CLEVELAND, Ohio — Notes, observations and some facts on the first quarter …

• Browns win coin toss, receive, and punt after three plays, one a sack.

• Sheldon Brown holding penalty on third down gives Steelers a first down.

• On a third-and-1 inside handoff, Isaac Redmon gains 13 yards on an inside cut. Steelers drive to Browns’ 32. On fourth-and-3, Redmond beats D’Qwell Jackson on a circle route, but Ben Roethlisberger’s touch pass is too long. Mike Tomlin eschewed 49-yard field goal try with 24 mph wind.

• Seneca Wallace is sacked before he takes two steps on well-timed blitz by Troy Polamalu. Browns offense really humming. Six snaps, 14 yards, two sacks, two punts.

• Roethlisberger is being very careful not to hold the ball very long. As a result, his passes are not sharp. He’s in dink and dunk mode, like the second half of Dec. 8 game after his injury.

• Ahtyba Rubin storms in to bury Roethlisberger for a 9-yard sack.

• Jeremy Kapinos’ punt bounces backwards from the goal line. Browns take over at their 4, then have third 3-and-out in a row.

HOUSTON — Notes, observations and some facts on the second quarter …

• So far, ironman Chris Ogbannaya has played every offensive snap for Browns.

• Emmanuel Stephens makes a tackle for Browns. He’s the backup left end.

• Matt Schaub hangs in vs. D’Qwell Jackson blitz and connects with Owen Daniels for 12 yards. Big-time QB play.

• Behind a monster block by Lawrence Vickers on Scott Fujita, Arian Foster runs 19 yards for a touchdown. Seven plays, 71 yards.

• Thomas Clayton relieves Ogbannaya and runs for 4. Colt McCoy is later hit as he throws on blitz by Quintin Demps. Painful to watch.

• Jacoby Jones breaks a punt return to the left for 50 yards.

• Finally, a Browns defensive turnover. Mike Adams’ big hit deflects Matt Schaub pass for Owen Daniels and D’Qwell Jackson intercepts. Browns take over at their 42.

• Facing fourth-and-2 at the 50, Browns call time after letting clock run down to 1:06. Then a first down on Evan Moore 6-yard catch.

• McCoy is intercepted by Demps. Looks like a Pick 6, but McCoy makes a TD-saving tackle at the Browns’ 23. Unnecessary roughness call on Shawn Lauvao moves ball to Browns 10 with :02 left. Texans kick field goal for 24-3 lead.

Ohio.com reporter Nate Ulrich takes on the role of a professor as he grades the Browns’ performance on Sunday against Seattle.

The Browns snapped their two-game losing streak. That’s the good part. Here’s the rest:

OFFENSE: D

Quarterback: D. Colt McCoy completed 20-of-35 passes for 178 yards with an interception. He continued to struggle with accuracy, as evidenced by his passer rating of 59. However, he managed the game well at times, helping the Browns convert 12-of-24 third downs and hold possession for 42:56.

 DEFENSE: A

Linebackers: A-. Chris Gocong moved to strongside linebacker with Scott Fujita (concussion) inactive and finished with one of the team’s three sacks, two quarterback hits and four tackles. Middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson had five tackles and was credited with one fumble recovery.

Ulrich writes how defensive coordinator Dick Jauron deserves the most credit because it was his defense that won this game.

More Browns

Protecting Colt McCoy has been an issue.

Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron has the Browns among defensive leaders.

Pat Shurmur defends his quarterback Colt McCoy.

Kicker Phil Dawson won the game despite thigh bruise. 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Dismal as the offense was all day, ineffective at moving the ball into the end zone or even advancing to within 20 yards of the goal line, the Browns’ defense didn’t notice.

Why worry about something you can’t control? The philosophy of this young and rapidly improving unit is to single-mindedly focus on its own objective — prevent the opposition from scoring.

So the fact that the Browns couldn’t manage a touchdown in Sunday’s 6-3 victory over Seattle meant little. So, too, did the fact that the Seahawks were down to their backup quarterback and lost their starting running back to a pregame injury.

Three points is still just three points. A goal-line stand, as the Browns had in the third quarter when Seattle failed to score from the Cleveland 2 on three consecutive plays, are still the kind of plays that win games.

“If the offense scores 100 points, we want it to be 100 to zero,” safety T.J. Ward said. “Every time we go out there we’re looking for a shutout. Defensively, we want people to fear us and know it’s going to be tough against Cleveland. You’re not going to get no easy points. We’re one of a kind.”

Rookie receiver Greg Little called his defense the “best in the league,” after holding Seattle to 137 yards in total offense.

According to the raw numbers, the Browns were seventh in the NFL before Sunday, and they lowered their average for yards allowed to 308.3 after their stifling performance. It’s a defense littered with youth — rookies Jabaal Sheard and Phil Taylor are line mainstays, while second-year players Joe Haden and Ward anchor the secondary — that improves each week.

Against Seattle, the key goal-line stand came at the end of the third quarter when the Seahawks had a first down at the Cleveland 2. First, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson stuffed running back Justin Forsett. Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst failed to connect with Michael Robinson on second down, and with Ward broke up a third down attempt to tight end Cameron Morrah.

“As a defense, we really thought they couldn’t score on us,” Haden said. “No matter what the score was, as long as they were out of field-goal range, we felt they weren’t going to score on us.”

The Seahawks did have their chances. Leon Washington returned a punt 81 yards to the end zone, only to have an illegal block bring the ball back to the Seattle 45.

Two series later, Whitehurst finally connected on a big play, a 38-yarder to Sidney Rice along the right sideline. Rice had a wide-open field ahead of him, but lost his balance and stepped out of bounds at the Cleveland 9.

“I didn’t realize how close I was to the sideline,” Rice said. “I was trying to get some extra yards and I went out of bounds.”

Minus starting linebacker Scott Fujita (concussion) and with Haden playing for the first time in two weeks because of a knee injury, the Browns will take it.

“When you hold a team in the NFL to three points, that’s outstanding,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said. “Outstanding.”

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