Cleveland Browns: Kareem Hunt now the blueprint to beating Cardinals

The Cleveland Browns host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6 and Cleveland must follow a certain blueprint to emerge victoriously.

If you look at Cleveland Browns Twitter, you might come across a civil war amongst fans. Is Baker Mayfield really the guy? Can he and Odell Beckham Jr. ever get on the same page? Can the team play an entire 60-minute game?

These are all valid questions, but the sky isn’t falling. In fact, the key to ending all the bickering between Browns fans is simple; win.

At the end of the day, nothing matters more in the NFL than winning. If you don’t win, you don’t get a chance to play for the Super Bowl, which is the ultimate goal for every player and team.

Cleveland enters Sunday 3-2, which some of Browns Twitter is acting like it’s 1-4. On the other sideline will be the 5-0 Cardinals. Arizona is the lone unbeaten team in the NFL and will look to extend their winning ways.

The blueprint to winning this Sunday is quite simple; run the ball and play to win, not to lose.

The Browns have the NFL’s top rushing attack led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

Think about that for a second. Chubb and Hunt share a backfield. It is no wonder why the Browns lead the league in rushing. Add in a great offensive line and you have a recipe for great success.

Cleveland averages 187.6 yards per game on the ground. Chubb, who is the league’s second-leading rusher behind Derrick Henry, has rushed for 523 yards and four touchdowns. Hunt has rushed for 295 yards and five touchdowns.

The duo is coming off a week in which they rushed for over 220 yards and three scores. Chubb led the way with 161 yards and a touchdown, while Hunt had 61 rushing yards and two trips to the end zone.

Neither has practiced this week (as of Thursday evening) due to injuries, and unfortunately, it was announced on Friday that Chubb will actually sit out the game against Arizona.

Even without Chubb, there should be confidence in this ground game. The Browns lead the NFL in yards (938), yards per carry (5.36), touchdowns (12), first downs (51), and are tied for first in runs of 10 or more yards (27). They have rushed for at least 150 yards in all five games, the longest Cleveland streak since 1967.

This bodes well against the unbeaten Cardinals as they aren’t that good at stopping the run. Despite being 5-0, Arizona has given up 139 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry.

Again, run the ball.

The explosive running game led by Hunt will eventually give Mayfield and the passing game time to shine. Will this finally be the game where Baker and OBJ get on the same page or will it be one of the final acts of 13 in a Browns uniform? Time will ultimately tell, but they can be set up for success in a big way via the run game.

Again, run the ball.

Should the Browns jump out to a double-digit lead again, head coach Kevin Stefanski must continue to play to win and not to lose. Utilize the former NFL rushing leader who is more than capable of wearing a defense down.

Los Angeles could not stop Chubb all game long, yet Stefanski was conservative. He is normally quite the opposite as he loves going for it on fourth down. Yet, last week, his play-calling didn’t get the job done.

When you have the lead, the clock is your friend.

Again, run the ball.

Also, the more Cleveland is able to establish the run game, the less Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will be on the field. Myles Garrett and company must apply constant pressure and contain Murray as he is such a dynamic, dual-threat QB. The more the defense is on the sideline, the better the odds are of winning the game.

Again, run the ball.