Seattle Seahawks Rapid Reaction: Suffocating Baltimore Ravens' Defense Lands Knockout Punch
BALTIMORE - Outclassed from the opening snap amid a dreadful outing in all phases, the Seattle Seahawks allowed more than 500 yards of offense and mustered only a field goal in a 37-3 beatdown at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Under frequent duress without a run game to complement him, Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith completed under 50 percent of his passes for the first time in two seasons as a starter. Defensively, Lamar Jackson torched the visitors for 247 total yards and the trio of Justice Hill, Gus Edwards, and Keaton Mitchell rushed for over 200 combined yards to pace a dynamic Ravens offense.
Here are five quick takeaways from an afternoon to forget for Seattle at M&T Bank Stadium:
1. From the line to skill positions, Seattle's entire offense was dysfunctional from the opening kickoff.
While it was only one play, the Seahawks first third down conversion attempt of the day ended up being a precursor for the offense's performance. Smith delivered a strike to rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba that would have moved the chains, but the receiver bobbled the ball and didn't gain possession until he had stepped out of bounds, leading to a three-and-out and a punt by Michael Dickson. From there, the visitors couldn't get out of their own way, converting only one of their first eight third down opportunities while producing less than 100 net yards in the first two quarters and turning the ball over twice.
Whether knocking down passes or swarming him as he tried to throw, the Ravens made life miserable for Geno Smith and the entire Seahawks offense on Sunday.
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All afternoon long, the Ravens ferocious pass rush dominated an overwhelmed Seahawks offensive line, forcing Smith off his spot numerous times while racking up four sacks and swatting three passes at the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, Seattle couldn't get any semblance of a run game going from the outset, rushing 26 times for 13 yards and a poor two yards per carry. With the line unable to win at the point of attack, running backs unable to find any room to operate, Smith playing panicked in the pocket, and receivers not getting open or getting crossed up in communications, it was a disaster across the board that the team will have to wipe from memory quickly.
2. Turnovers have entered critical problem territory for Smith and the Seahawks.
Over the past three weeks, Smith has been far more giving to the opponent than Seattle would like with five interceptions, but the team found ways to overcome the mistakes to win two of those three contests. Unfortunately, his propensity for throwing into tight coverage and holding onto the ball too long ended up catching up with him against a vicious, opportunistic defense. With him and Lockett not on the same page midway through the second quarter, he lofted a deep ball up for grabs that wound up functioning like a punt, leading to a gift-wrapped interception for safety Geno Stone.
While that interception didn't lead to any points for the Ravens, Smith gave Jackson and company another opportunity late in the half. Rearing back to throw on third and long after being sacked by Kyle Van Noy on the previous play, the veteran linebacker got to him again, knocking the ball out of his hands with Broderick Washington recovering the fumble deep in Seahawks territory. Justin Tucker cashed in with a field goal seconds later to extend the lead to 17-3 right before the half. Though not all of the blame falls on his shoulders with poor line play in front of him, the veteran quarterback now has eight turnovers in the past four games, a major issue that must be corrected to be able to compete with top-tier opponents.
3. Unable to slow down Jackson, the Seahawks endured their worst showing defending the run all season.
Ranking in the top five in yards per carry allowed and seventh in rushing yards allowed going into Week 9, Seattle's run defense has been a pleasant surprise all season long. But Baltimore presented a different kind of animal with the elusive Jackson running the controls and a pair of quality backs in Edwards and Hill running behind a physical offensive line, turning what was expected to be a slugfest into a one-sided beatdown. Mixing in scrambles and designed quarterback runs, Jackson rushed for 61 yards and nearly eight yards per carry in the first half, pacing a Ravens offense that racked up 121 rushing yards by halftime.
The situation only got worse for the Seahawks in the second half, starting with poor tackling by Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen leading to a 42-yard run by Edwards on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Mitchell, a rookie out of East Carolina, took over from there, using his elusiveness and breakaway speed to torch the defense with a 40-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard run in the second half alone. In total, defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt's defense yielded 298 rushing yards for the game, or more than 40 percent of their season total in the first seven games.
4. Seattle's pass defense didn't play well either, but at least two turnovers were created on an otherwise putrid performance.
Statistically, Jackson completed 80 percent of his passes for 187 yards and north of seven yards per attempt while only being hit once in three-plus quarters of play. Once he checked out, backup Tyler Huntley threw a touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. to pour more salt on the wound against a Seahawks defense that didn't muster a pass rush, allowed receivers to run open most of the game, and missed a bunch of tackles after the catch. Losing by 34 on the scoreboard, the pass defense deserves some of the blame in a blowout loss.
But if you're looking for any positives coming out of one of the worst losses of the Pete Carroll era, Seattle did manufacture a pair of turnovers in the first half that could have been difference makers if Smith and the offense could have capitalized off of them. Two plays after Jackson sprinted away from him for a 23-yard gain, outside linebacker Boye Mafe punched the ball out of the quarterback's hands and recovered the fumble on a strip sack at the 10:43 mark, keeping it a one-score game for a brief moment. Trailing 14-3 late in the half, Tre Brown tackled Beckham and as the receiver rolled over him, the ball squirted out, allowing Bobby Wagner to recover inside a minute to play. Unfortunately, Smith returned the favor only a few plays later, a microcosm of the game as a whole.
5. Situational football continues to be an Achilles heel for the Seahawks.
Playing better on third down and in the red zone ultimately wouldn't have made much of a difference on Sunday, but the Seahawks once again were atrocious moving the chains, scoring inside the opposing 20, and getting stops deep in their own territory. Accomplishing a feat that almost looks like a typo because it is so bad, Smith and the offense converted on one out of 12 third down opportunities for an eight percent conversion rate. The Seahawks also only got a field goal from Myers after a 50-yard reception from DK Metcalf got them into the red zone for the only time in the game.
Meanwhile, the Ravens were far more efficient on third down, converting on six out of 12 opportunities for the game with two different quarterbacks under center. Adding insult to injury, Jackson coaxed Dre'Mont Jones for a neutral zone infraction and converted as a runner on two fourth downs in the second half, nullifying two potential third down stops for a defense that spent nearly 40 minutes on the field. They also yielded three touchdowns and two field goals on five red zone drives defensively, showing little resistance defending their own goal line to continue an ugly trend so far this year.
