P.J. Walker vs. Geno Smith at QB, strong defenses highlight Browns matchup with Seahawks
SEATTLE — Geno Smith and P.J. Walker took much different paths to Sunday. Those paths have led the two to the same place as the starting quarterbacks when the Seattle Seahawks play host to the Browns.
Smith was a highly regarded prospect coming out of West Virginia when the New York Jets drafted him in the second round in 2013. Yet, after starting 29 of 30 games over the first two years of his career with the Jets, he spent the next seven years as a backup starting just five out of the 15 games in which he appeared with the Jets, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers and Seahawks before fate intervened for him a year ago when Russell Wilson was traded.
Wilson's trade was supposed to signal Seattle's decline to bottom of the league. Instead, Smith came in to lead the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and NFC Wild Card berth while winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award.
"I see a veteran player that's sort of survived some of the bumps of some early setbacks," Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said this week. "I think he's an inspiration to a lot of players that don't have immediate success, but his stick-to-itiveness, his ability to keep working, persevere and obviously improve have shown these last couple of years.
"I remember having a conversation with him after a game — he was playing with the Jets and he was a backup and hadn't played — and I told him, I said, 'Look, eventually you're going to get another chance. Make sure you're ready for it.'"
Walker, meanwhile, was an undrafted free agent out of Temple who spent three years as a practice-squad player before ever getting a chance on an active roster. Even after his three seasons with the Carolina Panthers, for whom he started seven of the 15 games in which he played, he found himself on the Browns practice squad after being waived by the Chicago Bears.
For Walker, fate intervened in the form of Deshaun Watson's shoulder injury. After being the backup to rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the first game Watson missed in Week 4, Walker has come on to start a come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 before coming on late in the first quarter last Sunday to help the Browns rally to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
"He wins," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told Seattle reporters this week of Walker. "Won the 49er game and hung in this game against Indy, all the way to the very end to come up with enough plays to get the win, and they scored 39 points in the game, too. Those are two big wins for him. He’s coming in with confidence, I’m sure."
Two quarterbacks, two completely different paths, but one thing in common: They'll both be starting a critical inter-conference matchup between two 4-2 teams with eyes on setting themselves up for a two-month stretch run to a potential playoff berth.
What both quarterbacks also have are defenses that have provided them with a lot of support as well. Walker, in particular, has been bolstered by the Browns' top-ranked defense, even though that defense went through its toughest day of the season against the Colts.
“They’re really aggressive," Carroll said of the Browns defense. "We’ve been around Jim Schwartz for a long time, his scheme and style and the nature that he coaches into these guys. Very aggressive up front on the attack, the focus is the front four, but their backers are really aggressive as well. There’s a whole philosophy that we recognize because we’ve seen Jim for years.”
The Seahawks defense isn't as highly ranked as its Browns counterpart, in part because of three consecutive games of allowing at least 27 points and 378 total yards to open the season. However, there has been a dramatic shift in what Seattle has allowed the last three games, with the Seahawks giving up 30 total points and no more than 249 yards in any of those games.
A big reason for that is the Seahawks' ability to get to the quarterback. They had five total sacks over the first three games, but have combined to post 18 sacks — 11 in a Week 4 win over the Giants — the last three weeks.
"I think it's a testament to the way they play," Browns All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio said. "They all go so hard all the time, so there's just a mix. … They're constantly trying to push the pocket, work second and third moves, and hopefully we'll be responsible for the four down guys when they're rushing. But we do got to find who we want to point out in the blitz pickups."
Individual matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett vs. Seattle Seahawks LT Charles Cross
Garrett is coming off the kind of game that wins Defensive Player of the Year awards. He completely altered the trajectory of the win over the Colts with two strip sacks that set up touchdowns, as well as the leaping blocked field goal that set up a Browns field goal. For him to replicate that output, or some reasonable facsimile of it, he's going to have to do it against Cross, one of the better young left tackles in the game. The former 2022 first-round pick out of Mississippi State is part of the reason why the Seattle offensive line has only given up 13 sacks of Smith so far, although he did miss the first four games with a toe injury. Garrett will be the best edge rusher the Seahawks — and Cross — have played this season.
Position group matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns cornerbacks vs. Seattle Seahawks wide receivers
Last Sunday's victory in Indianapolis was not the kind of game that would win any of the Browns cornerbacks a Defensive Player of the Year award. Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew II threw for 305 yards and twice burned the secondary for huge-play touchdowns. That was against rookie Josh Downs and solid veteran Michael Pittman Jr. This week, Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr. will take a step up in competition when they go against the Seahawks' Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba — possibly the best group of pass catchers the Browns have played since the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, and especially once Deebo Samuel left the Week 6 game against 49ers. If the Browns can clean up the mistakes they made against the Colts, it would help them bounce back as a collective defense.
Coaching matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz vs. Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldrop
The talk about the Browns' defensive performance against the Colts is relevant not just because it was the last performance by the group. It's also relevant because there are plenty of similarities between what Indianapolis runs and what Seattle runs. Both have offenses that start around talented young running backs. For the Colts, it was Jonathan Taylor. For the Seahawks, it's second-year pro Kenneth Walker III. Taylor was just coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of multiple games to start the season. Walker, meanwhile, has been battling a calf injury that has prevented him from practicing this week. If Walker can't go, it would certainly change the dynamic a bit for Schwartz's defense.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns-Seahawks led by P.J. Walker-Geno Smith at QB, strong defenses
