Cardinals offense vs. Browns defense
The Browns had the second-ranked defense in the league going into last week’s game with the Chargers, only to give up nearly 50 points, and 26 in the fourth quarter. You can’t totally blame them for their meltdown, given the rash of injuries in their secondary when it seemed like just about every key contributor got hurt.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals are also banged up. But odds are, Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins are ready to go come Sunday, and we don’t know who will comprise the Browns’ potentially patchwork defensive backfield. Murray had a “bad” game in Week 5 when he took two bad sacks and fumbled twice. He averaged “only” 7.7 yards per attempt passing and had his second-worst game in completion percentage, at 70 percent.
Now, the Cardinals’ offense has a golden opportunity to get back on track in Week 6 against a Browns defense that could either be missing many of their starters or playing them on a pitch count. Regardless, the Browns have, healthy or not, struggled to contain high-powered offenses so far in 2021. The Cardinals can regain their early-season form here, while the Browns are still left figuring out how to stop explosive offenses.