NFL Week 9 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 27, Arizona Cardinals 0

The Cleveland Browns dominated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-0, at home in Week 9 to move to 5-3 on the year.

Struggling offenses and good defense led to a scoreless first quarter, but the Browns got on the board early in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal. They made it 10-0 when Amari Cooper pulled in a tipped pass in the end zone.

It was 13-0 at the half, with Dustin Hopkins converting from 45 yards out after a drive that was aided by a roughing the passer call.

A strip-sack on rookie quarterback Clayton Tune set the Browns up in fantastic field position, with Deshaun Watson and tight end David Njoku connecting to make it 20-0.

With the Browns continuing to dominate on defense, they turned a failed fourth-down conversion by the Cardinals into a touchdown drive, culminating in Kareem Hunt scoring from three yards out to go up 27-0.

Offensive spotlight: Deshaun Watson’s return to the starting lineup was a successful one. The Browns quarterback went 19-of-30 for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding 22 yards on the ground. One of those scores came on a batted pass, but he did have a tremendous 59-yard throw to Amari Cooper. Cooper himself had a day, finishing the game with five catches for 139 yards. Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. exited the game twice, the second time on a cart with his right leg in an air cast.

Cardinals rookie quarterback Clayton Tune struggled in his first career start, going just 11-of-20 for 58 yards with a pair of interceptions and a fumble on a sack. The Cardinals' offense never got anything going, with no receiver having more than 25 yards and no rusher surpassing 30 yards.

Defensive spotlight: The Browns' defense dominated early and often in this one. Denzel Ward snagged their first turnover, picking off the rookie Tune, with linebacker Sione Takitaki adding a second interception later in the game. Dalvin Tomlinson registered three sacks, and Shelby Harris, Za’Darius Smith, Myles Garrett and Jordan Elliott each notched one.

Rookie spotlight: Dawand Jones missed some time after an injury but returned and had a solid game overall. Wide receiver Cedric Tillman saw plenty of playing time but finished the game with just a single reception for three yards.

Paris Johnson Jr. struggled at right tackle for the Cardinals, both in pass protection and as a run-blocker. Arizona asked a lot of its defensive rookies, with defensive backs Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas V, edge defender BJ Ojulari and interior defender Dante Stills all seeing 19 or more snaps.

Box Score

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