Even though these teams are very much alike, the odds are still stacked against the Ravens in this one. Baltimore will remain winless in Seatle.
WHAT: Week Seven at Seattle Seahawks
WHEN: 4:25 p.m. (ET); Sunday, October 20
WHERE: CenturyLink Field, Seattle (72,000)
RECORDS: Ravens, 4-2; Seahawks, 5-1
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Seahawks lead, 3-2, having won the last three meetings after Baltimore won the first two. In Seattle, the Ravens are 0-2 against the Seahawks–one of seven teams the Ravens have never beaten on the road
TV: WBFF-TV, Channel 45 (Dick Stockton, Ronde Barber, Mark Schlereth, booth; Jennifer Hale, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Jarret Johnson, booth)
REFEREE: Brad Allen
About the Seahawks
—With the Ravens as the visiting team on a Sunday afternoon, this game would normally be shown on CBS. However, in 2014, the league instituted the “cross-flex” program, in which Sunday afternoon games can be switched by the league from CBS to Fox, as this one was (or vice versa) to grab a larger viewing audience. Several games involving both of these teams have been cross-flexed over the past five years. It’s nothing new for either Baltimore or Seattle.
—The Seahawks were founded in 1976 as an expansion franchise, entering the NFL the same year as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were the 27th and 28th teams to join the league. Carolina and Jacksonville joined in 1995; the expansion Cleveland Browns were born in 1999; and the Houston Texans came along in 2002, which is the last team to join. Seattle nearly got a team five years before it did–as Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson threatened to move the Bills there–but he got the new stadium in Buffalo that he demanded. The Seahawks were born five years later with Lloyd Nordstrom as the owner.
—Seattle has had an interesting history. It played its first season in the NFC West and then was switched to the AFC West in 1977–where it stayed until the 2002 realignment when it was returned to the NFC West.
—The Seahawks are now in their 44th season of operation. In their previous 43 campaigns, the team has made 18 playoff appearances, tied for the eighth-fewest with Detroit. Seattle has won ten division titles, two in the AFC West and eight in the NFC West, with the most recent coming in 2016. It is the only franchise to appear in the title game in both conferences–losing the AFC Championship to Miami in 1983 and going 3-0 in the NFC title game. Seattle won Super Bowl 48 over Denver in MetLife Stadium in the first-ever northern-tier outdoor Super Bowl but lost Super Bowls 40 (to Pittsburgh) and 49 (to New England).
—When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL, they won both lifetime meetings with Seattle–in 1977 and 1978–with both games being played in the then-brand-new Kingdome indoor facility. Due to a less-structured schedule format at the time, the two teams didn’t meet again until 1991. They never met at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, although the Seahawks did play the Ravens there in 1997, which the Ravens won.
—The Ravens have only played Seattle five times, which is tied for the fewest regular-season meetings with an opponent. The others are San Francisco, Dallas, the Giants, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Among AFC teams, the Ravens have played Buffalo on the fewest occasions (eight).
—With Seattle’s 3-2 overall series lead against the Ravens, the Seahawks are one of nine teams that hold a lifetime lead over Baltimore. The others are Chicago, Green Bay, Carolina, Kansas City, New England, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. The Ravens are tied all-time in regular-season play with Philadelphia, Washington, Minnesota, Denver, and Tennessee.
—Seattle is also one of seven teams that the Ravens have never beaten on the road in regular-season play. One of the others is the Los Angeles Rams, and the Ravens get their first shot at LAR next month. The others are Indianapolis, New England, Minnesota, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
—After the Kingdome was imploded after the 2001 season and the Seahawks and MLB’s Seattle Mariners moved out, the Seahawks took up residence in their new facility, which was called ‘Seahawks Stadium’ from 2002-04. It was renamed Qwest Field, a name that remained until 2011 when CenturyLink took over the naming rights. The inwardly-curved upper roof was designed to keep the noise inside, and the facility has a reputation as the league’s loudest. A recorded peak is 137 decibels. It has also hosted the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. The stadium uses FieldTurf synthetic turf.
—Just as the Ravens have a road-home pattern to their schedule all the way through, the Seahawks have a similar road-home alternating itinerary–that is, up until their Nov. 11 bye week. After that, the Seahawks have three road games in four weeks before closing with back-to-back home division games with Arizona and San Francisco. Last week, the Seahawks played in Cleveland, the second of four East Coast trips the team will make this year.
—Four of Seattle’s five wins have come by margins of four or fewer points. The only blowout was a road win at Arizona. The Seahawks have played just one team that currently has a winning record, and that resulted in a six-point home loss to New Orleans. The offense is rather well-balanced, having deployed 192 rushing plays and 205 pass plays (including 16 sacks allowed). Seattle has narrow point differentials in all four quarters with its most pronounced being in the fourth, where it has outscored the opposition, 57-40.
—The Seahawks have committed 47 accepted penalties, tied with Houston and the Los Angeles Rams for the league’s fifth-highest total. The Ravens have 45 penalties. The Seahawks have committed 11 offensive holding penalties, the league’s fourth-highest total. The team has not been called for any personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Only two Seahawks have more than three penalties. Tackle Germain Ifedi has two false starts and three holds among his six flags. As for dropped passes, STATS, INC. lists Seattle as having only five.
—Seattle has a healthy plus-6 turnover ratio, tied with Seattle and Chicago for the league’s third=best, bettered only by New England and Pittsburgh. The team has created 12 turnovers (six interceptions, six fumbles), the league’s fourth-highest total. Seattle has given away the ball on six occasions–all on fumbles–a total that is tied for the second-fewest. Seattle is also the only team in the league to have not yet thrown an interception.
—San Francisco native Pete Carroll, 68, is currently the NFL’s oldest head coach. He was named Seattle’s eighth coach in franchise history in 2011 when he replaced Jim Mora, Jr. Carroll has a career pro-head-coaching record of 137-94-1 (including postseason). In Carroll’s time with Seattle, his record is 103-61-1 with two Super Bowl appearances and one championship. He has also been the head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Carroll’s extensive college career was topped off by seven straight Pac-12 titles at Southern California, including two national championships. Carroll is 3-0 lifetime against Baltimore.
—Notable coaching-staff hires under Carroll include defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., who is son of the legendary boxer and a Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboys linebacker.
—Seattle is ranked fifth in total offense (ninth rushing, eighth passing, sixth scoring at 27.5 points per game). Its ball-control philosophy has worked well. The team is averaging 23 first downs per game (seventh in the league), and its per-game possession average of 32:19 is fourth-best. Baltimore is first at 36:02. Defensively, the Seahawks are ranked 20th overall (11th vs. rush, 23rd vs. pass, 21st scoring, allowing 24.3 points per game).
–-Eight-year veteran quarterback Russell Wilson is a 5-foot-11, 215-pound signal-caller who was a 2012 third-round pick (75th overall) from Wisconsin after transferring from NC State. He was the winning quarterback in Super Bowl 48 and has been invited to six Pro Bowls with a career passer rating of 101.7. He signed a new four-year, $140 million contract earlier this year, and his 75 wins over his first seven seasons is an NFL record. So far this year, Wilson has completed 72.5 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns, no interceptions (the only starting quarterback in the league that can make that claim), and a gaudy NFL-best passer rating of 124.7. Wilson posted a 139.6 rating against the Ravens in 2015 with five touchdown passes. He is backed up by former West Virginia standout and New York Jets draft pick Geno Smith.
—Seattle has several run-game options, but the main workhorse is third-year back Chris Carson, a 2017 seventh-round pick (249th overall) from Oklahoma State. He had a career-high 158 scrimmage yards at Cleveland last week. He has 504 rushing yards and a 4.3 per-carry average with two touchdowns. The mobile Wilson has a similar average but has rushed for three scores. Former Notre Dame standout CJ Procise is a change-of-pace back, and receiver Tyler Lockett has been used in the occasional end-around and jet sweep. Nick Bellore is the fullback.
—The Seahawks have nine pass-catching targets that have recorded at least five receptions this season. Lockett is the leader at 35 grabs, a 13-yard average, and three touchdowns. The end-zone leader is second-year tight end Will Dissly with four touchdowns among his 23 catches (11-yard average). He is still listed as the backup to veteran Luke Willson. However, Dissly is likely gone for the year with an Achilles injury.The versatile Carson is next with 19 catches and a pair of scores. First-round pick DK Metcalf has proven to be one of the league’s new downfield threats with a 21-yard average and a 54-yard catch to his credit to go with two touchdowns. Metcalf, famously known for having one percent of body fat, is a 6-foot-4, 229-pound specimen from Mississippi.
—Seattle’s offensive line is rather similar to Baltimore’s in that it excels in the running game but lags a bit in pass protection. The line has allowed 16 sacks despite having a rather elusive quarterback. The unit has had to be rebuilt with a few castoffs from other teams, but veteran left tackle Duane Brown (biceps) and left guard Mike Iupati (from Houston and San Francisco, respectively) have been injured this year and may not play against Baltimore. Former San Diego Chargers guard DJ Fluker has started all but four games in which he has played, but he is dealing with a hamstring problem. Germain Ifedi leads the team in penalties from his right tackle spot. Sixth-year center Justin Britt has played both guard and tackle but was moved to the pivot in 2016.
—The Seahawks’ defensive line is yet another instance where this team is similar to the Ravens. The team’s 3-4 alignment and shallow ranks in the unit, and the team carries only five in this position group. The nose tackle is undrafted second-year player Poona Ford, who saw action in 11 games as a rookie with one start before earning his promotion. On the ends are a pair of solid veterans, AJ Woods and JaDaveon Clowney, the latter acquired in a trade from Houston. Clowney, in his sixth NFL season from South Carolina, has been invited to three Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro in 2016; he has a 27-yard interception-return touchdown this year. Woods is in his tenth year, having played for Tampa Bay, Seattle, Tennessee, and Indianapolis before returning to the Seahawks this year.
—Seattle’s starting linebacker group is a mostly veteran outfit, paced in the middle by Bobby Wagner (team-high 33 tackles). The 2012 second-round pick has been a five-time All-Pro, He is also a five-time Pro Bowl pick and a three-time team captain. He is flanked on one side by Mychal Kendricks (18 tackles, two sacks), who is in is second year with Seattle after six seasons–including a championship year–with Philadelphia. Outside linebacker KJ Wright (25 tackles, third on the team) is in his ninth season. Seattle took him in the fourth round in 2011. Flopping to either side as a pass-rush specialist is former Detroit Lion standout Ezekiel (Ziggy) Ansah.
—The mostly-young secondary no longer features the so-called “Legion Of Boom.” How so? Safety Earl Thomas is in Baltimore, safety Kam Chancellor has retired, and cornerback Richard Sherman is in San Francisco. The corners are third-year pro-Shaquill Griffin (18 tackles, tied for fourth on the team) and second-year Oklahoma State product Tre Flowers (26 tackles, second on the team). Bradley McDougald, a seven-year veteran in his third season in Seattle, is at strong safety. Tedric Thompson, in his third season from Colorado, is the roving center fielder. He has a team-high two interceptions.
—Punter and kick holder Michael Dickson is only in his second season from Texas, but he set a club record last year with a 48-yard gross average and was named to the All-Pro team, justifying his fifth-round selection (147th overall). This year, he is grossing 45 yards per punt with two touchbacks and 11 coffin-corner kicks in 28 punts. Jason Myers is the kicker who signed as an unrestricted free agent after three years with Jacksonville and one with the New York Jets. This year, he is 5-for-7 on field goals with one missed extra point, but Seahawk opponents have missed four field goals and two extra points, as well as having had one punt blocked.
—Seattle’s return and coverage units have turned in a mixed performance so far. Receiver Tyler Lockett is the main return specialist. On punt returns, he has six fair catches and eight returns and is averaging just 2.4 yards per runback–next-to-last in the league. He is averaging 20 yards on kick runbacks. The kick coverage unit is allowing an excessive 32 yards per return, which is third-most in the league. The punt coverage team is yielding 9.3 per return, including a 53-yard touchdown.
Prediction
The Ravens and Seahawks are alike in many ways. They both value possession time, have spotty offensive lines, a ground-oriented philosophy, 3-4 defensive looks, not much of a pass rush, and spent draft picks on punters with excellent results. Both teams have debatable won-loss records because of the generally weak opposition they’ve faced thus far
The real edge for Seattle is its home-field advantage and that fact that the Ravens have seen their defensive backs fall like flies to injury. Besides, Wilson is the more polished quarterback, and he has a deeper receiving corps.
Add it up, and it makes a win nearly impossible for the visiting Ravens, who’ll remain winless in Seattle.
Seattle 27, Baltimore 16
