Running back Chris Johnson, play him. Yet, the team still has more games in front of them than behind. The Browns defense is ranked last against the rush.
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The Browns don’t have the horses to run with the Cardinals, a team that also plays defense and creates turnovers. Cleveland dominated Arizona in all facets of the game, out-gaining the opposition 481 yards to 187. Palmer has six touchdown passes in his last three games.
Last Browns Loss: Week 15, 2011. Freeney had only 3.5 sacks a year ago with the Chargers, but was among league leaders in pressures. The two teams are going in opposite directions. Simply put, both teams had no offense.
Brown showed last week that he can handle playing through an injury and if Brown is a game time decision and is held out, fantasy owners should be prepared with backup options.
On tap: Week 8, 2015.
On the season, the Arizona Cardinals average 281.3 yards in passing and 125.6 yards in rushing.
A short scoring pass from Jeff Garcia to Aaron Shea gave the Browns a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the Browns were still ahead early in the fourth when Phil Dawson uncharacteristically missed a 34-yard field goal that would have made Cleveland lead 10-3. Defensively, the Cardinals are eighth in points allowed (133) and fourth in yards allowed (2,248). Carson Palmer completed 20 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cardinals. Palmer’s name does not often come up when fans discuss “elite” quarterbacks, but perhaps the omission is unfair. Not to mention, two big physical wide receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd on the outside and a very effective John Brown in the slot. The Cardinals have the 4th ranked offense and a rejuvenated Chris Johnson as their lead runner.
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The orange jersey isn’t something totally foreign to Browns’ fans since 1999. Instead, the Browns defensive line is an elixir to opponents – a cure for their tailback’s ills. Opposing running backs have racked up 33 receptions for 353 yards and one touchdown against the Browns this year. The Browns are putting up just 21 points and 364.1 yards per game this season while the defense is allowing 26 points and 393.1 yards per contest.
