Freddie Kitchens and his Cleveland Browns have their work cut out for them in Week 6. The Seattle Seahawks are one of the NFL’s best teams, racing out to a 4-1 record behind MVP candidate Russell Wilson at quarterback.
If the Browns are to even their record at 3-3 and regain some national credibility, they will need to play significantly better and smarter than they did in the humiliating Week 5 loss to the 49ers.
Here are four specific things the Browns can do to really help their chances to earn the victory over Pete Carroll’s visiting Seahawks.
Create a takeaway
This seems elementary, but it’s far easier said than done against Wilson. The veteran has thrown 12 touchdowns in five games but has yet to toss a single interception.
Wilson is arguably the best player in the NFL so far this season, but even the greats slip up from time to time. The (likely) return of Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams at cornerback should help the Browns chances to end Wilson’s impressive string of avoiding interceptions.
Wilson does fumble, however. Seattle has lost five fumbles on the season, three from Wilson. Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon should have opportunities to not only get sacks but also extract the football. The Browns could sorely use a short field or a defensive score off a takeaway.
Avoid the penalties
The Browns remain one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, and they have the worst penalty yardage differential of any team. Cleveland has given away 181 more yards in penalties than opponents have been penalized, the biggest discrepancy in the league.
Seattle, on the other hand, is in the middle of the pack at just minus-12. The visitors are 18th in total number of penalties, and they’re in the bottom 10 in penalties of more than 10 yards.
In short, the Seahawks don’t commit the crippling major penalties. The Browns are still doing it way too often. Simply not giving the Seahawks extra yards and downs will go a long way towards an upset win for Cleveland.
Get smart–and touchdowns–in the red zone
On a roster with Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, Baker Mayfield has thrown more targets in the red zone to Demetrius Harris and Damion Ratley than either of those two Pro Bowlers in the last three weeks.
There’s being cute and there’s being stupid, and the Browns have crossed that line in the red zone of late. Let the best players touch the ball when you need a play. Beckham has proven an amazing acrobat in the end zone, but the Browns haven’t tried to get him the ball there.
A few runs from Nick Chubb from a more spread formation with the safeties worried about the wideouts would be prudent, too. Chubb has received some attempts, but they’ve been predictable and into a stacked box.
This was an area where Mayfield and the Browns thrived in 2018. It was one of the reasons why many believe Freddie Kitchens got the head coaching job, for his creative ability to produce TDs. It has been missing in action in 2019.
Show resiliency in adverse times
One of the themes of the early season for Cleveland has been how easily mistakes keep compounding upon themselves. Every snowball seems to keep rolling into an avalanche that overwhelms the young team.
The Seahawks are a very good football team. They are going to make a dramatic touchdown, or force a turnover, or seize some momentum with a big play. The key for the Browns is to not get rattled by the adversity.
These Browns, and their coaches, must realize the game is not won or lost on one play. Show some resiliency when something bad happens and those key plays will only be snowballs, not boulders of snow crashing down the mountain of momentum.
