Seahawks vs. Browns: 6 Things We Learned from Cleveland's 6-3 Win over Seattle

No, that's not a baseball score, hard as it is to believe. The Browns defeated the Seahawks 6-3 today, ironically winning the game purely on field goals despite having two of their attempts blocked.

In this low-scoring battle, we saw outstanding defense (mostly on the Browns' side), largely ineffective offense on both sides, unbelievable special teams gaffes, and a boatload of penalties (some legit, some not) that may have made a huge difference in the outcome. 

It wasn't a pretty win for the Browns, who made their fair share of errors and struggled on offense and special teams, but a win is a win, and the Browns' defense and some surprisingly smart play calls boosted the Browns to .500 on the season, while the troubled Seahawks fell to 2-4. 

Following are six things we learned in the Browns' defeat of the Seahawks this afternoon in Cleveland.

1. Injuries Hurt Both Squads, but the Browns Overcame Them Better

Just hours before kickoff this morning, the Browns looked to be at a huge disadvantage injury-wise, being without running back Peyton Hillis and facing off against a team who also had a great back in Marshawn Lynch. 

But then Cleveland caught a break (its first one ever, I'm convinced), and Lynch was scratched with a back injury sustained during pre-game warm-ups just minutes before the clock started. 

Losing Lynch and Hillis were blows to both offenses, but the Browns recovered better. Montario Hardesty did a fine job of stepping up and filling in as the primary back in place of Hillis, grinding out 95 yards on 33 carries, while Seahawks rushers posted just 65 yards total on 17 carries.

Neither team managed to produce a rushing touchdown (or for that matter, any touchdowns at all), but the Browns made their running game work despite being without Hillis, while the Seahawks' ground game was virtually stagnant. 

This is even more impressive when you consider that the Seahawks had one of the league's best run defenses (and the 18th-ranked defense overall) entering this game. 

Obviously, Hardesty and the Browns' running game as a whole paid off in terms of moving the football effectively. But it also paid off in terms of ball control and running the clock. Clearly, this game was way too close for comfort all the way to the end to really consider this some sort of mastermind strategy on time management, but it worked. 

In a way, the Browns played what I'll call sort of an "accidental ball control" strategy on offense. They crushed Seattle in time of possession (42:56 to 17:04), and it paid off. 

2. Battle of the Ineffective Offenses

I would imagine that, outside of Cleveland and Seattle's own fanbases, this was probably the least-watched NFL game in uh, the history of football. Unless there is a chance it produces a win for your own team, I'd put the chance that there's general NFL fan interest in watching a 6-3 game somewhere between zero and non-existent.

As Browns fans, we hate to complain too much about the lack of scoring, because a win is a win, whether you squeak it out with just six points or bludgeon someone with 46 points. 

But overall, what we really saw here was something that might be called "The Battle of the Ineffective Offenses."

Of course, much credit for the lack of scoring has to go to the great defense we saw today (more on this later), but it was still glaringly obvious that much of the reason behind the three-field goal contest wasn't about good defense; it was bad offense. Or at least unproductive offense. 

In the Browns' case, I'm hesitant to call it truly "bad." After all, they ran the ball productively against a great run defense, and well, they won. Perhaps "unproductive" is a fairer assessment for the Browns, and somewhere between that and actually "bad" would apply to the Seahawks. 

On the Browns' side, while the running game was on point, the passing game didn't exactly look great. McCoy did a decent job of doing what he could (including taking a horrible beating behind the line all day and gutting out a 13-yard run for a first down when he had to), so I don't have a ton of complaints about his performance. 

The receivers weren't great, but it's also important to remember that both Mohamed Massaquoi and Ben Watson left the game with head injuries, leaving the receiving corps depleted early.

One other encouraging thing I saw: Greg Little, despite not having put up huge numbers by any means, showed why the Browns wanted him so badly in the draft. We saw his vaunted reputation for picking up yards after a catch today, which proved both how much it has hurt the Browns not to have someone like him in the past and why such a skill is so valuable to an offense. 

3. How About That Dawg Defense?! Part One

Sure, the lack of scoring on Seattle's side of the ball had a lot to do with offensive failings, poor play calling, and penalties, but mostly, it was the result of the Browns playing a fantastic defensive game. 

I'm not even sure "fantastic" quite covers it. This was easily the team's best outing defensively all season, and also among the best defensive performances across the league in the first seven weeks of the 2011 NFL season.

The front seven was terrific all day long, with D'Qwell Jackson and Ahtyba Rubin leading the way, and Chris Gocong turning in a nice performance as well. The fumble Jackson recovered after the ball was batted out of Charlie Whitehurst's hands before he attempted to throw was, motivationally, a big key in this game.

And it further helped the Browns that Pete Carroll evidently needs a new copy of the NFL rule book, as he clearly didn't understand the empty hand rule and foolishly challenged the play, causing his team to lose a timeout in addition to possession. 

The Browns' front seven recorded three sacks and five QB hits on the day, stymied the Seattle running game, and came up huge in situations where the Browns absolutely needed to stuff the Seahawks and force them to punt.

How About That Dawg Defense?! Part Two

No matter how hard you try (and believe me, I have), you can never say enough good things about corner back Joe Haden, who (unbeknownst to most of the national media) has become one of the biggest game-changing corner backs in the league. 

It's become very clear that the Browns' secondary with Haden is a very different squad than the Browns' secondary without him. 

Obviously much of that is in the way Haden himself affects the game purely on his own, but when Haden was out last week against the Raiders, the rest of the secondary seemed to play more poorly as a group as well. 

The whole secondary looked better today. T.J. Ward finally woke up, logging five solo tackles including one that prevented a score that was particularly important, as well as one sack.

Sheldon Brown, who has struggled all season, looked worlds better today and even pulled down an interception. And my favorite underrated secondary player, safety Mike Adams, had a solid game and contributed nicely to the defense despite the fact that his efforts today aren't really the kind that show up in a box score. 

All in all, the secondary basically shut down Seattle's passing game, helped the front seven stop the run, and generally looked better than they have in a very long time.

5. In Spite of the Win, the Browns Were a Mess on Special Teams

It is truly strange that, in a game in which their special teams squad essentially won it for them with two field goals, the Browns still managed to come off as awful in that area overall. 

For the most part, this was the one part of the game in which the team played poorly, furthering the irony that this was also how they won it.

But they won't always be so lucky in that regard, so we have to point out what went wrong here in hopes that the Browns won't repeat these mistakes in another game when it will cost them a win. 

Obviously, the two blocked field goals were the biggest issue. To have one field goal blocked is disappointing and frustrating. To have two blocked is inexcusable. Especially when it's the same defender who blocks both of them. 

The Browns' blockers on special teams were just awful on both of these (as well as on the other field goal which, horrendously, was also almost blocked). Essentially, the Browns got just one of four field goals off cleanly today. This cannot continue to happen. It's preventable, inexcusable, and could have been tremendously costly. 

And then there was the play when Leon Washington returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown, only to have it called back for a penalty.

First, the blocking and tackling (or lack thereof) by the Browns on Washington's run was just horrendous. Second, the only reason that play didn't result in the game-winning touchdown was because the Browns got lucky. The penalty was a bad call; Washington's score should have stood. 

As Clevelanders, we'll take any lucky break we can because we get them so infrequently, but the fact is, it's not going to go that way most of the time. The Browns absolutely have to improve in this area. The next touchdown run-back like this one won't be called back. And it could be a game-changer, just as this one would have been.

6. Thanks for the Help Via Penalties, Seattle

And speaking of penalties...

The Browns were embroiled in yet another yellow flag-fest today, but unlike in several other games this season, this time they came out on the right end of it.

Without taking any credit away from the Browns' outstanding defensive performance today, it is important to recognize that in some ways, Seattle basically handed them this one, or at least set them up so that it was theirs for the taking.

As much as I hate to have to, I'll be the first to admit that Seattle got some bad penalty calls today. Can't feel too bad about it though, as being a member of one of the country's unluckiest fanbases means you take one back without complaint whenever you can. 

And beyond that, most of Seattle's penalties (there were eight for 68 yards) were indeed very legitimate. They played themselves out of this game by making preventable mistakes, and while we should give a nod to the football gods for gifting them with a little luck this week, the Browns don't need to apologize for taking advantage of an opponent's mistakes.

On the Browns' side, they're still not where they need to be in terms of cutting down on penalties (today they were flagged seven times for 48 yards). Luckily their infractions were less costly this time, so we're all free to enjoy the fact that for whatever errors the Browns made, well, Seattle screwed up more. 

Obviously, the Browns still need to work on keeping their penalty yardage down, but this week, they were the better team in terms of infractions, and thus the ones who earned a well-deserved win.