The Seattle Seahawks fly back across the country in Week 7 to take on the Cleveland Browns. Strangely enough, these two teams are still in legitimate playoff contention in their respective divisions despite less than stellar play.
Both teams enter at 2-3, and a loss could send them spiraling downward rather quickly in their chase for the postseason.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has to rally his team coming off a bye week while Browns coach Pat Shurmur needs to rally his team from their second straight defeat.
If either team wants to prove itself as a possible postseason contender, this is a game they must win.
The Browns, being at home, hold a slight advantage but this game will be ugly and likely come down to the final quarter of play.
Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
When: Sunday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. EST
Watch: FOX. DirecTV 710.
Listen: Seahawks - 710 AM ESPN / 97.3 FM KIRO Sirius 113. Browns - WMMS 100.7 FM, WTAM 1100 AM, Sirius 85.
Live Streaming: NFL.com Audio Pass ($29.99 for year, $27.99 team specific, $9.99 a month)
Betting Line: Browns -3
What's At Stake?
Measuring stick/playoff implications. These two teams are a prime example of young, inexperienced clubs looking to make name for themselves.
While Seattle won their division and a postseason game a year ago, they were 7-9 in the regular season and can can count themselves as one of the luckiest division winners in recent memory.
The Browns, on the other hand, were tough but didn't win many games.
This year the two teams have made strides, but are slightly stuck in neutral until they add a few more pieces.
These two teams are very similar in the sense that they can play great and beat almost anybody on any given Sunday, but they are prone to completely awful games as well.
Winning a game like this is a must if either wants to be taken seriously this year.
Seahawks Injury Report
Marcus Trufant, CB - Back issues. (Out for season)
Tarvaris Jackson, QB - Dealing with pec tear. (Questionable)
Browns Injury Report
Peyton Hillis, RB - Missed practice Wednesday with hamstring issue. (Questionable - not expected to play)
Joe Haden, CB - Dealing with a knee injury and is expected to miss one-to-two more weeks (Week-to-Week)
Scott Fujita, OLB - Concussion symptoms forced him out of practice. (Week-to-Week)
Fantasy Start 'Em, Sit' Em and Sleeper
Start - Colt McCoy, QB, Browns
Cleveland continues to throw the football, and it appears as if Peyton Hillis will miss his this game. The last time the Seahawks defense was on the field, it gave 420 yards to Eli Manning and the Giants.
With Seattle's best cornerback (Marcus Trufant) out for the season and the Browns relegated to using their No. 2 running back, McCoy is going to have to chuck the rock.
He hasn't been turning the ball over so far this year (three interceptions) and he should throw for some big yards against the Seahawks.
Sit - Sidney Rice, WR, Seahawks
The former Vikings receiver hasn't been healthy all year, but he hasn't been impressive when on the field either.
Undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin is the team's leading receiver, and with Tarvaris Jackson questionable for this week's game there is not much to expect from Rice.
He really shouldn't be in the lineup to begin with, but if you're considering him then you need to stop.
Sleeper - Montario Hardesty, RB, Browns
Hardesty is well known among Peyton Hillis owners, but to everyone who avoided the Madden-cursed star, Hardesty is the real deal.
He hasn't been given a ton of opportunities just yet, but he's capable of making plays out of the backfield and will only get better the more snaps he receives.
Seattle gave up nearly 50 yards receiving to Giants running back's in their Week 5 win, and Hardesty can do even better than that if in the game with the pass-happy McCoy.
What They're Saying
The Seattle Times talked about how the Browns have been throwing the football a lot more than expected:
The Browns offense is well-armed as it prepares to host Seattle on Sunday. It has to be considering all the times Cleveland has passed the ball this year in what amounts to a Seismic shift in offensive tendencies under first-year coach Pat Shurmur ... The Browns are averaging 81.6 yards rushing, making them one of only three teams in the league whose ground game has been less productive than Seattle's so far this season.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, also discussed the Browns' passing attack, cited Coach Shurmur's desire for Colt McCoy to play better, writing:
Shurmur said that quarterback Colt McCoy "needs to play better" and complete passes for the offense to work. He cited fundamentals as the main reason for McCoy's inaccuracy, and insisted McCoy was not losing confidence.
McCoy just needs to slow down a bit. He's played well at times, but has made silly mistakes in fundamentals as well. Fortunately, that hasn't resulted in many turnovers so far and Shurmur doesn't want that to change.
Seahawks Player to Watch: Chris Clemons, DE
If you watched the Giants game you may have noticed that Chris Clemons was in the backfield on nearly every snap.
He recorded three tackles and two sacks in the game, and was disruptive force for all four quarters.
McCoy has only been sacked nine times so far this year and the Seahawks only have eight sacks on the year.
That means one quarter of their sacks so far this season came in the last game alone and Clemons owns 50 percent (four sacks) of their total for the season.
Browns Player to Watch: Colt McCoy, QB
If the Browns are going to take the next step forward, and do it as a passing team, then McCoy has to be the one to lead them. As stated earlier, he's been efficient with the football but he has to better.
If Shurmur is going to let him rip 35 to 45 times per game, then he needs to be more accurate with the football and understand when and where to go with it.
The Browns have a big opportunity in front of them with this game, and it will be up to McCoy to make the most of it.
Key Matchup: Seahawks secondary vs. Colt McCoy
Seattle gives up nearly 270 yards per game in the air and should expect to see McCoy get after them. The Seahawks have been relatively stout against the run and the Browns certainly haven't shown enough ability to challenge that.
In their Week 5 win over New York, Seattle forced three interceptions out of Eli Manning.
He also threw three touchdowns, but they made the big plays when it mattered most.
If Colt McCoy plans on throwing the ball around his yard then Seattle needs a similar, turnover-forcing performance.
A lot of that will start up front with Chris Clemons and the defensive line, but the defensive backs must capitalize if/when McCoy makes a mistake.
On the Hotseat: Seattle QBs
Whoever gets the start against the Browns (a healthy Jackson or No. 2 option Whitehurst) will have a lot to prove.
Carroll has said that Jackson is his guy, but if Whitehurst leads the Seahawks to their second straight win, then all bets are off.
The man may be noted more for his hair than his playing ability, but he was the quarterback on the field when the Seahawks earned a playoff berth last season.
Should he upend the Browns in Cleveland, it will bring about an interesting situation.
As for Jackson, if he takes the field he needs to show that it is his team and that he can win games too.
Either way, lining up under center for Seattle comes with a hot seat.
Prediction: Browns 21, Seahawks 20
Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle Lars Eller Hal Gill John Madden
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