The Seahawks looked like they were going to get run out of Cleveland after the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Browns. Instead, Russell Wilson carried the offense to a big day despite the loss of their top tight end and the defense came up with their biggest turnover day since 2017 to steal away a 32-28 win against the Browns.
Seattle is now 5-1.
The win came with one glaring negative as tight end Will Dissly appears to be out for the year due to an Achilles injury. That will leave Seattle scrambling a bit in the coming days as they look to fill that massive void moving forward.
Russell Wilson completed 23 of 33 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson wasn't intercepted for a sixth straight game and scored on a 16-yard rushing touchdown as well as he continues to play like a possible league MVP candidate. With a 117.6 passer rating against the Browns, Wilson has posted a 100-plus passer rating in all six games this season The only two players with more such games to start a season in the Super Bowl era were Tom Brady (8) in 2007 and Aaron Rodgers (12) in 2011 Both won NFL MVP that season, per NFL Research.
Wilson leads the league in passer rating with a 124.7 mark through six weeks. Rodgers holds the record for a single season with 122.5 in 2011.
Wilson's two touchdown passes both came to Jaron Brown. The first touchdown came as Wilson took a big hit from linebacker Joe Schobert. However, Wilson still managed to lay a perfect strike from 17 yards out to pull Seattle to within two at 20-18 just before halftime. His second touchdown pass gave the team the lead in the third quarter as Wilson bought time and found Brown with a dart of a throw for a 6-yard score.
Chris Carson also posted his third straight 100-yard rushing game with a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
All of this was accomplished with George Fant starting at left tackle for Duane Brown and Jamarco Jones at right guard for D.J. Fluker.
Here are the takeaways from Seattle's win over the Browns.
-- Will Dissly injury leaves large hole at tight end
The Seahawks lost Will Dissly - likely for the season - due to an Achilles injury sustained in the second quarter. DIssly collapsed with a non-contact injury and was immediately ruled out by the Seahawks and needed two trainers to assist him getting to the sideline.
"He did hurt his Achilles. We don't have the final (word) on it but it's a serious one," Carroll said.
Achilles tears are season-ending injuries, which would be a big blow for Seattle's offense. Dissly has been a huge part of the team's offense through the first five games of the season, both as a blocker and receiver. He caught 23 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns in the first five games of the season. He was injured on his only target of the game against the Browns.
The team promoted Jacob Hollister from the practice and have Luke Willson available after re-signing him three weeks ago. Additionally, Ed Dickson is on injured reserve and could be designated to return. While unable to play until after two more weeks have passed, Dickson could return to practice as soon as this week.
But the Seahawks may still need more help in the interim. Wes Saxton and Jackson Harris were both with Seattle in training camp and could become short-term options until Dickson is available to return. Saxton and Harris are both currently free agents.
"It's a big loss," Carroll said. "He has been playing great football. If you saw him, he was running in the open field and it just happened like Achilles (injuries) do. They come out of nowhere. It's really a devastating injury for him for this season.
"It's just unfortunate that he's going to miss this deal here if the tests come through like we think they will."
-- Turnovers helped salvage an early flood against Seahawks defense.
For the first time in over a decade, the Seahawks allowed touchdowns on each of their opponent's first three opening drives to being a game.
For the first time in over three decades, the Seahawks forced four turnovers and blocked a punt in the same game to help make up the difference.
The Cleveland Browns raced out to early lead against Seattle, amassing 194 yards of offense and scoring three touchdowns to take a 20-6 lead in the first 15 minutes and six seconds of the game. A big return on the opening kickoff and explosive plays allowed to Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb and Ricky Seals-Jones made Seattle's defense look overmatched.
The Seahawks had not allowed three straight touchdown drives to open a game since the Dallas Cowboys accomplished the task on Nov. 27, 2008 as Martellus Bennett, Marion Barber and Jason Witten combined for three touchdowns in three drives. The Seahawks would lose that game 34-9.
But the rest of this game fell far more in the Seahawks' favor. The final nine possessions of the game by Cleveland: Blocked punt, Interception, End of Half, Fumble, Punt, Turnover on Downs, Touchdown, Interception, Interception.
Forcing at least four turnovers and blocking a punt in the same game hasn't happened for Seattle since Nov. 15, 1987. The Seahawks forced five turnovers and blocked a punt in a 24-13 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Tedric Thompson, Tre Flowers and K.J. Wright all intercepted passes -- two on deflected footballs -- while Ziggy answer punched the ball free of the grasp of Chubb and recovered the fumble himself. Wright's interception on a ball that slipped through the hands of Dontrell Hilliard helped seal the win for Seattle as the Browns didn't touch the football again on offense.
The Browns still gained 406 yards of offense, Chubb rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and Odell Beckham caught six passes for 101 yards. The defense has issues it still needs to sort out, but they rallied from a bad start to make key plays necessary to overcome the early deficit.
-- Seahawks pass rush is still a big problem.
One of those issues for the defense remains the pas rush, or rather the lack thereof.
The San Francisco 49ers sacked Baker Mayfield four times and hit him eight times in their win over the Browns last Monday night. The Seahawks recorded zero sacks and zero quarterback hits on Mayfield Sunday afternoon.
The only hit Mayfield took in the backfield came from Jadeveon Clowney, who was flagged for roughing the passer for lowering his helmet into Mayfield's sternum.
"Wasn't effective enough to get him down," Carroll said. "We've got to keep working at it. We're trying."
Clowney and Ziggy Ansah have not yet been able to provide the rush production the Seahawks have been hoping for. The likely return of Jarran Reed from suspension next week could be the spark needed to get the group going. However, the Seahawks are clearly not seeing enough success from their group as currently constructed.
Photo Credit: CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 13: Jaron Brown #18 of the Seattle Seahawks catches a third quarter touchdown in front of Joe Schobert #53 of the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)