Both the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens lead their respective divisions. Seattle is 5-2 and in first in the NFC West. Baltimore is 6-2 and leads the AFC North.
Both teams have pretty good defenses. The Ravens were expected to be good because they normally are. 12s hoped Seattle's defense could be better in 2023 and over the course of the season, the defense has mostly improved. Now Seattle has some help after trading for Leonard Williams.
One matchup to watch for that I don't have listed below is Ravens tight end Mark Andrews versus the Seattle defense. Seattle, though, has been a bit better against tight ends in 2023 and hopefully that will continue in Week 9. There's also Lamar Jackson's scary statistic about being 17-1 against NFC teams. But here are three things I think will happen when Seattle plays Baltimore.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has his worst game of 2023
Unlike some 12s, I don't think Geno Smith is a bad quarterback who is easily replaceable. If, for instance, backup Drew Lock was potentially better than Smith than Lock would be playing. Head coach Pete Carroll is not afraid to make such changes. Geno Smith is the quarterback of the Seahawks for a good reason: He is capable of being excellent.
The problem for Smith in Week 9 is that even if he had been consistently great in 2023 and now throwing some bad interceptions, the Baltimore Ravens are really good against the pass. Baltimore has allowed the lowest passer rating (71.6), is first in sacks (31), and is third in passes defended (45). The Ravens haven't allowed more than 253 yards passing in any game and have allowed 202 passing yards or fewer in six of eight games.
Baltimore hasn't exactly faced a plethora of fantastic QBs, though. They faced a still-hobbling Joe Burrow in Week 2 and a solid Jared Goff in Week 7. Other than those two quarterbacks, the Ravens haven't faced a big challenge. Still, the Ravens destroyed the Lions two weeks ago 38-6 in a game Baltimore led 35-0 entering the fourth quarter. Goff was 33 for 53 for 284 yards, no touchdowns and 1 interception in the game and he was sacked 5 times.
I think Smith throws 3 picks and takes a couple of really bad sacks. He won't look good at all in Week 9. But to be fair, he will be taking on an excellent pass defense so all his issues won't be because he wasn't forced into mistakes.
Lamar Jackson runs for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns
It's easy to see the nightmare playing out. That partly stems from Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs - and Dobbs wasn't even good enough to hold on to the starting spot in Arizona for half a season as the team traded him to the Minnesota Vikings this week - running 25 yards with ease for a touchdown against the Seahawks in Week 7. Dobbs finished with 43 yards rushing on 7 carries against Seattle.
And Lamar Jackson is a completely different breed of cat, or, well...bird, than Dobbs. Jackson runs well and is a threat with his arm. He isn't only capable of giving the Seahawks issues, but he could give any NFL team problems, at least in the regular season. Jackson is third in the league in completion percentage (70.5), seventh in quarterback rating (101.0), and has the second-lowest interception percentage (1.3).
He used to be more of a runner than a passer, but those times have changed. Jackson is having his best season in the league throwing the ball, but he hasn't lost anything running. If teams cannot hold containment, he will take off for huge gains. Does Seattle have the players to contain Jackson while also maintaining coverage discipline? We don't know that yet.
I think Jackson has a big day running the ball and has a couple of 35-yard-plus scampers. But I also think Seattle limits him through the air. While Jackson will have his moments, ultimately Seattle has a fairly successful day defensively.
Seattle somehow steals the game in the fourth quarter
So Geno Smith will have a bad game and Lamar Jackson has a good day running and yet I have the Seahawks picked to win? Well, yeah. Sure, that sounds stupid and Seattle is having to travel to Baltimore for a 10 am PT kickoff and all signs point to a Baltimore victory, but that makes this a perfect Pete Carroll game.
Just when Seattle appears set for a loss since 2010, they mostly find a way to win. Plus, Seattle is 16-3 in its last 19 10 am PT kickoff games. That means Carroll knows how to prepare his team early for a Sunday game because that kind of record is not an accident.
I think Seattle gets 2 interceptions, one of which they run back for a touchdown. I also think they recorver a fumble in Ravens territory that Seattle is able to turn into another touchdown after taking over possession. The Seahawks won't gain a ton of yards offensively, but Zach Charbonnet will lead Seattle in rushing for the first time and get 70 yards on the ground which is enough to help grind out some first downs.
Seattle will take the lead late on a Jason Myers field goal - his last of three in the game - to help the Seahawks win 23-21. The game won't be pretty to watch. But just like every Seattle victory, it will be beautiful to 12s.