The Seattle Seahawks ended their pre-season with a high note, beating the Cleveland Browns 37-33 at Lumen Field. It was a long game, but one that also featured much more than a typical pre-season game.

It’s very late at night, which means this will be a short Winners and Losers. I’m not really going to focus on the handful of snaps played by the first-team players, so I’m not going to bother with write-ups for Geno Smith, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf, Devon Witherspoon, etc. We know how good they are and can be, and impressing against the Browns’ backups isn’t worthy of in-depth analysis.

Winners

Kenny McIntosh and George Holani

The RB3 competition was fun and produced some inspiring performances from both men. McIntosh scored a 56-yard touchdown with an emphatic stiff-arm along the way, and don’t forget his checkdown catch-and-run for 9 yards on the opening drive with Geno Smith. Holani scored a one-yard touchdown on some hard-nosed running earlier in the drive, and also made a great special teams tackle. The Seahawks almost always keep four running backs; I have every reason to believe they’ll both make the roster.

Dee Eskridge

It’s been a frustrating stretch for Eskridge in the NFL. He’s been injured, he’s been ineffective on the field, and he’s been suspended for domestic violence. The 2021 second-round pick could still be on his way out of the team, and if he does, he’s left on a high note.

Eskridge returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown, much to the delight of his teammates after a thrilling runback. You could argue that between that play and the kick return against the 49ers last Thanksgiving, two of his three biggest highlights in a Seahawks jersey came on special teams.

Will he make the team? Almost certainly not. He didn’t get any snaps on offense until after halftime, and even those were limited touches (3 catches for 19 yards), and there’s clearly no room for him on the wide receiver depth chart. It appears that Dee Williams has cemented his spot as a punt and kick returner (and almost broke up a big punt return himself earlier in the game), which likely leaves Eskridge as the odd man out. As a reminder, preseason games aren’t the only determining factor for a roster spot. That said, Eskridge was at least able to make a splash play for himself and give the Seahawks, as well as other teams, something to think about as they scour the waiver wire. For one night, Eskridge provided a reminder of why the Seahawks drafted him in the first place.

Laviska Shenault Jr

It’s not just that Shenault Jr. has proven effective as a YAC option and pseudo running back, it’s also the fact that he’s a willing and tenacious blocker. McIntosh’s touchdown run included stellar blocks from both him and Brady Russell, and it’s not the first time Shenault has shown his ability to do the dirty work, both on offense and on special teams.

Tyrice Knight

Once again, the Seahawks rookie linebacker saw a screen and stopped it in its tracks. KJ Wright may be a coach on the 49ers’ staff, but can we be sure he didn’t give Knight pointers on the sideline? While there have been instances where Knight has had rookie moments in pass coverage, he looks good running downhill and I haven’t seen him miss a tackle yet, which is huge. Seattle needs effective inside linebacker depth, so it’s vital that Knight doesn’t look out of place this early.

Jamie Sheriff

The injury to Uchenna Nwosu could give Sheriff a real path to the 53-man roster. I predicted he would miss the cut, but under the pretense of no serious injuries. Well. Sheriff had two sacks and three quarterback hits, and he’s the only one who stands out as an edge rusher among the undrafted free agents. I’m wary of the “preseason warrior” who shines against players who likely have no NFL future, but he seems much better than his third- and fourth-string counterparts. I believe he’s too good to risk on the waiver wire and I’d like to see him at least make the first 53.

Jason Meyers

Seven kicks, seven shots, including a 58-yard field goal with room to spare. The two PAT misses could still be a concern for the regular season, but hopefully tonight calmed some nerves.

Losers

The reserve defense line

Unless you’re Mike Morris or maybe Jamie Sheriff (I hope he makes it, honestly), you’re not going to make the team. The run defense didn’t hold up particularly well and they struggled to generate a consistent pass rush, which is a continuation of what happened at the end of the Titans game. This defense wasn’t good after the starters left the game and Mike Macdonald made that clear in his press conference remarks.

The reserve secondary

Browns quarterbacks were 34/51 for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns, and there were some huge coverage busts and open targets all over the field. While DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett had some good open-field tackles, they were both badly beaten for touchdowns. Marquise Blair also gave up a TD on a crossing route. Lance Boykin had a taunting penalty that led to the TD that Pritchett gave up, which is lame in terms of how I feel about taunting, but in the context of the rules it’s stupid on his part. Coby Bryant appeared to have a coverage bust in the first quarter that resulted in an explosive play, though it’s possible Boykin did that. Either way, it wasn’t a good performance.

Cody White

Not a “loser” in the sense that he’s bad or had a bad game, but a “loser” because he’s almost destined not to make the team and his preseason moment in the sun was stolen from him. Sam Howell threw a beautiful deep ball down the left sideline, White separated from his man and caught a touchdown from 73 yards, only to have a ticky-tack hold on Christian Haynes disappear. He’s looked good in camp and preseason, but it would have been nice to see him get into the end zone.

PJ Walker

Walker was listed as a 7/10 for 49 yards and it felt a lot worse than that. He had an interception returned for roughing the passer and his incomplete passes were nowhere near. I would rather have Dorian Thompson-Robinson as a QB3/emergency QB than Walker. Same goes for Tyler Huntley, but Huntley has been a QB2 that has started a playoff game.

Final comments

• None. It’s almost midnight local time and I want to get to bed and get some rest before we discuss the roster cuts that I believe will start trickling in on Sunday. We’re almost there! We’re almost ready for some real football!