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For about 58 minutes it looked as if the Seahawks were taking this whole “’90s throwback” thing just a bit too literally as a day that began with great expectations appeared set to end in bitter disappointment.
But then the Seahawks made the kind of game-changing play in the final minutes they have more often than not in the Pete Carroll era — Julian Love’s interception off Jamal Adams’ helmet tip — to steal a win from the Cleveland Browns, 24-20.
“Our team is such a scrappy team,” quarterback Geno Smith said. “We find a way to win no matter what.”
And while you can question the artistry of Sunday’s victory, in an NFL in which only one team has fewer losses than the two of the Seahawks — the 7-1 Eagles — that’s all that ultimately really matters.
On to the grades.
Quarterback
For a quarter, this looked like the Geno Smith redemption game following a couple spotty outings as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 136 yards and one TD in the first 15 minutes. Smith was then just 11-for-18 for 61 yards, no TDs and two interceptions until the final drive, when he was 4-for-5 for 57 yards and a TD. So do four good series a good game make? It’s worth remembering Russell Wilson had an awful lot of games like this, too. The interceptions are obviously too many — Smith has six in seven games after throwing 11 in 17 games last year. But making the plays when they count goes a long way in the NFL.
Grade: B-minus
Running back
What a weird day running the ball it was for Seattle, which finished with just 13 attempts from its running backs out of 55 offensive plays. But the backs made them count — Kenneth Walker had an early 45-yarder to set up a score, and Zach Charbonnet, who mostly seemed to play as the third-down back, had 53 yards on five carries. The only real complaint Sunday was that they didn’t get the ball enough.
Grade: B
Receiver
DK Metcalf had one of the stranger days of his career with five receptions but on a whopping 14 targets. A 43-yarder, though, set up an early Seattle field goal. And then he made the key block to spring Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the winning TD. Tyler Lockett shook off a sore hamstring of late to turn in one of his best games of the season with eight receptions on nine targets for 81 yards and a TD — and no catch bigger than a 7-yarder that got the final drive going. Smith-Njigba had the game-winner at the end, though he appeared to run the wrong route on what was almost a disastrous pick-six in the third quarter. Jake Bobo continues to make big plays, as well.
Grade: B
Tight end
The Browns came into the game having allowed just 14 receptions for 101 yards to tight ends this season. Seattle got just two for 32, all from Noah Fant. But one was among the biggest plays of the game, a 27-yard catch and run on the final drive.
Grade: B
Offensive line
This figured to be as tough of a challenge as the Seattle offensive line would have all season going against a stout Cleveland front led by Myles Garrett. And Seattle responded as well as could have been hoped.
Smith was sacked just once and that was on a fourth-down when it seemed he could have gotten rid of the ball more quickly. He was hit just three times. The running game was obviously erratic. But that also might have been expected given how good the Browns are up front — and it might have helped had Seattle stuck with the run more consistently.
Jason Peters worked in some at right tackle in his first action as a Seahawk and appeared to hold up well enough. More vitally for Seattle’s long-term future, Anthony Bradford appears to be getting more comfortable each week at right guard, and Charles Cross appears to be rediscovering his form after the early season toe injury.
Grade: A-minus
Defensive line
There were times it seemed Cleveland was getting ready to take control of the game on the ground — and the Browns’ 155 yards were the most Seattle has allowed this season. But the Browns also needed 40 carries to get those yards and had no run of longer than 12. Twice in the fourth quarter, the defense came up with the key stop needed to keep Seattle in the game. Dre’Mont Jones quietly had a solid game with three tackles and three quarterback hits.
Grade: B
Linebacker
With Uchenna Nwosu out for the season, Seattle started Darrell Taylor and Boye Mafe at the outside linebacker spots. Each came up with one sack — for Mafe, his fifth straight game with one — as the Seahawks held the Browns to just two field goals in the second half. Frank Clark worked in the rotation in his first game back and had one tackle. Jordyn Brooks had the early strip sack that led to a Seattle touchdown, and Bobby Wagner was again steady with a team-high 13 tackles.
The one quibble is all those screen passes, responsibility for which falls mostly on the back end guys.
Grade: B-minus
Secondary
Seattle spent most of the game either in a three-safety set — with Quandre Diggs, Julian Love and Jamal Adams all on the field — or a nickel in which either Love or Adams was off the field and Seattle had three cornerbacks (Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon and Tre Brown). While the Browns got some yards, Seattle also forced P.J. Walker into two interceptions and a paltry 59.6 passer rating.
This felt like Adams’ best game yet with eight tackles, one for a loss, and the game-turning deflection at the end. Diggs had nine tackles and a subtly big play at one point when he sniffed out a trick play and didn’t bite and forced an incompletion. Riq Woolen had a critical illegal hands to the face penalty on Cleveland’s final drive before the interception saved the day. But Woolen also came up with his first interception of the season. Devon Witherspoon was statistically a little quieter with two tackles as his lone numbers. But the Browns also seemed to be staying away from him.
And Love made the game truly unforgettable.
Grade: B-plus
Special teams
Michael Dickson was forced to kick a season-high five punts and came through pretty big with a 54.8 average, two inside the 20, and 44.8 net. Jason Myers hit his only field goal attempt. Dee Eskridge reclaimed the kickoff return duties in his first game back and returned one for 24 yards.
Grade: B
Coaching
Had the Seahawks lost, not sticking with the run more might have been a significant talking point later — though as everyone noted later, Seattle’s early success passing and the inconsistency running made it make sense to keep throwing.
The decision to blitz Adams on the fateful third down is the kind of thing that either looks great or potentially disastrous. On this day it turned into one of the most successful calls Clint Hurtt has made in his two years as defensive coordinator.
In the big picture, this was yet another game where Carroll’s timeworn ability to get his team to just keep hanging around even when a lot of things seemed to be going wrong again paid off.
Grade: A-minus
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