Browns coach Mike Pettine doesn't consider Russell Wilson among the top three or four quarterbacks in the NFL.

He does, however, put him in the next group.

"Would you put him there with the guys that can transcend their supporting cast? The [Tom] Bradys, whether it's Aaron Rodgers, [Drew] Brees, [Ben] Roethlisberger, the ones that you would consider the two, three, four elite guys? No. But he's certainly played himself into that next tier," Pettine said Wednesday.

The Browns travel to Seattle on Sunday to play a team that has been carried by Wilson over the past four weeks. In those four games, Wilson has a passer rating of 145.9, with 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

"I don't worry about that," said Wilson when asked about Pettine's comments. "I think it comes down to winning games ... that's the only thing I care about."

As ESPN.com's Pat McManamon reminded readers, Wilson's career passer rating is 101.3, and his 44 regular-season wins match Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as the most to start an NFL career. He's also won a Super Bowl and played in another.

"He plays at a high level, he's very productive and they win," Pettine said. "Now a lot of that I think is a function, too, is he's the perfect quarterback for what they do. To me it goes both ways. They've also built it around him."

To his credit, Pettine did have the line of the day Thursday, when he opened his press conference by asking if anybody wanted to hear his "updated quarterback rankings."