By nature of playing their Week 5 game on a Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks have enjoyed somewhat of a mini-bye week. Following their extended rest, the Seahawks are back and ready to take on their Week 6 opponent, the Cleveland Browns.
Going into the season the Browns were, astonishingly, a very trendy pick for the playoffs. Not even two years removed from a historically terrible 0-16 season, there was legitimate hope the long-suffering Browns. With the emergence of quarterback Baker Mayfield, a dominant ground attack led by Nick Chubb, and the acquisition of star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., things were starting to look good for Cleveland.
Then reality hit with a 43-13 home loss in Week 1 to the Titans. Instead of being one of the most exciting teams this year, Cleveland has become easily the most hot and cold squad in the league.
They are either winning blowouts, such as their 23-3 and 40-25 wins over the Jets and Ravens, respectively, or they are losing by similar deficits – most recently being dominated 31-3 by the 49ers. Their closest game all year was a 20-13 home loss to Los Angeles.
Cleveland has been plagued by a horrendous offensive line, concerning regression by Baker Mayfield, and a first-year head coach who seems a little over his head.
All this should suggest a dominant Seahawks victory over the rudderless 2-3 Browns, especially with Seattle coming off an explosive win over the previously undefeated Rams. Well, perhaps not so fast.
Prediction: Seahawks over Browns 26-24
The Seahawks are the better team, but Cleveland is far more desperate, and desperation is a powerful tool in the NFL.
A season filled with promise is now on the verge of spiraling out of control. Should the Browns lose on Sunday, they will fall to 2-4 with back-to-back road trips to New England and Denver. Then they will be home against the Bills, who field one of the best defenses in the league. In short, 2-3 could very quickly turn into 2-7, all but eliminating Cleveland’s postseason aspirations in a very winnable division.
The Seahawks always struggle when traveling to the east coast for early games. Even in the Week 2 win over the Steelers, Seattle still limped into the half down 10-7.
This will be Seattle’s first trip back to Cleveland since a 6-3 loss in 2011. While this Seahawks team is considerably better, especially since they won’t be starting Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, it just goes to show Seattle’s east coast struggles have lingered for years under coach Pete Carroll.
However, Russell Wilson is playing his best football ever and is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season. With Wilson playing at such a high level, it is hard to bet against him at this time. Expect the Browns to keep it very close with their playmakers – Mayfield, Chubb and Beckham – taking advantage of a suspect Seahawks defense, but Wilson pulling it out with some late magic.
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