Seahawks Top Ravens 22-17

This was an outstanding game by an improving Seahawks team. Its tough to be excited about a 3-6 that’s unlikely to sniff the playoffs, but the improvements shown by this young team are real, and will pay off in a big way next season. Before this game, the Ravens were widely thought of as the best team in the AFC, and the Seahawks were able to dictate the tempo of the game for the entire game. If it hadn’t been for the penalties, this game would have been even more one sided.

Here’s my post-game notes:

• Tarvaris Jackson had a better game than the stat line indicates. He had some amazing throws, was more accurate than he’s shown for most of the season, and dealt with the defensive pressure well. Game’s like this make me feel a lot more comfortable with the thought of Jackson being the Seahawk’s starter next season as well.
• Marshawn Lynch’s “beast mode” was on full display in this game. For the 2nd straight week, Lynch went over the 100 yard mark. A lot of those yards were hard earned.
• The offensive line had it’s best game of the season. Just one sack given up, plenty of big holes for lynch to run through, and much less help from the TE’s in pass protection than last week.
• Richard Sherman continues to impress. Sherman was more an a match for Baltimore receiver Anquan Boldin. Boldin had just 2 catches out of the 9 times he was targeted. It would seem that the Seahawks have found another starter for their 2012 secondary. 
• The special teams had a really solid game. Good coverage on kicks and punts to go along with two forced fumbles. I’d like to see more out of the return game for the Seahawks, but I’m not going to complain. An aspect of the game that has been a real weakness this year looked really good today.
• 5 FG for Hauschka is good for him, but not for the Seahawks. The Seahawks need to covert more of those possessions into touchdowns.
• Any comments about the Seahawks offense, both positive and negative, need to be placed into the context of who was on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The Ravens came into the game as the league’s #1 defense. They were #3 against the rush in terms of yards per game and #1 in terms of yards per carry. The Ravens’ D was also #4 against the pass in terms of yards per game.
• The penalty situation is just insane at this point. The Seahawks shot themselves in the foot so many times in the 2nd half that I’m sure the doctors would want to amputate. Most of the penalties were just dumb too. 3 defensive offsides calls? That’s enough for an entire season. 2 were on Raheem Brock alone. I think that’s 5 such penalties on him this season. That’s completely unacceptable.
• Injuries are a major concern after this game. Seattle lost it’s top 2 receivers, doug Baldwin and Sydney Rice, to head injuries, lost right guard John Moffitt to what looked like a fairly serious knee injury. Strong Safety Kam Chancellor was also banged up.
• The schedule really eases up after this. of the 7 remaining games, only the Niners and Bears have a winning record.
• The .gif at the top of this post makes me smile so much it can’t be healthy.