Can you lose a game in the first quarter?
Not when Russell Wilson is your starting quarterback. The fact that the Browns couldn’t take two steps without either shooting themselves in the foot or shooting off at the mouth certainly didn’t hurt the Seahawks, either.
Hawks 32, Browns 28: 710 reacts | Dissly hurt | Hawks survive slow start
Seattle beat the Cleveland Browns 32-28 on Sunday, though it might be more accurate to say that the Seahawks refused to beat themselves. That was something the Browns certainly couldn’t say after letting a 14-point lead early in the second quarter pretty much evaporate by halftime.
Russell Wilson rushed for one touchdown, threw for two more scores and still has not been intercepted this season. Compare that to the Browns, whose quarterback Baker Mayfield was picked off three times, including once in the Seattle end zone. Running back Nick Chubb also lost a fumble and the Browns had a punt blocked, leading to a Seattle field goal.
It was not a particularly clean game, the two teams called for 19 penalties between them. It wasn’t a particularly well-coached game given the way timeouts were wasted and scoring opportunities were flubbed. And Seattle won its third straight road game to start this season – the first time the Seahawks have started 3-0 on the road since the 1980s – despite forcing the Browns to punt only twice all game.
In fact, Seattle seemed in danger of getting blown out early on, which was a surprise considering how overwhelmed the Browns were in a blowout loss in San Francisco on Monday. But six days after managing only three points in that 31-3 loss to the 49ers, the Browns scored a touchdown on each of their first three possessions. When Mayfield completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Ricky Seals-Jones on the first play of the second quarter, the Browns had scored three touchdowns on their three possessions and totaled 190 yards of total offense.
The Browns had nine more possessions in the game but they scored only once more. Four of those possessions ended in turnovers, including a pass from Mayfield that was picked off by Seattle safety Tedric Thompson in the end zone in the final 2 minutes of the first half.
Meanwhile all Wilson did was continue what has been a nearly perfect start to this season. The throws he made were impressive as he completed 23 of the 33 passes he attempted for 295 yards and two touchdowns, both to receiver Jaron Brown. The mistakes Wilson didn’t make were just as important, as six games into this season Wilson has yet to be intercepted.
He has thrown 207 straight regular-season passes without being intercepted, a string that goes back to last season and has broken his own franchise record.
The Seahawks simply refused to beat themselves on Sunday. And against this Browns team, that was enough.
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Recap: Seahawks grind out 32-28 win over Browns
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