The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 9 matchup between the Browns and Cardinals.
Find a breakdown of every Week 9 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Arizona | Rank | @ | Cleveland | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | Spread | -8.0 | ||
| 15.25 | Implied Total | 23.25 | ||
| 18.9 | 22 | Points/Gm | 22.0 | 13 |
| 26.6 | 27 | Points All./Gm | 19.9 | 12 |
| 62.8 | 19 | Plays/Gm | 71.7 | 1 |
| 64.0 | 16 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 54.9 | 1 |
| 5.1 | 20 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.6 | 29 |
| 5.6 | 26 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.7 | 2 |
| 43.43% | 13 | Rush% | 47.41% | 3 |
| 56.57% | 20 | Pass% | 52.59% | 30 |
| 46.48% | 28 | Opp. Rush % | 44.53% | 22 |
| 53.52% | 5 | Opp. Pass % | 55.47% | 11 |
- 46.9% of the drives against Arizona have reached the red zone or scored prior, the second-highest rate in the league.
- 21.7% of the Cleveland drives have reached the red zone or scored prior, ahead of only the Patriots and Steelers.
- 22.8% of the drives against Cleveland have reached the red zone or scored prior, the lowest rate in the league.
- Just 8.2% of Cleveland offensive plays have come inside of the red zone, the lowest rate in the league.
- 9.6% of the Arizona plays have come inside of the red zone, 30th in the league.
- 27.4% of the runs against Cleveland have failed to gain yardage, the highest rate in the league.
- 87.5% of the runs against Arizona have gained yardage, the highest rate in the league.
- Cleveland has scored a touchdown on a league-low 11.4% (5-of-44) of their drives in the second half this season.
- Arizona is averaging a league-low 1.15 points per drive in the second half this season.
- 56.5% of the drives against the Browns have gone three and out, the highest rate in the league. That rate is still 50.0% over the past two weeks.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Cardinals QB: Jonathan Gannon stated after the game on Sunday that Josh Dobbs would start one more game, but he immediately walked back on that Monday, saying that either Kyler Murray or Clayton Tune will start this weekend.
Arizona then traded Dobbs before the trade deadline.
Murray has been ramping up at practice the past two weeks.
Murray had surgery on his ACL and torn meniscus on January 27th, so we are just past the nine-month mark in his recovery.
When he returns, the Cardinals will need more out of Murray than what they received in 2022 when he was healthy.
Out of 33 qualified passers for league passer rating, Murray was 17th in EPA per dropback (0.02) and 23rd in success rate (42.7%). He posted early-career lows in yards per pass attempt (6.1 Y/A), yards per completion (9.1 yards), and touchdown rate (3.6%)/
Murray particularly struggled to push the ball down the field last season, an area where he had previously had success.
On throws 10 yards or further downfield, Murray completed just 42.1% of his passes (28th). His 40.4% success rate on those passes was ahead of only Carson Wentz, Kenny Pickett, and Zach Wilson.
On throws 20 or more yards downfield, Murray completed just 24.5% of his passes, ahead of only Jimmy Garoppolo.
Murray was just 1-of-14 (7.1%) on throws 30 or more yards downfield, the lowest rate in the league.
That 2022 performance was far away from his output in 2021. In 2021, he completed 53.1% of his passes 10-plus yards downfield (sixth), 47.3% of his passes on throws 20 or more yards downfield (third), and 42.9% of his throws 30-plus yards downfield (fifth).
For as bad as things were for Murray in 2022 as a passer, he was still the QB9 in points per game (18.2) and was a QB1 in seven of his 10 full games played.
He did so in part due to 29.8% of his points coming via rushing, something we have to heavily question about remaining intact returning from the ACL injury.
Dobbs had been getting there for fantasy based on his rushing ability as well. 35.2% of his fantasy points were via rushing.
If we do get Murray this week, he will be a volatile QB2 since we cannot bank on rushing production and he runs into a tough matchup.
Cleveland has allowed two QB1 scoring weeks so far this season. They have allowed multiple passing touchdowns in three of their past four games but have not allowed more than a pair of passing scores in a game this season.
Despite having some regression compared to allowing next to nothing through the air to open the season, Cleveland is second in the NFL in pressure rate (44.1%).
The Cardinals may give Tune a one-week look just to see what he has.
Arizona did give Tune a solid run this preseason, with lackluster output. He never threatened Dobbs for playing time, which also says something.
Tune took 70 dropbacks, connecting on 34-of-59 passes (57.6%) for 353 yards (6.0 Y/A) with a touchdown and an interception.
If Tune draws the start, he is a back-end option only for 2QB gamers filling a vacated spot.
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