CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns headed west looking for a much-needed road win to remain in realistic contention for a playoff spot, but an inability to stop the run and inconsistent scoring when they possessed the ball reduced those chances further Sunday.
Arizona Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake scored four rushing touchdowns and rookie quarterback Kyler Murray added a fifth with a passing score in the third quarter on the way to a 38-24 win over the Browns (6-8) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona Sunday.
The loss was the Browns’ second away from home in the last three weeks and extended their road losing streak to five straight after they started with wins at the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens in the first month of the year.
“We set a bar very high for ourselves, and we didn’t meet that,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said following the loss.
“It hurts knowing that we came in and they just outplayed us. Just frustrating.”
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens added, “I thought we had them in position to make plays. We’ll see what we can do differently as coaches. I think in several instances, we had the guys there to make the play, and we’ve just got to make them. I’ve got to do a better job during the course of the week to get them to the point where they can make that play.”
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Drake finished the game with 137 yards and the four touchdowns on 22 carries, while Murray was efficient with his throws, completing 19 of his 25 attempts for 219 yards and one touchdown against one interception on the way to a 98.6 quarterback rating.
Murray outdueled Mayfield, his former University of Oklahoma teammate and fellow Heisman Trophy winner, who completed 30 of his 43 attempts for 247 yards and two touchdowns against one interception.
Browns running back Nick Chubb powered his way to 127 yards and one touchdown, a 33-yard score, on just 17 carries, while wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry combined for 13 catches and 89 yards on 21 total targets.
“I think when we get in a rut, we try to establish the run game, and we did that the second quarter,” Mayfield said.
“We just kind of fell behind after that. A few plays, critical plays, that we’ll be able to look back on, third-down conversions that we didn’t make that could turn this game around, but yeah, it’s the frustrating part about not being able to execute in the passing game.”
Although the Browns suffered a loss to the Cardinals, they remain mathematically alive in the hunt for a playoff spot in the AFC after the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a loss to the Buffalo Bills at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh Sunday night.
With the Browns’ playoff hopes reduced to the slimmest of margins heading into their home finale against the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday, the focus will be on doing the little things throughout the week to make sure they are ready to play against the AFC North Division champions, who are on a 10-game winning streak.
“We’ll see what type men we have in the locker room,” Mayfield said. “You have a job to do. We have to show up on Sundays and play. I know that I’m going to do that. I’m going to get the offense ready to play against a very hot Ravens team, so we’ve got to have that as the task at hand.”