Season of Boom

[Baze]

// Personal accolades 'not a focus' for Geno Smith
// BY VALERIE OLSON

RENTON, Wash. - Geno Smith is no stranger to personal success. His accolades go back to his college football days when he played for the West Virginia Mountaineers. He owns 71 - yes 71 - school records, including:

• Career passing touchdowns (98)
• Total offense in a career (12,004)
• Passing yards in a career (11,662)
• Pass attempts in a career (1,465)
• Pass completions (45), yards (656), and touchdowns (8) in a game

In addition, Smith also established the NCAA season record for the most pass attempts without an interception at 272.

However, that doesn't mean the veteran quarterback gets caught up in it.

In his second season as the Seahawks' starting quarterback, Smith has elevated his game to new levels in the first half of the 2023 season. But immediate after the former second round pick set a career-high 432 passing yards and 4 touchdowns in the Seahawks' loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Smith had no clue that he just registered new personal bests - he was more focused on the scoreboard. The loss dropped the Seahawks to 4-2 on the season, and he knows that in the NFC West, you can't give any teams a window of opportunity. The San Francisco 49ers are right behind them with a 3-3 record.

Smith's current focus: getting the Seahawks back into the playoffs.

"We still have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be, so things like this...although it's a nice accomplishment...they don't really matter. What matters is who has the most points at the end of the 4th quarter and I'm ready to get back in the film room and the football field and do what I can to help my team win each week."

The Seahawks have a chance to bounce back from the NFC West loss when they host the Cleveland Browns, who won their first game of the season this past Sunday.

In Other News...

• Tariq Woolen was spotted practicing with the first team earlier this week, suggesting that he is on schedule to play against the Browns.
• Wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge is expected to make his season debut after missing the first 7 games due to suspension.

[Baze]

*Note current team rankings may not be truly reflected due to bye week

// Week 8 Preview: Cleveland Browns
// BY JEANIE ROTH

SEATTLE, Wash. - Seattle enters Week 8 focused on picking up a win against the Cleveland Browns after losing a close battle to the Arizona Cardinals last week at Lumen Field.

Browns Statistical Leaders

• QB Deshaun Watson: 1,204 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, 6 interceptions
• HB Nick Chubb: 390 yards, 3 touchdowns
• WR Donovan Peoples-Jones: 398 yards, 2 touchdowns
• LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: 53 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception

Cleveland's high expectations going into this season have been met with loss after loss, starting the season 0-6. However, the Browns picked up their first win last week in a 24-16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, totaling 424 yards of offense. They'll look to pick up win number 2 in Seattle and breathe some life into a season that's nearly half way complete.

The Browns have been unable to find any consistency on offense, ranking 30th in yards per game. Wide receiver Amari Cooper, who logged 1,160 yards and 9 touchdowns last season, has just 192 yards through 7 games this year. Similarly, running back Nick Chubb has 390 rushing yards through 7 contests, which is an average of under 60 yards per game. That's a stark contrast to last year's numbers when he finished 3rd in the NFL with 1,525 yards. Opportunities to jump start an anemic offense may be seen against Seattle, who come into this game ranking in the lower half of the NFL in yards and points allowed. Seattle has allowed their opponents to score 30+ points in 5 consecutive games.

Likewise, facing the Browns offense gives Seattle an opportunity to gain some footing defensively. Otherwise, it may be up Geno Smith and the Seattle offense to carry the Seahawks to their 5th win of the season.

Things to Watch For

• Like Arizona, can Cleveland come to Lumen Field and steal another win from the Seahawks?
  It's a different team but the same dynamic - the Cleveland Browns are coming off their first win of 2023 and looking to build a winning streak to gain some much needed traction as they're already way behind in the race for the AFC North and the playoffs, but on paper this team has the makings of a playoff roster with Deshaun Watson, Chubb, Cooper, Myles Garrett, and plenty of more weapons. We saw the Seahawks get blind-sided by a 1-win Cardinals team last week, and they're hoping to avoid the same fate against the 1-win Browns this week.

[Baze]

WEEK 8: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS vs. CLEVELAND BROWNS
Lumen Field // Seattle, WA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT || FINAL
CLE (1-7) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 || 24
SEA (5-2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6 || 30
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Geno Smith followed up a career performance with another impressive outing, throwing for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns.

// Smith does it again, throws for 411 yards as Seahawks need overtime to beat Browns
SEATTLE, Wash. - The Seahawks needed every bit of Geno Smith for a second straight game as he was able to will the Seahawks to a 4th quarter comeback that was capped off with an overtime win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Smith came into this season having yet thrown for 400 yards in a game in his career. He now has two - the veteran followed up a 432-yard performance last week with a 411-yard game this week to go along with 3 touchdowns. His final completion found tight end Will Dissly for the game-winning touchdown, who finished with 2 touchdown catches.

The Seahawks scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to take the game to an additional quarter. The scoring started when Smith found D.K. Metcalf for his 6th touchdown of the season, matching last year's total. Zach Charbonnet gave the Seahawks a brief lead with a 5-yard rushing score under the 4-minute mark. Things were looking bleak for the Seahawks after Deshaun Watson found David Njoku for a touchdown with just 25 seconds remaining to give the Browns a 24-21 lead. However, Smith and the Seahawks' offense somehow managed to take the ball down the field - a 37 yard pass to Metcalf followed by a 33 yard pass to Tyler Lockett in 20 seconds - for a chance at a game-tying field goal.

Jason Myers, who has struggled in the past 2 weeks with field goals and extra points, successfully drilled the 35-yard game-tying field goal. The Seahawks would go on to win the coin flip in overtime and go down the field to end the game.

Seattle's defensive gameplan looked quite different this week compared to their first 6 games - it was evident that defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt wanted his defense to generate more pressure on the quarterback, as the Seahawks drew up a multitude of blitz packages out of the nickel and dime formations. As a result, Seattle managed to sack Watson 6 times to tie a season-high. Hurtt is hoping that the 5+ man pass rush can force opposing quarterbacks into more mistakes. And while that didn't happen today - Watson completed 91 percent of his passes - it did force the quarterback to get the ball out of his hand much faster for short yardage pickups. The Browns finished with 215 passing yards, which is a season-low for the Seahawks. Nick Chubb, however, dictated the ground game with his 120 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Seahawks may need to rely on Smith even more in the coming weeks as Kenneth Walker III's health is in question following a hard hit from Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. in the 4th quarter that knocked Walker III out for the remainder of the contest. He was seen needing the help of trainers to get back to the locker room. The Seahawks' number one running back is scheduled to receive x-rays tomorrow. He finished with 88 yards on the ground before leaving the game and being replaced by the rookie Charbonnet and Deejay Dallas.

Seattle's 5th win may have come at the cost of losing their top rusher, and they are likely to be without him next week when they face the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens on the road.

Scoring Summary

• 1st Quarter
  [CLE] Nick Chubb, 2-yard run (D. Hopkins kick) [7:38]
  [SEA] Will Dissly, 5-yard pass from Geno Smith (J. Myers kick) [2:36]

• 2nd Quarter
  [CLE] Dustin Hopkins, 40-yard field goal [3:06]

• 3rd Quarter
  [CLE] Deshaun Watson, 4-yard run (D. Hopkins kick) [10:56]

• 4th Quarter
  [SEA] D.K. Metcalf, 13-yard pass from Geno Smith (J. Myers kick) [11:47]
  [SEA] Zach Charbonnet, 5-yard run (J. Myers kick) [3:29]
  [CLE] David Njoku, 2-yard pass from Deshaun Watson (D. Hopkins kick) [0:25]
  [SEA] Jason Myers, 35-yard field goal [0:00]

• Overtime
  [SEA] Will Dissly, 3-yard pass from Geno Smith [3:42]

Notable Player Stats

• Cleveland Browns (1-7)
  Deshaun Watson, QB: 21 of 23 (91%), 215 yards, TD (120.1 passer rating), sacked 6 times // 7 carries, 32 yards, TD
  Nick Chubb, HB: 19 carries, 120 yards, TD
  Amari Cooper, WR: 4 receptions, 59 yards
  David Njoku, TE: 5 receptions, 56 yards, TD
  Rodney McLeod Jr., S: 15 tackles, TFL
  Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB: 14 tackles, TFL, 1 sack
  Anthony Walker Jr., LB: 11 tackles, TFL
  Denzel Ward, CB: 8 tackles, TFL

• Seattle Seahawks (5-2)
  Geno Smith, QB: 31 of 48 (64%), 411 yards, 3 TD (112.4 passer rating)
  Kenneth Walker III, HB: 22 carries, 88 yards (left game in 4th quarter)
  Zach Charbonnet, HB: 13 carries, 35 yards, TD
  D.K. Metcalf, WR: 9 receptions, 114 yards, TD
  Tyler Lockett, WR: 4 receptions, 93 yards
  Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR: 7 receptions, 91 yards
  Will Dissly, TE: 5 receptions, 53 yards, 2 TD
  Jamal Adams, S: 13 tackles, TFL
  Jordyn Brooks, LB: 9 tackles, TFL, 1 sack
  Julian Love, S: 5 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks
  Uchenna Nwosu, LB: 3 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks

[Soapy]

chuck and duck offense

[Captain Canada]

Offense is really starting to turn it up now after that Arizona loss. Good stuff slipping past Cleveland.

[Baze]

// Broken ribs to keep Kenneth Walker III out at least 1 month
// BY CORDELL BRANDT

RENTON, Wash. - Seattle will be without their top rusher Kenneth Walker III for the foreseeable future after x-rays revealed that the running back broke several ribs in his team's 30-24 overtime win against the Cleveland Browns.

It's a tough loss for the league's number one offense, which has turned to Walker III to lead the 6th-best rushing attack in football. In his second season, the running back has rushed for 686 yards (3rd in NFL) and 7 touchdowns (tied for 4th) while averaging 5 yards per carry. His 227 yards after contact rank him 1st in the league. He's also added 15 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

His injury opens up the Seahawks backfield to running backs Zach Charbonnet and DeeJay Dallas. Seattle also recently activated rookie Kenny McIntosh from injured reserve and may be asked to provide additional support. The all-purpose back has shown the ability to both run and catch the football during his time at the University of Georgia.

Charbonnet, the second round pick from UCLA, has had limited success on the ground this season. He has recorded 192 yards and 3 touchdowns in Seattle's 7 games and has occasionally flashed his power, breaking 8 tackles so far this season. Dallas has toted the rock just 11 times this season for 40 yards and has mainly been utilized as a kick returner.

The Seahawks could plausibly turn to free agency for further experience and depth, with Kareem Hunt, Leonard Fournette, James Robinson, former Seahawk J.D. McKissic, and many more still looking to land on an NFL roster. However, the coaching staff - particularly offensive coordinator Shane Waldron - has expressed confidence in the backfield in spite of Walker III's injury.

"For Zach and Kenny, it's an opportunity to grow, and DeeJay has been with the team long enough to know that we have a "next man up" mentality."

The Seahawks are no strangers to running back injuries. In recent years, the team has seen leading rushers Chris Carson (now retired) and Rashaad Penny go down with significant injuries, forcing Dallas and others to take on heavier workloads.

Seattle is preparing to face the Baltimore Ravens this week in what could be wet conditions, which may force them to favor running the football over passing it despite Geno Smith's hot streak.

[The JZA]

Geno

[Soapy]

Deejay Dallas time

[Baze]

Geno

Red hot

Deejay Dallas time

[Baze]

I'll throw in a standings update after this next game.