Cleveland--- Carson Palmer threw four touchdown passes, three of them in the second half, to lead his Arizona Cardinals (2-6) to a come from behind 34-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns at First Energy Stadium on Sunday.
Palmer’s four touchdowns helped the Cardinals pull through in a game that saw them turnover the ball four times and helped them overcome a gritty three touchdown performance by Browns quarterback Josh McCown, who played much of the second half after aggravating his shoulder injury.
The victory is extremely sweet for Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians. Before Arians took the Cardinals job, the former Cleveland assistant actually wanted to come back to the city by the shores of Lake Erie and become the teams head coach, but was never even granted an interview. Now just a few years later his Cardinals are one of the better teams in the NFL and the Browns are still running in place.
Arians’ Cardinals got on the board first when Palmer found his tight end Troy Niklas for an 11-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter to make it 7-0 Arizona.
The Browns offense was able to strike back with an assist from their much maligned defense late in the first quarter.
On second and six at the Arizona 30-yard line, Cards running back Chris Johnson took one of his 30 carries over left tackle for a 13-yard gain, before Johnson went to the ground though Cleveland linebacker Karlos Dansby knocked the ball out and it was recovered by fellow linebacker Armonty Bryant who returned the ball 34 yards to the Arizona nine-yard line. Three plays later McCown hit Brian Hartline with a perfect strike in the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
McCown gave his team the lead early in the second quarter when he capped off a six-play 66-yard drive with a touchdown pass to his favorite target, tight end Gary Barnidge from three yards out. He would add his third and final touchdown pass of the day later in the second quarter, when he found Hartline again, this time for a two-yard score. Travis Coons missed his first kick of the season as the extra point went wide right, keeping the score at 20-7 Browns.
Arizona would add a field goal just before the half to pull within 10, with the score at 20-10 at halftime.
The second half was a nightmare for the Browns. Despite getting two more Cardinal turnovers and holding a double digit lead, they just fell apart and were unable to do anything on offense or defense without shooting themselves in the foot.
After the Browns went three-and-out to open the second half, Palmer put his team on his back and just four plays later found wide out Michael Floyd for a 60-yard touchdown pass. On the play Floyd beat Browns cornerback Joe Haden, who was hurt on the play, and left the game with a concussion. Haden would be joined in the locker room by fellow secondary member Donte Whitner who also suffered a concussion.
It was the beginning of the end for Cleveland as the team tightened up even more with Arizona now within three.
The Cardinals went ahead for the first time since the middle of the first quarter when Palmer hit Niklas again for a touchdown score to cap off another short four-play drive. The one-yard pass gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 24-20.
They would add an insurance score, following a McCown interception, when Palmer’s fourth touchdown pass found Larry Fitzgerald in the endzone for a six-yard score. The scoring would be capped off after Arizona recovered a fumble by Browns running back Robert Turbin and took the ensuing drive 43-yards on 12-plays for a Chandler Catanzaro 35-yard field goal.
Palmer threw for 374 yards and Johnson added 109 yards on 30 carries. Floyd led Arizona in receiving with 106 yards on four catches.
For the Browns, McCown led the team in rushing with 18 yards on five carries. He was also 18 of 34 passing with 211 yards. Barnidge led the team in receptions with seven, while rookie running back Duke Johnson Jr., led them in receiving yards with 68 on two catches.
The loss is the third straight for the Browns and was finished by Johnny Manziel looking overwhelmed in front of an empty First Energy Stadium.
They look to get the franchise back on track Thursday night against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals (7-0). Kickoff is set for 8:25 p.m. in the Queen City.
POSTED 11/01/2015 at 18:19
Lake County Sentinel
Carson Palmer and Cardinals to much for Browns in 34-20 loss
BY JEREMY SOMERVILLE
BROWNS BEAT WRITER
