The Ravens defeated the Seahawks by a score of 30-16 on Sunday, marking the first time that the Ravens traveled to Seattle and came away with a win. Neither quarterback was particularly spectacular through the air as both finished with completion percentages below 50%. The running games for both teams were fairly stagnant outside of the wonders of Lamar Jackson with the football in his hands. As a whole, the game was very close until the fourth quarter, when the Ravens took an eventual 17-point lead after scoring 10 points within a few seconds. The Ravens played their best game of the season, and they were able to force a pair of turnovers that cost Seattle 14 total points.
In the passing game, neither quarterback had a very productive day. Lamar Jackson had nine completions on 20 attempts, posting 143 yards. While Jackson did not throw a touchdown in the game, he did avoid the turnover bug. On the other side, Russell Wilson had 20 completions on 41 attempts, securing 241 yards, a touchdown, and his first interception of the season.
The running game proved to be more fruitful for the Ravens than the Seahawks. For Baltimore, they racked up a total of 199 rushing yards, including 116 from the legs of Lamar Jackson. Beyond Jackson, Mark Ingram posted 46 yards on 12 carries and Gus Edwards had 35 yards on eight carries. For the Seahawks, Chris Carson toted the rock 21 times, gaining 65 yards. Outside of Carson, the Seahawks were able to gash the Ravens on four carries for 44 yards through Russell Wilson and C.J. Prosise.
For Baltimore, the story of the day was the number of drops at wide receiver and tight end. While sources vary on how many drops the Ravens had, Mark Andrews can be blamed for a variety of drops as he only had two catches on his eight targets. Besides Andrews, Miles Boykin had 55 yards on two catches including a 50-yard catch in the first quarter. Hollywood Brown is desperately needed in the Ravens’ offense, and he will likely return in time for Baltimore’s next game against the Patriots. Seattle had a similarly difficult time moving the football as no receivers surpassed 61 yards. Tyler Lockett scored the lone touchdown as he hauled in five passes for 61 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. Jaron Brown and D.K. Metcalf combined for 113 yards and seven catches, but the performance by Metcalf was marred by a late-game fumble that resulted in a Ravens touchdown.
Both defenses played exceptionally well, allowing only 16 points. Baltimore was able to force two turnovers as Marcus Peters intercepted Russell Wilson and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. While Marlon Humphrey did not force Metcalf to fumble, he was able to capitalize on Metcalf‘s fumble and turn it into an 18-yard scoop and score. Other standouts for the Ravens include L.J. Fort, who recorded six total tackles and a pair of tackles for loss, as well as Josh Bynes, who had eight tackles including one for loss.
For Seattle, Bobby Wagner led the way with 13 tackles. However, the stars of the game were in coverage as K.J. Wright knocked down a pair of passes, Marquise Blair added another, and Tre Flowers had a terrific deflection. The stars of the defensive line, Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed, were relatively quiet as they combined for just one tackle for loss.
Things we learned this week:
Mark Andrews must catch the ball.
The Ravens won in spite of Andrews having his worst game as a professional. Despite the win, Andrews had obvious problems in holding onto the football. While one could blame concentration for the drops, the rainy weather played a small role in the variety of drops from the receivers. Moving forward, Andrews must be more sure-handed with the ball in his hands.
Lamar Jackson probably runs too much.
After recording his third 100-yard game of the season, Jackson has the dubious distinction of being sixth in the NFL in rushing yards. While this sounds great, it is alarming that Jackson is having to carry as much of the load as he is. While he is unlikely to continue this pace for the remainder of the season as the Ravens play better defenses, it is something to wonder about for the Ravens coaching staff. At this rate, Jackson will post nearly 1,400 yards on the ground.
The defense is back.
The defense had its game of the season as they allowed to just 16 points to Russell Wilson and Chris Carson. The Ravens were also able to force a pair of turnovers which both resulted in touchdowns, the first two non-offensive touchdowns of the season for Baltimore. While the Marlon Humphrey fumble recovery was a one-in-a-million play, Marcus Peters showed his value by intercepting a pass and scoring. If the Ravens can continue to take the ball away, they will enable the offense to have shorter fields and keep the defense off the field for extended periods. Forcing turnovers both helps the offense and the defense, so Baltimore must continue to take the ball away.
Things we learned last week:
Mark Andrews should stop hurdling.
After fumbling against the Bengals, Andrews struggled to find a rhythm against the Seahawks. Despite receiving eight targets, Andrews only hauled in a pair of passes. Andrews had multiple horrific drops that stalled drives or put the onus on Lamar Jackson. The biggest incomplete pass thrown to Mark Andrews was a touchdown that was knocked out by K.J. Wright. While Wright made a phenomenal play, but Andrews has to do better in the end zone.
The Ravens have the right offensive personnel.
Despite completing only nine passes in Seattle, the Ravens still have great personnel. If Andrews and the receivers secured a couple of those dropped passes, the Ravens would’ve been in a much better situation in terms of passing stats. In the run game, the Ravens were very effective in chewing up yardage. The Ravens seem to have the right blend of speed and power in the backfield with Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, and Gus Edwards.
The Ravens lead the NFL in yards.
The Ravens no longer lead the NFL in yards as Dallas surpassed them in their slaughter of the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. Adding to the disappointment, the Patriots surpassed the Ravens in terms of most points scored as they scored 33 against the hapless Jets. The Ravens head into a bye week next week, so they must hope for the Patriots to stumble and only score a handful of points against the Browns.
A look at next week:
The Ravens head into their bye week with a record of 5-2. In Week 9, the Ravens will return to the confines of M&T Bank Stadium to host Sunday Night Football against the Patriots. The Ravens have not hosted SNF since 2012 (also against the Patriots). The 5-2 Seahawks fly across the country to face the 1-6 Falcons.
A look at the playoff picture:
Due to their win over the Seahawks, the Ravens are now in third place in the AFC playoff picture, placing behind the 7-0 Patriots and 5-2 Chiefs (who beat them head-to-head). The Ravens could move up if the Colts and Chiefs lose next week, but the Ravens could also find themselves back in fourth place if both Indianapolis and Kansas City pull off victories.
The Seahawks are the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs. They are one-and-a-half games back of the 49ers in the NFC West. For the wild card, they currently have a better strength of schedule than the 5-2 Vikings do.
