The Arizona Cardinals (4-2) head to FirstEnergy Stadium to square off with the Cleveland Browns (2-5) this week. The game will air Sunday, Nov 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
In last week’s game, Cleveland fell to the Rams 24-6. Gary Barnidge had a great game in the loss, pulling in six receptions for 101 yards. Arizona also came up short, losing to the Steelers 25-13. John Brown had a huge game for the Cardinals, grabbing 10 receptions for 196 yards. Carson Palmer also had a great game with 421 yards and a TD through the air.
The Cardinals take on the Browns as a four-point favorite this week. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is currently not available.
Sitting at 2-5 Straight Up (SU) and 3-3-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Browns will look to improve heading into Week 8. In their five most recent matchups, the Browns went 1-4 SU and 2-2-1 ATS. The Cleveland’s passing game is averaging 308.2 passing yards during their last five matchups. Turning to the Browns defense, there are several areas to keep an eye on. It is critical for the Cardinals to prepare for Cleveland’s big-play defense, which ranks fourth in the league with 2.3 turnovers per home game. Cleveland’s special teams unit has done damage to opponents, topping the NFL with an average of 126.7 return yards per home game.
Across the field, the Cardinals head into Week 8 with records of 4-3 ATS and 5-2 SU. Over their last five games, the Cardinals have a SU record of 3-2 and a 2-3 record ATS. They enter the week as the league’s second-best road scoring offense, dropping an average of 34.3 points per away game on opposing defenses. Odds suggest that Arizona will rely on its run game against a defense that allows 151 rushing yards per game, worst in the league. Moving on to the Arizona defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Browns. The front seven for the Cardinals will be looking to shut down the weak rushing attack of the Browns, which ranks 28th in the league with an average of 90.4 rushing yards per game. The Cardinals can do damage if they force turnovers from the Browns. The Browns rank 28th in the league in turnovers with 2.1 per game. The first quarter is key for the quick-starting Cardinals, who average 7.4 points in the first 15 minutes. Arizona has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 98.3 return yards per game, ranking fourth in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ari, ATS Winner – Ari
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 7 games.
Cleveland is 2-10 SU in its last 12 games.
Cleveland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Arizona is 4-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Cleveland is 1-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Interestingly, Arizona is winless (0-2 SU) in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (2-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
Arizona has drawn an average of 8.2 penalties per game on opponents this season, while Cleveland has drawn 8.6 per game on opponents. Cleveland is only 1-3 SU when receiving at least eight penalties. Arizona is actually 2-1 SU when getting penalized at least eight times.
According to season yardage rankings, Arizona is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 10th-ranked rushing attack will face the last-ranked run defense of Cleveland, while its seventh-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 28th-ranked run game of the Browns.
