Seahawks challenge Ravens with a wide-open playbook

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, November 23, 2003

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Seattle Seahawks’ offense has been looking for a true test of its prowess, and it got one Sunday.

And Seattle passed with flying colors.

During a 44-41 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Seahawks went through a prolonged stretch in which they moved the ball at will. What made the performance even more remarkable was the fact that they did it against one of the best defenses in the NFL.

“We can move the ball on anyone,” offensive lineman Chris Terry said. “It’s not them that’s going to give us confidence, it’s us. It’s our job to put points up.”

The Seahawks piled up 426 yards of offense on the Ravens – a number that would have swelled close to 500 had it not been for six Baltimore sacks. Seattle averaged better than 5 yards per play, which is almost unheard of against the Ravens.

The most impressive part was how Seattle did it. Rather than use a conservative game plan designed to keep them in the game, the Seahawks continually threw the ball deep and challenged Baltimore’s defense.

“Our objective was to go right at them, play our game,” fullback Mack Strong said. “Not to worry about what kind of defense they had, just do what we do.”

Among the big plays was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson. It was the second-longest play ever by a Baltimore opponent (Pittsburgh’s Bobby Shaw caught a 90-yard pass in 2002).

“We came out and were playing one of the best defenses in the league as well as we’ve played this year,” Hasselbeck said. “We needed to play a game like this this year.”

The Ravens entered the contest ranked third in the NFL in defense, allowing just 269.3 yards per game. Before Sunday, their previous season-high for yards allowed was 389.

Stacks of sacks: Like their opponents, the Seahawks had six sacks in Sunday’s game, which marked a season high.

John Randle led the way with two sacks, and a pair of his teammates broke out of season-long droughts. Baltimore native Lamar King, who spent the first six games of the year on the physically-unable-to-perform list, and Rocky Bernard had their first sacks of the season Sunday.

“(The Seahawks) did a pretty good job of stopping the run on first and second down,” Bernard said. “So on third down, that just gave us a chance to really cut loose.”

Seeing as how Baltimore quarterback Anthony Wright threw for a career-high 319 yards, Seattle’s pass defense was far from perfect.

“We might have had pressure,” Randle said, “but just not at the right time.”

Ouch! The Seahawks were short-handed in overtime, most notably at wide receiver and defensive back.

Cramps sidelined receiver Bobby Engram and cornerback Shawn Springs in overtime, while a concussion suffered in the third quarter knocked safety Reggie Tongue out of the game.

Free safety Ken Hamlin had to come out for two plays in overtime, leaving Damien Robinson and cornerback Kris Richard as the only players at the position. Willie Williams played cornerback in place of Springs.

Hasselbeck also sat out two plays after injuring his non-throwing shoulder in overtime.

Tongue may have the most serious of the injuries, as he suffered a concussion trying to tackle Baltimore receiver Marcus Robinson. The Ravens’ 215-pound receiver knocked Tongue to the ground at the Seattle 37-yard line on the way to a 50-yard touchdown.

Making a statement: Prior to Sunday’s game, the Ravens’ offense was basically Jamal Lewis and 10 guys who blocked for him.

But the star running back wasn’t the focal point of Baltimore’s offense this week.

Receiver Marcus Robinson had seven receptions for 131 yards and four touchdowns.

Robinson, who entered the game with just nine catches on the year, said he didn’t mind spending most of the year in Lewis’ shadow.

“You’ve got to keep your focus,” Robinson said. “You’ve got to run that route. Because when the quarterback does come to look for you, you’ve got to be ready.”

Lewis ran for 117 yards on 26 carries.

Quick slants: Everett native Lamar Brightful had six kickoff returns for a 20.7 average for the Ravens, including a 40-yarder. Brightful also returned three punts for 11 yards … . The two teams combined for 10 penalties and six points over the first 29 1/2minutes of the game. … Looking for size during a key fourth-and-inches in the final minute of regulation, the Ravens’ defense used 350-pound offensive lineman Orlando Brown as a nose tackle. … Seahawks fullback Mack Strong had 33 rushing yards Sunday, giving him 133 on the season. His previous season-high was 114 yards, which came in 1994.