SEATTLE — For the third week in a row, the undermanned Browns made it interesting. Unfortunately, their luck ran out on this Sunday.
Despite overcoming a 14-0 deficit, Cleveland fell in a heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks, 24-20. The Browns led by three with just two minutes left, but backup quarterback P.J. Walker was intercepted by Julian Love on a deflected throw, setting up a nine-yard touchdown throw from Geno Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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Cleveland had been playing with fire ever since Deshaun Watson's shoulder injury, barely winning their last two games before coming into Seattle as a slight underdog in Week 8. To his credit, Walker delivered his best performance with the team to date, throwing for 248 yards and a touchdown. Amari Cooper and David Njoku combined to catch 10 of those passes for 166 yards and a score, while the running game also tallied 155 yards and a Kareem Hunt TD.
However, Walker's flaws also reared their ugly head, first with a second-quarter pick with the Browns down 10 and deep in Seahawks territory. The big blow, though, came on third-and-3 with 2:04 to play, with Cleveland up 20-17 and hoping to run out the clock.
Kevin Stefanski called for a pass play, but Walker's throw bounced off the helmet of safety Jamal Adams. The ball sailed high in the air before landing in the hands of Love, giving Seattle possession at their own 43.
It took Geno Smith just six plays (as well as a Browns penalty) to find the end zone, as the former Ohio State star Smith-Njigba caught the ball short left and evaded tacklers to cross the goal line. Cleveland's normally solid defense left Seahawks receivers wide-open on the series, especially on a 27-yard toss to Noah Fant that put Seattle on the edge of taking the lead.
The Browns had one last chance to answer with 38 seconds left and two time outs, but Walker threw three incompletions and was also sacked by Darrell Taylor. With Watson still sidelined, Walker's otherwise solid performance was sullied by a rough 59.6 passer rating.
In a callback to their "Legion of Boom" days, the Seahawks (5-2) held Cleveland mostly in check, despite Seattle losing both the yardage and time of possession battle. Walker was sacked three times and his three turnovers (including a fumble) led to 14 points for the opposition.
By contrast, the Browns' defense struggled early, and Smith finished the afternoon with 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns. While Cleveland did recover to pick him off twice (including a Maurice Hurst grab that led to the go-ahead field goal in the third), they couldn't get the stop when it mattered on the final drive.
Still 4-3 on the year, the Browns will return home next Sunday to host the one-win Arizona Cardinals. Watson's status for the game remains up in the air.
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