The Baltimore Ravens continue to look like the part of perhaps the NFL’s best team after Sunday’s 37-3 dismantling of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Ravens got rolling after a scoreless first quarter to amass a 17-3 lead by halftime and 30-3 through three quarters. That performance came despite star quarterback Lamar Jackson suffering an injury late in the third quarter, though it did not appear to be serious.
Baltimore Stakes Claim Among Contenders
The Ravens (7-2) took home their fourth straight win with Sunday’s triumph, including impressive wins over the 6-2 Detroit Lions and now the 5-3 Seahawks. Baltimore has also beaten the 4-3 Cincinnati Bengals, a team likely better than its record, and suffered close losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) and Indianapolis Colts (3-5).
It’s not all been perfect, but it almost never is in the NFL. No undefeated teams remain, and the Philadelphia Eagles sit atop the league at 7-1 ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Dallas Cowboys.
Baltimore is right up there with the league’s best and showed why again against Seattle.
Jackson threw for an efficient 187 yards and carried the ball 10 times for 60 yards in his injury-shortened stint. Running back Keaton Mitchell broke out for his best performance of the season with nine carries for 138 yards and one touchdown, while Gus Edwards added five carries for 54 yards and two scores.
That offensive balance in rushing for 298 yards and throwing for 217 makes the Ravens that much more difficult to contain as they rattled off 37 points.
MORE: Baltimore Ravens Depth Chart
Baltimore currently looks like the biggest challenger to the Kansas City Chiefs’ (7-2) hopes of repeating as AFC and Super Bowl champions. The two teams sit tied atop the conference, with the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) a half-game back and taking their bye this week.
Time will tell how it all shakes out, and injuries are certainly the big equalizer, but the Ravens certainly have a resume that rivals any team in the AFC and perhaps the entire league.
Ravens Defense Continues To Dominate
Baltimore’s defense continues to steal the show, however, and has performed well above the rest of the league this season.
The Ravens entered the week ranked as the NFL’s No. 1 unit in defense-adjusted value over average at 41.1%, according to FTN Fantasy. That’s nearly 12 percentage points ahead of the San Francisco 49ers, which came in at 29.3%. Just six teams were at 20% or better, with Baltimore the lone team above 30%.
The Ravens have yet to allow more than 24 points in a contest and are surrendering an average of just 13.8 points per game.
That defensive dominance continued Sunday as Baltimore limited Seattle quarterback Geno Smith to just 13 of 28 for 157 yards and one interception, along with two runs for four yards while sacking him four times.
The Ravens pressured Smith on 54.5% of his dropbacks, and he went just 5 of 13 for 29 yards and the one interception in those instances, according to NextGenStats.
Baltimore also limited Seattle to just 28 rushing yards, holding standout running back Kenneth Walker to a season-low nine carries for 16 yards. That combined dominance proved far too much for the Seahawks to overcome.
The Ravens will have another chance to assert their dominance in next week’s game against the Cleveland Browns, which they dismantled 28-3 earlier in the season.
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