With four straight wins, the Baltimore Ravens are looking like one of the AFC’s best teams at the halfway point of the season. They made quick work of a solid Seattle Seahawks team Sunday afternoon, beating them 37-3 to move to 7-2 on the season. The Seahawks fall to 5-3.
Like most of their other victories, Baltimore ran the ball well and played great defense to victory. The Seahawks were held to just six first downs while the Ravens ran for 298 yards. They were at exactly 300 until two kneeldowns pushed them off the landmark.
After a slow first quarter that featured four punts on four possessions between both teams, the Ravens got on the board early in the second quarter. With their patented slow march downfield, Baltimore ran 12 plays, racked up 81 yards, and used up 5:35 of the clock before punching the ball into the end zone. Their longest play of the drive was just 17 yards, a completion to TE Isaiah Likely, but the offense stayed on schedule and ended things with a four-yard touchdown by RB Gus Edwards. He’s now scored at least one touchdown in three straight games.
Seattle couldn’t respond on their next drive. QB Geno Smith was promptly picked by safety Geno Stone, his sixth interception of the season. Just before the half, Baltimore struck again on a similar-looking drive as their first scoring possession. This time, they went 10 plays, 84 yards, and 5:48. Again, it was punctuated by an Edwards score from three-yards out.
The Seahawks avoided a first half shutout with a Jason Myers 33-yard field goal with 59 seconds until intermission. The final minute of the half was an adventure. Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. fumbled the ball away on the first play of their next possession until the Seahawks immediately gave it back with a fumble of their own, LB Kyle Van Noy ripping the ball out of Smith’s hands as he came around the edge. Baltimore recovered and Justin Tucker knocked through a 37-yard field goal to make it 17-3 at the break.
Baltimore played the second half just like the first. Great defense that had Seattle often going backwards than forward while the run game continued to chew up clock. And yards. Tucker added two more fields goals before rookie RB Keaton Mitchell sealed the win with an explosive 40-yard touchdown, outrunning the Seahawks’ secondary on his way into the end zone. It was the first touchdown of his career. With the extra point, Baltimore led 30-3.
The game got so out of hand that CBS switched from the blowout to the Chicago Bears/New Orleans contest so fans could watch, as explained by James Brown, a “more competitive game.”
Mitchell finished the game with 138 yards rushing and the above touchdown. QB Lamar Jackson went 21-of-26 for 187 yards while rushing for 60 yards.
Baltimore is enjoying the first of a three-game homestand. They’ll have a chance to build their division lead next week when they host the Cleveland Browns. They blew Cleveland out in Week Four, 28-3, though the Browns started rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson that day.
