You can forgive the Cardinals for looking past the Browns and ahead to their bye week followed by a matchup with NFC West rival Seattle. But a loss in Cleveland would be inexcusable for an Arizona team that has all the makings of a contender in the NFC. The Browns are again dealing with a messed up quarterback situation which has their season on the brink of extinction.
ODDS
Arizona opened as a 5-point favorite. Some uncertainty surrounding Cleveland’s quarterback situation has led to movement in the spread with the line wagered to -6. The total hit the board at 46 and spiked to 46.5. This is a classic trap game for the Cards with a showdown in Seattle up next.
KEY INJURIES
Jerraud Powers – Arizona’s starting cornerback will not play at Cleveland with a hamstring injury. Instead Justin Bethel will make his first NFL start on Sunday.
John Brown – Has been playing through hamstring injuries the last two weeks, but he’s hurting. The Cards could sit their receiver with hopes an extra week will get him healthier.
Josh McCown – Was rested in practice this week while he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained last week. Johnny Manziel took first team reps in practice, but coach Mike Pettine gave every indication that McCown would start if he is even close to capable.
Andrew Hawkins – Entered the league’s concussion protocol and is doubtful to play on Sunday. Cleveland’s starting receiver suffered the injury in last week’s game and deferred reps to Marlon Moore. Could we see Dwayne Bowe active this week for the Browns?
KEY MISMATCH
A gunshot wound nearly ended his career, but Chris Johnson has returned to the record-breaking form he had while with Tennessee. Johnson looks to continue his revival when he takes on the Browns’ NFL worst rushing defense. Johnson finished with six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the Titans, including the sixth-best single-season total in league history with 2,006 in 2009. Then it appeared as though his best days were behind him when he totaled just 663 yards for the Jets last season. Arizona took a chance on the veteran back with a one-year deal in August to deepen the position. After finishing with 122 yards Monday, Johnson is second in the NFL with 567 yards rushing. He could play a major role again. Cleveland ranks last in rushing defense, allowing 151 yards per game, after letting St. Louis’ Todd Gurley run for 128 and two scores last week.
KEY STAT
12 – Arizona’s NFL-leading interception total. Four players have multiple picks for the Cards’ ball-hawking defense. The Browns have been intercepted just four times this season with McCown throwing three.
BETTING ANGLE
After playing a tightly contested game against Baltimore on Monday night, the Cardinals take flight to Cleveland for an early Sunday game. This will be Arizona’s third road game in a row in the Eastern time zone following tilts in Detroit and Pittsburgh. Those games came back-to-back and the team held over in West Virginia in the week between. It didn’t matter because the Cardinals played perhaps their worst game of the season against the Steelers, dropping a 25-13 decision. The Browns have enough talent to make the Cards pay should they overlook this game with a contest against NFC West rival Seattle coming up next. But Arizona’s seventh-ranked pass defense will face an uncertain Cleveland quarterback situation. McCown took some needless hits in the second half last week when the game was out of hand. Manziel took first team reps in practice just because the Browns needed someone to. It almost sounds like the Browns would prefer to play McCown even if his throwing arm was in a cast.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
You know the Cardinals don’t want to enter their matchup in Seattle with a loss to the Browns in their satchel and the team is focused and too well-coached to let that happen. The Cards new-found run game behind Johnson will exploit the league’s worst run defense, much like every opponent has done to the Browns this season, and Carson Palmer will again be efficient running the offense. Cleveland has more issues at quarterback with McCown hurting from a beating administered by the Rams last week. And while he is a tough guy, the body doesn’t heal as fast at 36 than it did at 26 and McCown is feeling the effects. The Cards are too talented to let this one slip away and it would be a big disappointment if they didn’t come out and dominate.
Arizona 30, Cleveland 21
The NFL odds for this Sunday contest were first released by BookMaker and the Cardinals were positioned as 5-point favorites with a total of 46. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time odds and player props during the game. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns will start at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 1, 2015, at FirstEnergy Stadium. The contest will be broadcast regionally on FOX.
