Cleveland Browns, Baker Mayfield should awaken against Arizona
By Dan Justik
The Cleveland Browns offense continues to be in a slumber, but Baker Mayfield and the passing offense should awaken against a poor Arizona pass defense.
After struggling during the first half of the regular season, Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns passing offense started to find its stride following their Week 7 bye week. But over the past two weeks, the passing attack has fallen asleep once again.
Despite having the league’s leading rusher in Nick Chubb, the Browns offense is still relying too much on Mayfield and the passing offense. Without working a balanced offense for an entire game, the passing offense struggles to do much on its own.
The Browns rushed the ball 24 times with Chubb and Kareem Hunt against the Cincinnati Bengals, the league’s worst run defense. However, Chubb and Hunt only ran the ball six times in the first half.
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Without a balanced offense, Mayfield struggled mightily against the Bengals. He completed only 11 of his 24 pass attempts for 192 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. It was following another average performance from Mayfield, completing 18 of his 32 passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Mayfield’s struggles has played a role in the whole offense struggling. Even with Chubb, the Browns have struggled to score points the last two weeks. However, against the Arizona Cardinals, the Browns offense should find some life, especially Mayfield and the passing offense.
The Cardinals have the worst passing defense in the NFL, and it’s not a close margin. The Cardinals allow an average of 294.2 passing yards per game, with the next team allowing 278.8 passing yards per game.
Despite having Patrick Peterson and 2019 second-round pick Byron Murphy starting at corner, as well as Budda Baker at safety, the Cardinals are allowing opponents to boast efficient passing attacks.
The Cardinals defense has allowed a 71.8 completion percentage and have intercepted only six passes all season. That is a matchup Mayfield needs at this point of the season, as he has been an extremely inefficient passer and has thrown the second-most interceptions this season.
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With the Browns passing offense needing to find some life in the final games of the season, they will have a favorable matchup on Sunday. If the Browns can put together a balanced offensive game plan, Mayfield and Cleveland’s talented pass catchers should be able to pick apart the Cardinals defense.