At 5-0 a playoff berth is already on the horizon for the first time since 2002.
The latest assailants on the dream run were Tavaris Jackson and Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks, who came to Ohio with a 2-3 record.
The Browns were probably quite confident of their chances against Lynch before kickoff. Which is probably why they were so shocked when Jackson scored on a 60 yard run - breaking the tackles of a left end and strong safety in the process - on the 6th play of the game.
Jackson was probably just lucky.
Peyton Hillis was looking to reclaim his rushing crown but while a 49 yard pass from Colt McCoy for a touchdown would have pleased his fantasy football owners and the team, it didn't help him much.
Neither did the handoff to fullback Lousaka Polite on 4th and 1 on the 1. Hillis needed those inches.
In the 3rd quarter Jackson would go to the well again on 3rd and 6 on Cleveland's 6. The Browns have only allowed 5 redzone touchdowns all season, but Jackson made sure he was number 6 as he managed to squeeze his way through the line.
The scores were now tied 17 apiece heading into the home stretch. If anything the Browns had been playing down to the Seahawks' level, they should have been demolishing them.
Their defense obviously got a hard word as it stiffened up somewhat in the second half, but there is no defense against luck.
Doug Baldwin's 72 yard touchdown gave the visitors a 7 point lead with 10 minutes remaining and though the defense held the Seahawks out from the 3 yard line, Hauschka's 20 yard field goal extended the lead to 10 with 6:30 left in the game.
Not only this, but Hillis was had been out of the game with a dislocated elbow since the third quarter.
It would be a vast exaggeration to say McCoy has shown flashes of excellence this season. Even flashes of brilliance would be a stretch. But somehow his rebuttal to the field goal was swift and accurate - A 10 play, 80 yard drive using 4 minutes of the clock.
On that drive, McCoy would go 6/7 - only missing the first pass of the series. Polite would seal it at the other end for his second touchdown of the game, and the Browns had a chance again with 3 timeouts and the 2 minute warning pending.
They'd done it before, to greater teams.
Lynch came out and predictably took snap after snap. What was not so predictable was his continued success - especially once D'Qwell Jackson left the game with an injury.
On the third play of the drive Lynch ran 64 yards to the Browns' 6, and that was it. Game over. The Browns had two timeouts left, which still gave the Seahawks enough time to run the clock to 0. Unlucky, Cleveland.
Two plays later and the Seahawks were on the 5 yard line. The Browns had no timeouts. Victory was assured. But Jackson dropped back to pass, who knows why.
Grave mistake. He forgot he was in the redzone. He barely had time to look at his receivers before he was met by Scott Fujita, who was a human wrecking ball on the day.
Fujita's last tackle of the game was his most crucial, as it dislodged a ball Jayme Mitchell quickly pounced on like a live grenade.
With 1:03 remaining and no timeouts, the Browns had the ball on their own 13. They would have to trust in McCoy to lead them up field. They did not have tight end Ben Watson, they were without Hillis.
All McCoy knew was that for the majority of the game, despite Hillis getting carry after carry, the Seahawks had come out in cover 2. So on first down he sent his slot receiver Josh Cribbs on a long streak. He would be uncovered and catch a 25 yard throw to the 37.
On 3rd down on the next set, with 41 seconds on the clock, McCoy found a huge hole in the midfield to hit Little on a crossing route 10 yards upfield, with Little finally being brought down on the Seahawks' 43.
The clock ticked down to 26 seconds as McCoy audibled his receivers. He needed around 15 yards to get in range for a Dawson field goal. He needed some luck.
It was luck he got as, after simply flipping the previous play, he hit Mohamed Massaquoi in the middle of the field - 4 plays surrounding him, but none within 5 yards. He would head upfield and cross over for a touchdown with the clock still showing 21 seconds remaining.
Jackson's luck had run out, the football gods punishing his greed. His next series resulted in a 3-and-out to keep the Browns' unbeaten season alive.
| Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns | |||||
| Oct 23, 2011 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Seattle Seahawks (2-3) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Cleveland Browns (5-0) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| SEA | CLE | |
| Total Offense | 471 | 454 |
| Rushing Yards | 291 | 207 |
| Passing Yards | 180 | 247 |
| First Downs | 16 | 21 |
| Punt Return Yards | 25 | 27 |
| Kick Return Yards | 43 | 104 |
| Total Yards | 539 | 585 |
| Turnovers | 1 (0) | 1 (0) |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 5-12 (41%) | 41-18 (55%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-1 (0%) | 2-2 (100%) |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 (0%) | 0-0 (0%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Penalties | 1-5 | 0-0 |
| Posession Time | 22:46 | 25:14 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | SEA | CLE | |
| 9:43 | (SEA) T.Jackson, 60 yard run (S.Hauschka kick) | 7 | 0 |
| 3:51 | (CLE) C.McCoy 49 yard pass to P.Hillis | 7 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | SEA | CLE | |
| 8:06 | (CLE) P.Dawson, 25 yard FG | 7 | 10 |
| 0:26 | (CLE) L.Polite, 1 yard run (P.Dawson kick) | 7 | 17 |
| 0:02 | (SEA) S.Hauschka, 20 yard FG | 10 | 17 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | SEA | CLE | |
| 4:58 | (SEA) T.Jackson, 6 yard run (S.Hauschka kick) | 17 | 17 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | SEA | CLE | |
| 10:42 | (SEA) T.Jackson 72 yard pass to D.Baldwin (S.Hauschka kick) | 24 | 17 |
| 6:26 | (SEA) S.Hauschka, 19 yard FG | 27 | 17 |
| 2:22 | (CLE) L.Polite, 1 yard run | 27 | 24 |
| 0:20 | (CLE) C.McCoy 43 yard pass to M.Massaquoi | 27 | 31 |
| 0:00 | (CLE) P.Dawson, 32yd FG | 27 | 34 |
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