Seahawks pound ailing Ravens
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Version 0 of 1. BALTIMORE — Wearing sweatpants and baseball caps, the injured Baltimore Ravens took up a sizable chunk of the home sideline during warmups, a perfect snapshot of what could have been in this 2015 season. Running back Justin Forsett, his right arm in a cast, posed for pictures. On crutches after having surgery to repair a torn right Achilles’ tendon, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. greeted teammates and members of the Seattle Seahawks who came over to say hello. Tight end Dennis Pitta, unable to play because of a hip injury, stood nearby, along with other Ravens such as Michael Campanaro, Darren Waller and Marlon Brown. At times, the Ravens’ 35-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in front of an announced 71,179 at M&T Bank Stadium took on the look of a preseason game. By game’s end, many of the Seahawks fans who traveled East came down to the stadium’s lower bowl and chanted for the visitors, who were putting the finishing touches on a rout of the Ravens. Seattle (8-5) ran off 21 unanswered points to close the game and notch its fourth consecutive victory and sixth win in seven games. The thorough defeat left the Ravens with a 4-9 record and secured the first losing season in John Harbaugh’s eight-season tenure. It also ended the Ravens’ NFL-record streak of 12 consecutive games to start the season decided by eight points or less. Baltimore trailed 14-6 at halftime, but Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw three second-half touchdown passes and finished with five for the game. Wilson was 23 for 32 for 292 yards, continuing his late-season surge. In his past four games, Wilson has thrown 16 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Doug Baldwin caught three touchdown passes and Tyler Lockett had two for the Seahawks. Making his first start for the Ravens in place of an injured Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 274 yards. He was 23 for 40 with an interception. On their first drive, the Seahawks went 80 yards on 11 plays and scored a touchdown on Wilson’s eight-yard pass to Lockett. Wilson held the ball for nearly five seconds and never was pressured before he found Lockett wide open in the end zone. Wilson was 4 for 4 for 34 yards on the drive, and Thomas Rawls, the rookie who has done an impressive job in place of an injured Marshawn Lynch, had six carries for 44 yards. However, on the last of those carries, Rawls hurt his ankle on a tackle for a loss by Chris Canty and didn’t return. As routine as they made it look, the rest of the first half was a bit of a struggle for the Seahawks. They had a chance to take a 14-3 lead but Luke Wilson, all alone in the end zone, dropped what should have been a routine touchdown pass. On the very next play, running back DuJuan Harris, who replaced Rawls, was stripped of the ball by Courtney Upshaw on the Baltimore 5-yard line. Elvis Dumervil recovered, and the Ravens’ defense forced a rare turnover. The Seahawks ultimately did take a 14-3 lead after rookie running back Buck Allen, who was essentially running out the clock, fumbled the ball on the Baltimore 14-yard line with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner recovered, and two plays later, Wilson found Doug Baldwin for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Baldwin beat Shareece Wright on the play. Baltimore got the ball back with 38 seconds left, and Clausen took to the air. He hit Kamar Aiken down the sideline for 37 yards and then Aiken for 21 yards. A 30-yard field goal by Justin Tucker allowed the Ravens to go into halftime trailing 14-6. — Baltimore Sun |