Seahawks Browns Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

This Sunday the Cleveland Browns are set to host the Seattle Seahawks in a battle of two teams trying to claw their way back to .500. The Browns dropped to 2-3 with a 17-24 loss at Oakland last week, giving them two straight losses after starting the season 2-1. The Seahawks come in off their bye week riding a wave of momentum. Seattle has won two of their last three, including a 36-25 win at New York in week 5.

Taking a look at the week 7 spreads, oddsmakers currently have Cleveland favored by 3-points over the Seahawks with the total set at 41.5 points.

Seattle Seahawks:

After starting the season with a couple of lopsided defeats against San Francisco and Pittsburgh, the Seahawks have really came on strong in their last three games. Their only loss during the stretch was a 28-30 loss at home to the Falcons. While the 49ers appear to have control of the NFC West, Seattle sits in second place just 2.5-games out of first.

Despite getting an extra week to recover from a pectoral injury suffered against the Giants, starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson will not be able to suit up against the Browns. While you hate to play without your starter, backup Charlie Whitehurst really played well in relief of Jackson against New York. Whitehurst went 11 of 19 for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Seattle went out and added wide out Sidney Rice and rookie Doug Baldwin this offseason, and so far these two have been a huge part of the offense. Baldwin leads the team with 20 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns, while Rice has hauled in 17 passes for 226 yards and a score in just three games.

While the passing game has looked better and better as the season goes on, the running game has yet to provide much offensively. Seattle is 29th in the NFL averaging just 83.0 ypg on the ground. Marshawn Lynch leads the way with just 239 yards, but is coming off his best performance of the season. Lynch needed just 12 carries to rack up 98 yards and a touchdown, as Seattle finished with a season-high 145 yards rushing.

The ground game figures to have a great opportunity to build off that performance, as the Browns come in 27th against the run allowing just over 129 yards a game. Moving the ball through the air figures to be a bit more challenging. Cleveland is 4th against the pass, giving up just 192 yards a game.

Cleveland Browns:

Despite getting an extra week to prepare for the Raiders, Cleveland was no match for Oakland on the road. The Browns made the final score look a lot closer than it was with a late touchdown, as they went into the fourth quarter trailing 24-7. Cleveland is just 1-2 at home with the only win coming via a last minute touchdown against the Dolphins back in week 3. Other than that Cleveland’s only other win came against the winless Colts.

One thing that has kept the Browns from really getting on track offensively is they haven’t had a healthy Peyton Hillis for most of the season. Hillis carried six times for just 14 yards against the Raiders, but was bothered by a hamstring injury that could force him to miss this week’s game. Montario Hardesty will start if Hillis is unable to go, but he had just 35 yards on 11 attempts against Oakland.

With the running game struggling to produce in 2011, the Browns have turned to second-year quarterback Colt McCoy to lead the offense. McCoy threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns last week, but went just 21 of 45 on the game. McCoy has attempted 106 passes for 565 yards in the last two games.

Rookie wide out Greg Little was targeted 12 times last week, but finished the game with just six catches for 72 yards. Little has quickly emerged as the go to option on the outside. McCoy and Little could be in for a big day against a Seattle secondary that is 23rd against the pass, giving up 268.2 ypg.