Defense, Dawson pull out dull W

Associated Press

cleveland

In 13 turbulent seasons with the Browns, kicker Phil Dawson has learned all wins — the good, bad and ugly — are to be savored.

No matter the blemishes, they’re all beauties.

Even Sunday’s field-goal snoozer.

Dawson converted two field goals over 50 yards and had two others blocked, but booted Cleveland to a a dull 6-3 win over the sloppy Seattle Seahawks, who came in missing starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and lost running back Marshawn Lynch to a back injury during pregame warmups.

“We’ll take this one,” Dawson said. “We’re probably not going to brag about it in 15 years, but we’ll take the win.”

The Browns (3-3) didn’t reach the end zone, but Dawson bailed them out with kicks of 52 and 53 yards, his first career game with two makes over 50. Despite weeks of drama and injuries for first-year coach Pat Shurmur, Cleveland has a .500 record after six games for just the fourth time since its 1999 expansion rebirth.

“Whew, huh?” Shurmur said, opening his news conference. “You do what you have to do to win the game.”

The Seahawks (2-4) couldn’t do much. They managed 137 yards of offense, and Seattle had the ball for only 17:04. Backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, filling in for Jackson, completed 12 of 30 passes for 97 yards and couldn’t get the Seahawks moving at all.

Making matter worse, Seattle was penalized eight times, and its biggest play was called back by a penalty as Leon Washington’s 81-yard punt return for a TD in the third quarter was nullified by a blocking-in-the-back infraction — one of several mistakes the young team made that annoyed coach Pete Carroll.

“It was a very difficult loss,” said Carroll, who also had some issues with referee Mike’s Carey’s crew. “The guys took it hard. It was really close. The margin of error became a factor that amplified every call and every play. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get enough going to get the win.”

Carroll didn’t blame the officials, but he wants to take a closer look at a few calls.

“When a game is this close, a call can make a difference,” Carroll said. “Whether they did or not, we’ll see the film and take a look. In this game, those calls are magnified. I kind of hope they’re right, to tell you the truth. I hope they made the right choices because it’s pretty hard to live with if they didn’t.”

Dawson’s 53-yard field goal with 11:18 left gave the Browns a 6-3 lead, and the 36-year-old was set to give Cleveland a six-point lead but his 24-yard attempt with 3:05 left was swatted away by Seahawks defensive end Red Bryant, who earlier blocked a 48-yarder in the first quarter.

However, Seattle couldn’t move the ball as Whitehurst had four incompletions and had a pass dropped on the Seahawks’ final possession.

In the final minute, a frustrated Bryant was ejected for head-butting Cleveland tight end Alex Smith.

“Dumb move on my part,” Bryant said. “I take full responsibility for it. I’m supposed to be a leader. I lost my composure. You never know what could have happened if we got the ball back on offense. He (Smith) was talking the whole game. He was taking cheap shots at me. That’s what guys do when they can’t block you.”

The Seahawks’ only points came on a 20-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka in the third quarter. Other than that, their offense was abysmal.

“We never got going,” Carroll said.

The victory was forgettable on so many levels, but the Browns will gladly take it.

Earlier in the week, team president Mike Holmgren, who took over in Cleveland after 10 seasons in Seattle, had to defend Shurmur’s early performance and pleaded patience from Browns fans. Shurmur’s West Coast offense remains a work in progress, but quarterback Colt McCoy managed the game, made a few plays and protected Cleveland’s slim lead in the final minutes.

“I don’t feel we are regressing,” Shurmur said of the offensive woes. “They [Seahawks] have a pretty good defense. We just need to get more points.”

The Browns defense did their part.

Dawson did the rest.