How Can the Browns Defense Slow Down Kyler Murray?

There are some players in the league that teams have to gameplan for when they face those teams. Sometimes those are running backs, tight ends, or wide receivers. Other times, and most of the time in today’s pass happy offenses, it’s the quarterback that needs to be game-planned for. It’s easier to game plan for a quarterback that is going to stand in the pocket all day and make reads. For those quarterbacks, if you get pressure and make them scramble, they will throw the ball away.

But, how do you gameplan for the quarterbacks that can rip off a 70-yard touchdown run or throw it up to Deandre Hopkins? That is what the Browns are going to have to figure out this upcoming week as they prepare for the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback sensation Kyler Murray.

Murray has been on a tear so far this year and has shown some supreme efficiency. He is not coming out and throwing the ball for 400 yards a game but is doing what he needs to do with his arm. He is also running the ball well this year as he is picking spots better on when to take off with the ball. Murray has thrown for 1,512 yards this year in five games. He has passed for 400 yards once this year and has also thrown ten touchdowns with a 75 percent completion rate. 

Those numbers are no better than many quarterbacks across the league, but then when you factor in the rushing aspect, Murray is tough to stop. He is averaging over four yards a run and has run for three touchdowns this season. He has not broken a long run yet this year, but it is only a matter of time.

So, how do you corral a player like Murray who can do so much on the offensive end? A lot of teams are unable to do it because they don’t have enough speed on the defensive side of the ball. The Browns have speed, and they have a lot of it defensively. With the Browns having to potentially go through quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Patrick Mahomes en route to a Super Bowl, the front office made it a priority to add speed to the defense.

With that speed that the Browns added this offseason, there should be an added dimension that a lot of defenses don’t have: the Browns are built to stop the dual-threat quarterbacks. This is going to pay huge dividends, and the Browns have already shown this earlier this year. The Browns are not going to stop Murray fully, but they can definitely slow him down.

They will need to keep him in the pocket and make check-down throws. The Cardinals' offense has been really good when Murray is out of pocket making plays. The Cardinals receivers are really good at finding space when the play breaks down, and that has been one big play opportunity that they have capitalized on. The Browns will need to keep Murray in the pocket to keep those plays at a minimum this week.

The Browns are well set to slow down Murray, and I think that they are going to be able to do it. Murray is very dynamic, but he is not unlike anything the Browns have seen over the years. Look for the Browns' defense to really dictate the game.