SEATTLE — Against one of the National Football League’s best defenses, the Seattle Seahawks had to muster some consistent offense to win Sunday’s game at CenturyLink Field.
And they did.
Then, with the game on the line in the late minutes, the Seahawks needed to get some first downs and run time off the clock to preserve a victory over the AFC North co-leading Baltimore Ravens.
And they did.
In a season sadly short of offensive highlights, Seattle came up with a few in Sunday’s 22-17 victory over Baltimore. The Seahawks scored on six offensive possessions and then, equally important, came up with a terrific clock-killing drive of almost six minutes to end the game.
Sure, there were offensive blemishes here and there, most notably Seattle’s inability to score touchdowns. Five times the Seahawks had promising drives — three came on short fields after Baltimore turnovers — stall short of the end zone, resulting in field goals.
But the upside outweighed the flaws, and maybe nothing was more impressive than Seattle’s ability to control the football in the late moments. Baltimore scored a touchdown with 5:57 remaining, cutting Seattle’s lead to five points, and the Raven would have had a chance to win with another possession.
The Seahawks never gave them the opportunity. Despite starting with two penalties and a first-and-20 from its own 10-yard line, Seattle managed four first downs — twice converting on third-down plays — to use up the remaining clock.
“Everyone knew (the last drive) was an opportunity for our offense to win the game,” said Seahawks tight end Zach Miller. “We didn’t want to have to give it back to their offense and make our defense have to get another stop. Guys were saying, ‘Let’s keep getting first downs,’ and, ‘Let’s run the clock out.’ We wanted to take control.”
“That last drive was pretty much the whole game,” added Seattle center Max Unger. “It’s probably the greatest four-minute drive I’ve ever had.”
Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch touched the ball on seven straight plays on that final drive — six carries, one reception — for 35 yards, and three times bulled his way for first downs with defenders hanging on. He finished with 109 rushing yards on 32 carries, and became the first Seattle running back with back-to-back 100-yard games since Julius Jones in 2008 (Lynch had 135 against Dallas a week ago).
Lynch, who added 58 receiving yards, was aided by an offensive line that had one of its best games of the season, pushing Baltimore’s defensive front off the line of scrimmage and protecting Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson in the pocket.
“I was really proud of the offensive line,” said Seattle coach Pete Carroll. “I thought they played great. They protected beautifully, and when we needed it most they were able to grab the running game and take five or six minutes off the clock
“Of course, Marshawn played really well, too. But I know he’d be the first to tell you about the offensive line. It was a terrific job.”
“It wasn’t me, to be honest,” Lynch agreed. “The goal for every game is to run the ball. That’s pretty much why they wanted (offensive line coach Tom) Cable to come here (in the past offseason). He took his time with us, up front and the running backs. We go hand in hand to get that thing going, and now it seems like we’re understanding what it is he wants and how the run game should look.”
Still, Lynch ran with power and savvy against a Ravens defense that began the day ranked second in the NFL in rushing defense (86.8 yards a game) and second in total defense (279.4). With 3:10 left in the fourth quarter and Seattle facing a third-and-5, Lynch took a pass from Jackson in the right flat, eluded two Baltimore defenders with a nifty cut, and then dived forward for an 8-yard gain and a first down at the Ravens 38.
“I’ve said it before, the man walks aggressively,” said Seattle fullback Michael Robinson. “Everything about him is moving forward aggressively and trying to get yards. You’ve got to love that.”
On Seattle’s final drive, the Ravens “knew we were going to run it, everybody in the stadium knew we were going to run it, and they knew who was getting the ball. And we were still able to move the ball forward,” Robinson said.
Because head coaches are never satisfied, Carroll groused a bit after the game about Seattle’s red-zone (inside the 20) woes.
“We couldn’t get touchdowns,” he said. “We had a bunch of field goals, and Steven (Hauschka, Seattle’s place-kicker) did a great job of kicking the football. But that’s not the way we want to play, and we understand that. … This really could have been a much bigger win had we been effective in the red zone.”
But under the heading of good news, he added, the Seahawks had no interceptions and no fumbles lost.
“We took care of the football the whole day long,” Carroll said. “Tarvaris (Jackson) did a great job. That’s a monstrous defense to go against all day long, and he was very efficient, very effective. He moved beautifully and made some (big) plays for us.”
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