CLEVELAND — Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes as the Arizona Cardinals remained the NFL’s only unbeaten team and continued their best start since 1974 — without coach Kliff Kingsbury on Sunday — with a 37-14 win over the battered, reeling Cleveland Browns.
The Cardinals (6-0) built a 20-0 lead in the first half and kept their perfect record intact despite not having Kingsbury or star linebacker Chandler Jones, who both tested positive for covid-19 this week.
Murray connected with DeAndre Hopkins for two TDs, and Arizona’s shifty quarterback came up with a clutch play whenever the Cardinals needed one.
The Browns (3-3) have lost two straight under coach Kevin Stefanski for the first time, and Cleveland has bigger concerns, most notably to a growing list of major injuries. The latest was to running back Kareem Hunt, carted to the locker room in the fourth quarter with a calf injury.
Cleveland was already missing star running back Nick Chubb (calf), and the Browns, who host Denver on Thursday night, played without both their starting offensive tackles.
Also, quarterback Baker Mayfield appeared to reinjure his left shoulder and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. briefly left with a shoulder issue. Mayfield committed three turnovers: two fumbles and an interception.
The Browns were trailing 23-14 when Cardinals star defensive end J.J. Watt chased down Mayfield and forced a fumble by sweeping out the QB’s legs. Mayfield stayed down for several minutes — with Watt kneeling nearby — and was twice examined in the medical tent, but stayed in.
After his fumble, Murray made the Browns pay by throwing a 9-yard pass to a wide-open Hopkins to put the Cardinals ahead 30-14.
Later, Hunt was not targeted on a pass play and the bruising back crumpled to the ground without contact. He was unable to put any weight on his leg while being assisted to the sideline.
Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry could return Thursday. The five-time Pro Bowler missed his fourth game with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
