The 5-2 Seahawks travel to Baltimore this Sunday to face the 6-2 Ravens at 10 a.m. Or wait, will it really be 11 a.m.? This Sunday, we have to set our clocks back an hour to observe daylight savings time, which actually makes it darker an hour earlier in the morning and the evening, which raises one question: what daylight are we saving exactly? Especially as we approach the shortest and darkest days of the year.
But let’s get back on track. The Seahawks go east to take on the Ravens, who have only lost at home once this season, and it took overtime to get there. Seattle, on the other hand, has only lost once on the road this year, and it took a very strange series of events for that to happen, so we’re getting a showdown of battle-tested teams here.
On paper, there’s a lot to like about this matchup from both teams.
They are a pair of veteran dual-threat QBs who are remarkable passers and dangerous runners. Seattle QB Geno Smith doesn’t take off and run as much as he once did, and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has tried to make his game more balanced, and that, in turn, makes him more dangerous. Jackson has been a great passer for years now, but for reasons known only to those who hold opinions against him, he is still trying to win people over as a complete QB, even though that’s precisely what he is. I don’t think he’s cutting down on the runs as much as he’s trying to stay healthy and go on a deep playoff run, something he hasn’t been able to do yet in his career.
Both teams have great running attacks, a very talented receiving corps, and above-average players at tight end. The offensive line remains an issue, but with mobile QBs on either side, they can limit how much impact even the best pass rushers can have.
Defense is where it gets interesting.
Seattle brought in defensive linemen Frank Clark and Leonard Williams to bolster their pass rush and try to slow opponents in the run game and will look to improve on their 7th-ranked rush defense. Baltimore has the 14th-ranked rush defense, but they excel in rushing the passer as they lead the league in sacks. Seattle is no slouch in getting after the QB either, and are 5th in sacks. Seattle has a decent secondary but is middle of the road in yards and points, while the Ravens are in the top 2 in scoring and 6th in yards.
Seattle just played and beat Cleveland’s top-ranked defense a week ago, so don’t let the Ravens’ ranks make you nervous.
Both of these teams can run, they can pass, and they can stop you from doing both. I don’t expect to see many big plays, just some long drives and the kickers getting a lot of work.
The truth is that both of these teams are really good and have a lot of top-to-bottom talent, but neither roster has a player known for taking over games. They are trying to be more balanced and keep their focus on winning over putting up big numbers, but they also understand that the best way to beat your opponent is to demoralize them first. It’s fun to do that with quick scoring drives, but it’s even more effective to string together long, methodical drives that makes them wonder if they can stop you if they need to. Both of these defenses are built to bend but not break, and both offenses can put together big plays, but they are made to work the ball down the field a play at a time, getting chunks here and there.
Seattle went ice cold against the Browns last week for more than two full quarters; they can’t do that against the Ravens. The Browns have a very good defense, but they have a very inconsistent offense and were using fill-in players at QB and RB. The Ravens might be using fill-in RBs, but that’s about where their weaknesses end, if they even have any. Seattle will need to keep their foot down until the game ends, or this game could turn out a lot like Cincinnati, where they were held to three points in the second half and wound up losing by 4.
Other than their week one disaster, Seattle hasn’t played a bad game this season. They disappear at times, and no one watching or in attendance can figure out why, but they will need to make adjustments on the fly and stay alert if they take down the Ravens in Baltimore. Seattle beat the Browns last week, which was great, but the Ravens played them in week four and beat them 28-3. This team is no slouch.
This game is close enough on paper that I would give the edge to the home team regardless of who that is, but something tells me Seattle will go into this game and push this team around like they haven’t pushed anyone around this season. Baltimore has only been pushed around once, a road loss to Pittsburgh in week 5, where they were held to 10 points, their lowest output of the season. Even in their only other loss, they scored 19 points and have scored at least 24 in each of their wins. Seattle has only broken 24 points twice this season and had matching scores of 13 in both losses. The key to beating Seattle seems to be locking them in a low-scoring field position battle and forcing them to grind out late scores.
The key to beating Baltimore is to make them throw the ball and play one-dimensional. If they get into a shootout, they must toss aside a balanced offense and force throws, which is not their strength. Detroit is one of the best teams in the league right now. They were embarrassed by Baltimore 38-6, and the game didn’t look even close to that score if you watched it live; Detroit was not worthy of being on the same field as Baltimore. Seattle beat Detroit also, but it was in overtime and a high-scoring shootout, not exactly the clinic Baltimore put on. This team is not a pushover.
Two weeks ago, Seattle hosted Arizona and beat them 20-10, but the game was undoubtedly longer than it had a right to be. Baltimore went into Arizona and had the Cardinals wondering if they still wanted to be a pro team by the 4th quarter when they were down 21-7, and it felt more like 42-3. Early in the 4th quarter, Baltimore made it 24-3. Arizona pulled within 24-10, but Baltimore put together a 12-play drive to extend their lead to 31-10 with less than three minutes to play. This team doesn’t back down. Even when locked in a trap game on the road, they don’t back down.
Seattle needs to go into Baltimore on Sunday and push these Ravens around. They need to prove they aren’t a slouch, they need to prove they aren’t a pushover, and they need to prove they won’t back down.
Baltimore is a dangerous team; Seattle must prove they own that field, even if it says Ravens. This will be an early morning kickoff on the earliest morning of the year, but despite the different time zones, the added time change, and being on an enemy field, they should win this one and make a statement to the league they are here to compete.
