Division-Leading Seattle Seahawks in 'Pretty Good Shape' After Cleveland Browns Win

The Seattle Seahawks took control of the NFC West after a win over the Cleveland Browns and are in "pretty good shape," according to head coach Pete Carroll.

The Seattle Seahawks overcame a tough, gritty Cleveland Browns team at Lumen Field on Sunday in what was a good showing of the team's ability to fight through adversity.

But the 24-20 win also had another positive element. With the San Francisco 49ers losing their third consecutive game, the Seahawks are now in first place in the NFC West.

Some predicted the Seahawks would challenge the 49ers for the division crown. But as of now, they are up to their eyeballs in the race, as it's San Francisco that will need to be challenging Seattle instead.

But head coach Pete Carroll is keeping a level head, as the long, grueling season is only halfway through.

"What week in the season? Week eight? Okay, so we're not quite halfway through the 17-game thing. Halfway through, we're in pretty good shape. That's good. We're still growing. We just need to keep growing. It just felt like that when you do another one and another one and another one, you're getting better. It's hard to stack games. I'm thrilled that we've played."

Part of positioning yourself as a genuine playoff contender and potentially more is protecting your home field.

Seattle Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo (19) scores a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns / © Steven Bisig, USA TODAY

Winning home games and being roughly 50/50 in your road games will generally be enough to earn a playoff spot.

Through eight weeks of the season, Seattle is 3-1 at home, with the only blemish being Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. So they are taking care of their home field and making it a fortress,  outscoring their opponents 81-57.

"[We] got three wins in a row here at home," Carroll said. "I love that. If you're going to have a good season, you've got to play well at home. And so we been living with that and really trying to use it as a battle cry that we got to play well here at Lumen. So we're rolling right now and halfway."

The Seahawks have set themselves up nicely halfway through the season, and the two games against the 49ers could likely decide the division.

Up next is a tricky away clash against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Win that, and the whole narrative around what Seattle could become this season will drastically change.