Seahawks 32, Browns 28: Cleveland has four turnovers, allows blocked punt, falls to 0-3 at home

CLEVELAND — The Browns find themselves in an intimidating hole after falling 32-28 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Browns stumbled to 2-4 and 0-3 at home this season. They have a bye next week, followed by a road game against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Oct. 27.

The Browns committed four turnovers and allowed a blocked punt, guaranteeing they won't win in Cleveland until November. Their next home game won't be until Nov. 10 against the Buffalo Bills.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield went 22-of-37 passing for 249 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions. He posted a passer rating of 54.9.

On the second series of the second half, Mayfield suffered a hip injury while running for 8 yards and a first down on third-and-6 from the Cleveland 44. He went to the locker room with the team's medical staff after the possession ended when defensive end Ziggy Ansah forced running back Nick Chubb to fumble and recovered at the Seattle 42 with 8:54 remaining in the third quarter.

Mayfield returned to the sideline with 6:07 left in the third quarter and didn't miss a snap.

When Mayfield left the game, the Browns led 20-18. When he re-entered the action, they were trailing 25-20 after the Seahawks capitalized on the fumble by Chubb, who rushed 20 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

On third-and-goal, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson capped a seven-play, 58-yard drive by connecting with receiver Jaron Brown for the duo's second touchdown of the game, a 6-yard scoring strike, and the Seahawks went ahead by five points with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Wilson finished 23-of-33 passing for 295 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. His passer rating was 117.6.

The Browns fought back, though. Defensive end Olivier Vernon forced running back C.J. Prosise to fumble, and defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence recovered at the Seattle 45 with 1:01 left in the third quarter.

With the help of Mayfield's 3-yard pass to running back Dontrell Hilliard for a first down by a hair on fourth-and-3 at the Seattle 23, the Browns drove to the goal line, where all hell broke loose.

On fourth-and-goal at the 1, receiver Jarvis Landry caught a pass from Mayfield and stuck the ball out in an attempt to score, but the officials ruled Landry fumbled.

Amid confusion and chaos, Browns coach Freddie Kitchens challenged the call, thinking Landry broke the plane of the goal line with the ball before fumbling, but after a replay review, the officials declared the ruling on the field stood. Then on fourth-and-goal, the Seahawks stuffed Chubb for a 1-yard loss with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter. Replays showed defensive end Jadeveon Clowney grabbed Chubb's face mask during the play, but a penalty wasn't called.

After the turnover on downs, the Seahawks went three-and-out, and Michael Dickson's punt traveled just 24 yards before going out of bounds.

The Browns took over at the Seattle 24 with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter. Chubb rushed for 21 yards and then a 3-yard touchdown with 9:02 remaining. Then Mayfield connected with tight end Demetrius Harris for a two-point conversion and a 28-25 lead.

Wilson made sure the Seahawks responded by orchestrating a nine-play, 79-yard drive. Running back Chris Carson rushed for a 1-yard touchdown, and the Seahawks captured a 32-28 lead with 3:30 left.

On the next series, with the Browns in need of a scoring drive, Hilliard lined up wide as a receiver on second-and-15 at the Cleveland 20. Mayfield's pass went right through Hilliard's hands, and linebacker K.J. Wright intercepted it off the deflection at the Browns 26 with 2:41 remaining.

The Seahawks (5-1) ran out the clock for the win.

The Browns led 20-18 at halftime despite Mayfield throwing two interceptions in the second quarter. Mayfield went 15-of-25 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown with the two picks and posted a rating of 67.2 through two quarters.

The Browns came out firing. On the game's opening kickoff, Hilliard found a lane, stumbled near the Cleveland 35, regained his balance and ran to the Seattle 23 for a 74-yard return. Three plays later, Chubb rushed for a 7-yard touchdown off the left side, and the Browns seized a 7-0 lead with 13:01 left in the first quarter.

The Seahawks countered without hesitation. Wilson, a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback and NFL Most Valuable Player candidate, capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive by rushing untouched for a 16-yard touchdown on second-and-14. Jason Myers missed the extra point, so the Seahawks trailed 7-6 with 8:52 remaining in the opening quarter.

Hilliard took the ensuing kickoff back 28 yards, and the Browns assembled a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive. After wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. dropped a Mayfield pass for a would-be first down on third-and-7 from the Seattle 38, coach Freddie Kitchens rolled the dice by going for it on fourth down. The gamble paid off when Mayfield and Landry hooked up for a 27-yard gain and a first down.

Two plays later, Mayfield took a page out of Wilson's book by running untouched for a 10-yard touchdown on second-and-9. Mayfield's first rushing TD of his career allowed the Browns to go ahead 14-6 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.

Then the Browns defense recorded a stop. The Seahawks marched to the Cleveland 35, where defensive end Myles Garrett sacked Wilson for a 4-yard loss on second-and-5, leading Seattle's offense to stall.

The next series, Chubb broke off a 52-yard run, followed by Mayfield's 31-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who secured the reception just inside the 10 and ran into the end zone. But Austin Seibert missed the extra point after the three-play, 92-yard march, so the Browns led 20-6 with 14:54 left in the second quarter.

However, the Seahawks rallied.

With 10:46 left in the second quarter, they trimmed the Browns' lead to 20-9 when Myers made a 38-yard field goal at the end of a nine-play, 55-yard drive. During the previous play on third-and-8 at the Browns 20, Wilson threw incomplete into the end zone on a pass intended for tight end Will Dissly, who suffered an Achilles injury and left the game.

During the next possession, Beckham failed to intercept a Mayfield pass thrown behind him on third-and-9 from the Cleveland 26. Then wide receiver David Moore blocked Jamie Gillan's punt, and wide receiver Malik Turner recovered at the Browns 20 with 10:06 left in the second quarter.

The Seahawks settled for Myers' 20-yard field goal and a 20-12 deficit with 7:25 left in the second quarter.

Mayfield threw interceptions on the Browns' next two possessions.

The Seahawks failed to turn the first one into points, but it was still an interesting play. On second-and-10 at the Seattle 46, Mayfield was picked off by cornerback Tre Flowers. After Flowers stood up, Beckham stripped him of the ball and recovered. But the officials ruled Flowers had given himself up, so the Seattle kept the ball.

After a three-and-out by Wilson and Co., the Browns marched the Seattle 10, thanks in part to a 41-yard circus catch by Beckham over free safety Tedric Thompson. But on second-and-8 at the 10, Mayfield was intercepted by Thompson after a pass intended for Landry was deflected by cornerback Shaquill Griffin.

The Seahawks took control at their 12 with 1:29 left in the second quarter and moved into the red zone with ease. On third-and-5, Wilson threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jaron Brown on a corner route with 22 seconds left in the first half. Defensive end Olivier Vernon and linebacker Joe Schobert combined to tackle running back C.J. Prosise short of the end zone on a two-point rushing attempt, and the Browns maintained their two-point edge.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his Browns coverage at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ByNateUlrich and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.