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Week 9 Fantasy Preview: Arizona Cardinals @ Cleveland Browns

By Jon Mosales Published November 5, 2023 2 min read

Arizona Cardinals @ Cleveland Browns

Cardinals (-110) @ Browns (-110): O/U 38.0
Cardinals +11.5  (+475), Browns -11.5 (-650)

None of these betting angles make a lot of sense right now as the Browns are somehow favored by two scores in a game with a total of 38.  Unless the Browns win this game 22-10, something is amiss here.  This game is a stayaway for about a 100 reasons, but he main two being we have no idea what we are getting from either QB.  Deshaun Watson is going to play with his semi-banged up shoulder and the history of QBs coming back early from an injury is the same as trying to navigate a land war in Asia.  The Cardinals are even more uncertain as they traded Joshua Dobbs and are finally giving fifth round pick Clayton Tune a start.  Don’t sleep on Tune as he was great in college and has had half the season to get acclimated to the speed of the NFL.  This might mean something if he wasn’t going up against a defense that eats bad QBs for breakfast.  Tune might be able to carve out a role in the NFL, but it won’t be from game tape of this Sunday and Watson might be able to lead this team to the playoffs, but it’s not going to start from his performance this week.

Main Storylines to Watch

Kyler Murray Watch: The Cardinals are clearly tanking for next season and managed to go winless in October which is really the upside down of going undefeated.  The problem is that they have the former franchise QB Kyle Murray looking and acting healthy on the sidelines.  Do the Cards still want Murray and do they want to risk finding out only to have him lead the Cards out of a top-three pick in a QB loaded draft.  Murray was awful last season and there is no rush to bring him back this season, but the Cards never take a linear path to anywhere.  If Tune gets tuned this game, is Murray the next man up?

Browns Need a Hero: The Browns should win this game, but it won’t be on the back of Watson, but who is going to step up and be a difference maker on either side of the ball.  We know the defense is elite, but the Cards are finally healthy on that side of the ball too and are no longer pushovers.  The Browns need someone on offense to step up and the most likely candidates are going to be Jerome Ford or Kareem Hunt.

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