Probably the most intense twenty three minutes in motion picture history is the first twenty three of the Steven Spielberg WWII film Saving Private Ryan. In those minutes, Spielberg horrifically re-imagined the US ground forces landing on Omaha Beach against the well positioned German forces. In those initial moments of the film, it felt a near impossible feat for these US infantrymen to advance beyond the onslaught of Germain machine gun fire.

It would be a great disrespect to the memory of those men who fought on that beach to compare a football game to that event. So I will stop well short of that here. However, the way in which the hometown Cleveland Browns jumped to an easy 20-6 first quarter lead on the visiting Seattle Seahawks, it felt like Seattle was going to be in for a very long day. How Seattle battled out of that early point deficit was an impressive team effort, and Seattle fans should feel proud of how they managed it.

The Good

Russell Wilson never panicked about Cleveland’s quick early first score. He just trotted onto the field and led Seattle’s offense to a scoring drive of their own, running for a touchdown. When Baker Mayfield answered that scoring drive with another easy drive and a running score of his own, Russell didn’t panic then either. When the offense stalled and the Browns scored again, Russell still didn’t panic. With poise and patience, Russell Wilson moved his offense when his defense finally got a few stops and turnovers, and eventually he got them the lead, and then another lead at the end. Russell Wilson had yet another MVP performance, and was the ultimate difference in this game.

Chris Carson had another strong outing running the ball, and was equally as impressive as Wilson willing his offense into first downs that led to scores. Carson appears to have corrected his early season fumbling habits, and has become the perfect counter to Wilson’s passing.

Rookie phenom DK Metcalf took some interesting steps forward as a receiver, showing different route running on crossers and out patterns along the side lines hauling in tough grabs. The team is figuring out different ways to get him the ball, even using him on a jet sweep. He is a fascinating talent who feels like he is still just breaking through. This is an interesting thing to monitor moving forward.

Veteran receivers Tyler Lockett and Jaron Brown made great plays when the team needed them to, and they needed them on this day. The chemistry between Lockett and Wilson seems as strong as any in the league.

An offensive line that was minus starting left tackle Duane Brown and right guard DJ Fluker held up pretty well in this one. They opened holes in the run game and gave Wilson time to throw when needed.

The defense gave up painfully easy first quarter scores, but they settled in, and adjusted their game.  They didn’t sack Mayfield, but they pressured him into turnovers. Tre Flowers finally got his first career interception. Tedric Thompson was the hero of the defense against the Rams a week ago Thursday, getting a key fourth quarter interception, and he followed that play by picking off Mayfield in the end zone, stopping a scoring drive that could have put Seattle away for good in this one. Veteran linebacker KJ Wright picked off Mayfield in the closing minutes of the game that pretty much iced it for good. Even defnesive end Ziggy Ansah got into the turnover action by stripping the ball away from star running back Nick Chubb. For as bad as Seattle’s defense looked in the first fifteen minutes of play (and it was awful), they were pretty solid the rest of the way, considering the circumstances.

The Bad

Seattle likely lost starting tight end Will Dissly to a season ending Achilles injury and that sucks big time. Dissly was having a pro bowl worthy season. This is a big blow for the offense, and I thought his presence was missed in the red zone in this one.

The Cleveland Browns came out of the gates in this match on fire. It didn’t feel like Seattle did, especially on defense. Eventually, they caught fire, but I would have liked to have seen them match Cleveland with it sooner.

Seattle wasn’t perfect on offense. CJ Prosise fumbled the ball on third down and short in the second half that gave Cleveland the ball in great field position, and they capitalized on it with a go ahead scoring drive.

The Ugly

I thought the officiating kinda sucked in this one, and Seattle caught a break with a bad illegal block call on Cleveland receiver Jarvis Landry. Whatev’s.

Final Thoughts.

Seattle was down 20-6 and fought their way back into a 32-28 victory. It was a great team effort, but one clearly led by the MVP level play of quarterback Russell Wilson, and they are now 5-1 because of that. Through six games now, it clearly feels like Seattle will go as far as Russell and the offense will take them, and the schedule feels fairly favorable for a  11-5 season, maybe even better.

While the defense is not playing stellar, they are playing well enough when needed, and they are now getting defensive tackle Jarran Reed back. Getting a healthy and focused Jarran Reed back now will likely figure to be a big boost to the front seven. He’s one of the more talented young defensive tackles in the game, and he is coming in with a lot to prove in a contract year. This is good news for Seattle fans.

The bad news, though, is the potential loss of Will Dissly on the offense. This has me thinking something.

As the trade deadline is approaching, up to a week ago, I’ve been thinking about Seattle likely being active, and maybe looking to add to the defense to either help out the secondary, or pass rush, but what if the addition of Jarran Reed is enough?

Through six games into the season, it feels like Seattle appears to be in an arms race with the San Fransisco 49ers for the division. The 49ers have the appearance of a team loaded on defense, with just enough on offense, and they are playing like it. Does Seattle have enough on their defense to match the 49ers? Right now, I have very serious doubts, even with Reed coming back. So, why not make a mid season splash move and add more to an already potent offense?

The way Russell Wilson is playing right now, I think you can easily make the case that Seattle has the best offense in the NFC West. Wilson is a legitimate MVP candidate for the league as of now, so why not just full embrace that effort by rewarding him another big time weapon, especially with Will Dissly now out? Can you imagine AJ Green coming into this offense?

Maybe, just maybe the answer to dealing with the best defense in the NFC West is to add to the best offense in the NFC West. It’s a pretty fair thing to consider.

It’s going to be an interesting couple weeks to see what happens, and they got a big test at home next week against the Baltimore Ravens who just so happen to have a certain free safety by the name of Earl Thomas. Won’t that be interesting.

Go Hawks.