CLEVELAND (4-2) at SEATTLE (4-2)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, FOX
BETTING LINE: Seahawks by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Cleveland 3-3; Seattle 4-2
SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 13-6
LAST MEETING: Seahawks beat Browns 32-28, Oct. 13, 2019, in Cleveland.
LAST WEEK: Browns beat Colts 39-38, Seahawks beat Cardinals 20-10.
BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (2), PASS (31), SCORING (15)
BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (7), PASS (1), SCORING (10)
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (20), PASS (13), SCORING (T-11)
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (6), PASS (21), SCORING (12)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Browns minus-6; Seahawks plus-1
BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: DE Myles Garrett. No NFL player on either side of the ball is currently playing at a higher level than Garrett. Last week, the All-Pro had perhaps the best performance of his career — nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, a batted down pass and blocked field goal when he hurdled the Indianapolis line.
SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR DK Metcalf. For the first time in his career, Metcalf was a spectator last week as hip and rib injuries forced him to watch the win over the Cardinals. Metcalf had played in the first 71 games of his career before being sidelined. It's been a challenging season for Metcalf, who has 22 catches and two touchdowns, but has seemed to gain more notoriety for his penalties than his catches.
KEY MATCHUP: Cleveland’s league-best pass defense faces a Seattle pass game that’s scuffled the past couple of weeks. The Seahawks were able to overcome a couple of mistakes by QB Geno Smith in the win over the Cardinals, but it’s two straight weeks where he hasn’t been at his sharpest. Cleveland’s pass defense gave up some chunk plays last week to Gardner Minshew and the Colts, but has held five of its six opponents to 200 yards or fewer through the air.
KEY INJURIES: Browns QB Deshaun Watson (shoulder) will miss his fourth game with a strained rotator cuff. Watson started last week, but clearly was compromised by the injury and lasted just 12 plays. Coach Kevin Stefanski said he kept Watson on the sideline to “protect our franchise quarterback.” ... Browns RB Jerome Ford is expected to miss two weeks with a sprained ankle. He had a 69-yard TD run last week. ... Seahawks DE Uchenna Nwosu is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a pectoral injury last week that will require surgery. ... RB Zach Charbonnet (hamstring), center Evan Brown (hip) and CB Artie Burns (hamstring) all have a chance of playing after missing last week.
SERIES NOTES: This will be just the third trip to the Pacific Northwest for the Browns since 1993. Seattle has won the past two games in the series, at home 30-13 in 2015 and in Cleveland 32-28 in 2019. The Browns' most recent win was 6-3 at home in 2011 — a forgettable day for anyone watching that game. ... Cleveland is just 3-8 in Seattle.
STATS AND STUFF: The Browns play their second straight road game in a stretch of five of seven games outside Cleveland. ... The Browns defense remains on top of the league in several statistical categories despite being gashed for 456 yards last week by the Colts. ... Cleveland leads the league in third down conversion (27.5%) and the Browns have allowed just 72 first downs, 27 fewer than second-place Dallas. ... Backup QB P.J. Walker will make his second start in place of Watson. Walker came off the bench last week led the Browns on a game-winning TD drive — helped by two questionable calls against the Colts — and capped by Kareem Hunt's 1-yard plunge with 15 seconds left. ... Walker has completed just 50% of his passes with zero TDs and 3 INTs, yet has done enough to help win the past two games. ... Ford's loss is another blow to Cleveland's running game, which has been in a state of repair since star Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. ... Browns K Dustin Hopkins is 7 for 7 beyond 50 yards. He's the first kicker in league history to make a kick of at least 50 yards in five straight games. Before this season, he was just 15 for 30 on kicks beyond 50 yards. ... Seahawks play two straight against the AFC North with next week's trip to Baltimore. ... QB Geno Smith threw two touchdowns last week, but also has thrown two red zone interceptions in the past two games. ... Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III rushed for a season-high 105 yards last week against Arizona. Walker topped 100 yards for the first time since Week 18 of last season. ... Rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a season-high 63 yards receiving and his first touchdown last week with Metcalf out. ... The Seahawks are allowing 3.49 yards per rush, third best in the league, and 87.2 yards per game rushing. Seattle ranked near the bottom of the league in both categories last season. ... Veteran DE Frank Clark signed back with the Seahawks this week to help absorb the loss of Nwosu. ... LB Jordyn Brooks had seven tackles, three tackles for loss and a half-sack in the second half last week against the Cardinals.
FANTASY TIP: If both defenses are playing up to their standards, this could be a low scoring game. Seattle K Jason Myers has made a field goal in 21 straight games, so he's likely to give you some points. Myers is 13 of 17 on kicks this season. Same goes for Hopkins, 16 of 18 in 2023.
___
AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
