Seahawks vs. Browns Final Score: Despite 4 touchdowns, 4 turnovers kill Cleveland’s chances in 32-28 loss

The Cleveland Browns enter the bye with with a 2-4 record after a 32-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. It was a back-and-forth, crazy game, but unfortunately, instead of being excited about the big plays, Cleveland fans can only bury their head in frustration. Four turnovers. Missed opportunities in the red zone again. And watching a terribly-officiated game. Ugh...let’s get to the recap.

The Browns got off to a great start to the game as RB Dontrell Hilliard took the opening kickoff 74 yards, down to the 23 yard line.

A few plays later, on 1st-and-goal from the 7 yard line, RB Nick Chubb got around the left edge untouched for a touchdown, giving the Browns a quick 7-0 lead.

QB Russell Wilson had the Seahawks marching with ease on their first drive, completing pass plays of 20 and 30 yards, the latter of which was a 30-yard catch-and-run by physical WR D.K. Metcalf. On 2nd-and-14 from the 16 yard line, Cleveland brought pressure, but the middle of the field parted wide open and Wilson took it himself for a touchdown. That made it 7-6, but K Jason Myers missed the extra point.

On the Browns’ next drive, WR Odell Beckham dropped a good third down pass from QB Baker Mayfield. On 4th-and-7 from the 38 yard line, Freddie Kitchens decided to go for it. With only a three-man rush, Mayfield was able to wait and fire the ball to WR Jarvis Landry for a 27 yard gain. Two plays later, much like Wilson’s touchdown run, Mayfield took it himself for a 10-yard score right up the middle to make it a 14-6 game.

Seattle was moving the ball fairly well on their next drive, but a sack by DE Myles Garrett forced a punt on the verge of field goal range. Chubb blew right up the middle for 52 yards to end the first quarter.

Then, on the first play of the second quarter, Mayfield found TE Ricky Seals-Jones wide open on the crossing route for a 29-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-6. The extra point was no good, with the wind possibly playing a factor (it was the same side that Myers missed from earlier).

The Seahawks got into field goal range on their next drive and eventually settled for a 38-yard field goal to make it a 20-9 game, but they appeared to lose TE Will Dissly for the game with an Achilles injury.

Cleveland had a third down drop by Beckham again on their next drive, leading to a three-and-out. P Jamie Gillan’s punt was then blocked, with Seattle recovering at the 20 yard line. The Browns’ defense tightened up down near the goal line, holding Seattle to a 20-yard field goal to make it a 20-12 game.

Mayfield tried to force feed the ball to Beckham for three straight plays on the next drive. One went for an 18-yard gain. The next one was double pumped on a quick slant and thrown off the hands of Beckham. On the next play, Beckham was bumped by a defender on the slant, and Mayfield still let the throw go for an interception. Fortunately, Seattle went three-and-out and had to punt.

Beckham made up for it on his next drive, throwing downfield for an acrobatic 41-yard catch by Beckham, who had to come back through the defender to make the catch.

Inside of two minutes, on 2nd-and-goal from the 8 yard line, Mayfield tried to zip a pass into Landry. The pass was a bit behind him and with the tight coverage, the ball was tipped and intercepted. Seattle capitalized with their own touchdown drive, cutting the lead to 20-18 with a 17-yard pass to WR Jaron Brown. The two-point try was no good, giving Cleveland a two-point lead at the half.

The Browns’ defense, led by another sack from DE Myles Garrett, forced Seattle into a quick punt to start the second half. They had pretty good field position and got into field goal range with a nice read-option pass to Beckham. But then, things went south — there was an offensive hold, and then Mayfield floated a screen pass to Chubb. Chubb caught it, but the high-floating nature set him up to be stripped by DE Ziggy Ansah for a fumble. Meanwhile, Mayfield went to the locker room for evaluation due to what looked like a hip injury.

Seattle marched right down the field. It looked like the Browns might hold the Seahawks to another field goal, but on third down, Wilson had all day to throw and ended up finding Brown open for a 6-yard touchdown. With 6:00 left in the third quarter, Seattle took their first lead of the game at 25-20.

Mayfield jogged back onto the field just before the previous touchdown to remain in the game. The drive was killed by an illegal blindside block penalty on Landry, but it was one of the worst calls you’ll ever see as there was nothing blindside about it.

A 61-yard punt by Gillan helped at least change the field position back into Cleveland’s favor. On 3rd-and-short, Seahawks RB C.J. Prosise fumbled and DE Devaroe Lawrence recovered.

The Browns got into field goal range with a roughing the passer call on their first play, followed by a couple of runs by Chubb leading into the fourth quarter to set up a 3rd-and-2 play. Cleveland had to take it to a fourth down, but Hilliard barely picked it up on a reception and stretch at the marker.

A wacky play then ensued when the Browns had 4th-and-goal from the 2 yard line and went for it. Seattle had a 12th defender running off the field, and Cleveland threw a quick slant to Landry. Landry caught it, but fumbled, and Cleveland recovered in the end zone. The officials said a fourth down fumble can’t be advanced, so Cleveland would get the ball at the 1 yard line. The Browns lined up to go for it, but then Kitchens challenged to say that Landry reached the end zone. The ruling on the field stood, so then the Browns had to go for it on fourth down again. And of course, the Seahawks stuffed Chubb for no gain (and his facemask was grabbed with another no-call).

The positive is that Cleveland’s defense forced a three-and-out with a loss of a yard. Seattle punted from their own end zone, and his punt only got to the 24 yard line. On the first play after taking over, Chubb bulldozed his way down to the 3 yard line. He punched it in on the next play to make it a 26-25 game. The Browns went for two, and Mayfield found TE Demetrius Harris for the conversion to give Cleveland a 28-25 lead with 9:02 to go in the game.

Wilson’s expert-level scrambling ability continued on the ensuing drive, taking Seattle down the field for conversion after conversion. However, they were aided with a horse collar tackle called on DE Olivier Vernon. A 15-yard catch by Lockett put the ball at 1st-and-goal at the 1 yard line. RB Chris Carson punched it in to give Seattle a 31-28 lead, and Myers made the all-important extra point to put Seattle up four at 32-28 with 3:30 to go in the game.

This was a chance for Mayfield to put together a game-winning drive, but it didn’t go that way. The first play was a nice gain by Chubb, but Greg Robinson was called for a hold. After a 5-yard dumpoff on 1st-and-20, Mayfield’s 2nd-and-15 pass to Hilliard was through his hands and intercepted by LB K.J. Wright.

Cleveland’s defense needed a stop, or the game would be over. On 3rd-and-7, Wilson completed a pass to Metcalf for a first down. The officials ruled it a catch, even though CB T.J. Carrie ripped the ball out. With no timeouts remaining, Cleveland couldn’t challenge. The Seahawks ran out the clock from there.

Cleveland needs to get a lot of stuff in order during the bye. They face the Patriots on the road in two weeks, and are currently two games out of the division lead as the Baltimore Ravens are 2-4.

Quick Hitters

• QB Baker Mayfield: 22-of-37 for 249 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT. 4 rushes, 35 yards, 1 TD.
• RB Nick Chubb: 20 carries, 122 yards, 2 TD. 5 catches, 17 yards (6 targets), 1 fumble.
• WR Odell Beckham: 6 catches, 101 yards (11 targets).
• DE Myles Garrett: 2 sacks.