Clevelandurbannews.com and-Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief
CLEVELAND, Ohio– The Cleveland Browns lost to the undefeated Arizona Cardinals 37-14 at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, the first time that Kevin Stefanski has lost back to back games since taking over as head coach in 2020.
The Browns lost to the Los Angeles Chargers last week and, as of Sunday, have compiled a 3-3 win-loss record this NFL season.
The only undefeated team in the NFL and the NFC West leader, the Cardinals are now 6-0. Sunday's win was the Cardinals fifth straight win against the Browns.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes as his team beat down the Browns even without coach Kliff Kingsbury, who had tested positive for Covid-19.
The Browns are dealing with growing injuries with star players Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry sidelined and Kareem Hunt leaving Sunday's game for the locker room following a fourth quarter injury. Sunday was their first home loss of 2021.
Cleveland will host Denver Thursday night for another much anticipated game.
FirstEnergy Stadium has a seating capacity of 67, 895 people, and Browns fans packed it on Sunday.
Coach Stefanski told reporters during a press conference after the game that the Cardinals simply outplayed his team.
"Credit to the cardinals," said Stefanski. "Their players and coaches did a nice job and we got beat. We are a 3-3 football team and we played like it. We were just very average"
The Cardinals had four fumbles and recovered all four of them.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who committed three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception, re-injured his left shoulder and wide receiver Odell Beckham briefly left the game with a shoulder problem. He spoke to the media after the game with his left arm in a sling and could not say for sure whether he will play on Thursday against Denver.
The Browns were behind 23-14 when Cardinals star defensive end J.J. Watt forced a fumble by Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Thereafter, Murray threw a nine-yard pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to put the Cardinals up 30-14. The Browns never scored after that with the Cardinals ultimately sanctioning a a 37-14 win with a fourth quarter touch down.
Whether Sunday's loss to the Cardinals represents a downward trend for the Browns remains to be seen as fans remain optimistic that Cleveland will make it to the playoffs this season.
The Browns lost 22-17 to the Kansas Chiefs to end last year's season after making the playoffs for the first time in 18 years, and the Chiefs, the AFC champion at the time, went on to lose to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at last year's Super Bowl.
Clevelandurbannews.com and-Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.
