught.

One thing you have to give John Skelton. When he's at quarterback, he does keep his eye on Larry through his progressions and will throw it to him more often than not.  

Cleveland's secondary will be tested by the budding Cardinals receivers of Early Doucet and Andre Roberts but will have to keep plenty of eyes on Larry Fitzgerald. 

Don't Make Mistakes

If the Cardinals plan to win this game, they need to be sure to protect their leads.  The Cardinals should be able to have offensive success against the Browns.

One important key is to keep the turnovers to a minimum. Last week was an anomaly with regards to the turnover margin. The Cardinals had three turnovers to the 49ers zero. You don't win many games like that at all. 

Even though the Browns have only had seven interceptions all year long, that doesn't mean they won't be opportunistic if the chance is there. 

Penalties can be as deadly as turnovers, and the Cardinals still need to improve here. The false start penalties have added to the horrible third-down conversion ratios and must be eliminated to keep this win streak going.

Keep Up the Defensive Intensity

It's taken some time, but defensive coordinator Ray Horton is looking like a genius. After the Cardinals' game against the Steelers, a few players from Pittsburgh told some Cardinals to keep their heads up because Ray Horton is a smart guy, and he knows what he's doing. 

They were right.

Horton's schemes have been confusing for opposing offenses to figure out, and Arizona has only allowed six offensive touchdowns in the last six weeks. The Cardinals have had five sacks in each of the last two games. 

This isn't your same Cardinals from Week 1 when Cam Newton torched them for 400 yards. 

Everybody on the defense has stepped up, and there's accountability at every spot. Now, Horton can call any play from his playbook instead of the cliff note versions he had been doing.

Now comes a team that's only scored over 20 points once this year, and that was against the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts.  On top of that, their quarterback Colt McCoy is experiencing concussion-like symptoms. 

This could prove to be a rough road trip for the Browns. 

Don't Look Ahead on the Schedule

It's easy to take a look at the 4-9 Browns and call this game a win.

It's easy to scoreboard watch praying the Bears, Lions, Falcons and Cowboys take another loss this weekend. 

It's easy to look ahead to the road trip to Cincinnati against a Bengals' team that will be fighting for the playoffs themselves.  

I can fill this page with things the Cardinals could do instead of play hard against the Browns this Sunday. The fact is that if the Cardinals lose, the playoffs are gone. Heck, even now, the playoffs are still all but a murky vision on a cloudy day.

As long as the Cardinals can play like they have the last five weeks, they will live to see another week in the playoff hunt.