Rost: 4 Seahawks to watch in Week 6 road game against Browns

Oct 12, 2019, 11:21 AM | Updated: Oct 13, 2019, 9:11 am

Seahawks DEs Jadeveon Clowney, Ziggy Ansah...

Seahawks DEs Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah had strong performances in Arizona. (Getty)

(Getty)

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The Seahawks are coming off their most impactful win of the season so far – a 30-29 victory over the division rival and defending NFC champion Rams – and they have a chance to build on their momentum with a Week 6 contest against the 2-3 Cleveland Browns.

Clayton: Seahawks need run game to shine vs Browns

Here are four Seahawks to watch Sunday:

George Fant and Jamarco Jones

Starting left tackle Duane Brown popped up again on Seattle’s practice report this week with a biceps injury. The injury itself isn’t a surprise; it’s what forced Brown out of Seattle’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, but it didn’t appear to jeopardize his gameday availability until Week 6. Brown avoided the injury report in Week 4 (though was still sidelined in practice) and was listed as questionable in Week 5.

The reason behind that downgrade, according to head coach Pete Carroll, is that Brown’s injury hasn’t responded as well as the team had hoped.

“He’s gonna go in doubtful right now,” Carroll said Friday of Brown. “And that means, when you’re as optimistic as I am, that there’s a chance. There’s a chance. He couldn’t practice today.”

The Seahawks placed Ethan Pocic on the injured reserve Friday afternoon, and with guard D.J. Fluker also doubtful for Sunday, Seattle finds itself suddenly thin up front – just one day away from facing an intimidating Browns’ front seven led by defensive end Myles Garrett, who is second in the NFL with seven sacks.

In the meantime, George Fant and Jamarco Jones will see more playing time. Jones, a 23-year-old rookie, played left tackle at Ohio State but he saw his first career snaps on offense last week filling in for Fluker at right guard. He played well in relief and earned a 79.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. Fant also has experience at left tackle, though Carroll is remaining tight-lipped on where both players will line up.

“We’re still working on that,” Carroll said. “We got to get that worked out. If you don’t mind, we’ll let you know on the weekend. There may be an edge there somewhere for us. I’m not sure there is. If there is, we’re reaching for it. Small edge, a little tiny edge, but we’re reaching for it and we’re going to wait.”

Chris Carson

Carson, Seattle’s top running back, also landed on the practice report this week, but he was a full participant in practice Friday and is expected to play Sunday.

Earlier this week, it was second-year pro Rashaad Penny who looked a likely candidate to get a good portion of the carries Sunday. Carson was limited with a shoulder injury and coming off two 100-plus rushing yard performances on a combined 49 carries in a five-day stretch.

But Penny is questionable with a hamstring injury and Carson has a chance to have a strong performance against the league’s 29th-ranked rushing defense. The Browns are giving up an average of 150 rushing yards per game to opponents. On Monday, San Francisco’s Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman combined for 211 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Jadeveon Clowney

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had the worst game of his career in Week 5, completing just 8 of 22 pass attempts (36.4%) for 100 yards, two interceptions and a 13.4 quarterback rating in a 31-3 loss to the 49ers.

That’s no an average performance, though. In other outings, Mayfield has looked the part of a No. 1 overall draft pick, which he was in 2018. In a Week 10 game against the Falcons last year, he completed 85% of his pass attempts for 216 yards and three touchdowns. In a Week 4 win over the Ravens this season, he threw for 342 yards and a touchdown.

Not coincidentally, that game against Baltimore was also the only one this year that the Browns surrendered less than three sacks (Mayfield was sacked just once). The second-year pro has been sacked 16 times this season, including four times for a loss of 42 yards against the 49ers.

San Francisco was able to keep pressure on Mayfield throughout the night, and if Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who enters the game with just one sack this season, can be a disruptive force, Seattle could find similar success on Sunday.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Stacy Rost on Twitter.