Don’t look now, but the Seattle Seahawks are starting to round into postseason form. The defending conference champs are still in pole position for the NFC’s second wild card spot after a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Seattle now goes in search of a fourth-straight win against the banged up Baltimore Ravens, who are still sticking around in games despite having pick-six machine Matt Schaub at quarterback.
Read on below for our preview of this Week 14 matchup. And for more of Sunday’s top matchups, check out our previews of the Falcons vs. Panthers and Bills vs. Eagles.
Make that three wins in a row and four in five games for the streaking Seattle Seahawks. After edging the Pittsburg Steelers in a 39-30 shootout, they thoroughly dominated the Minnesota Vikings to win, 38-7, on the road on Sunday.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Seahawks offense has been running very smoothly over the last month. It’s averaging 34.5 points per game through the last four games, second-best behind only the Steelers during that stretch.
Russell Wilson has been absolutely amazing, completing 77 percent of his passes over his last three games with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rookie running back Thomas Rawls has also continued his stellar play, averaging 130 rushing yards with three rushing TDs in his last three games.
Wilson and Doug Baldwin, who has caught five touchdowns in his last two games, should continue to find a lot of success against a Ravens team that has been way down in pass defense DVOA for most of the year.
The Seahawks defense was also dominant, holding Adrian Peterson and the Vikings running game to a pitiful 1.9 yards per carry. The Seahawks D has struggled at times this season, but it should be able to maintain its dominance against the lowly Ravens, who are missing their big stars on offense.
Seattle is 5-0 and has allowed just 7.6 points per game in its last five games against teams with a losing record this season.
Just about the only constant for the Ravens these days is Matt Schaub throwing pick-sixes. The veteran QB threw his second interception for a touchdown in as many starts for Baltimore, which proved costly as the Ravens lost 15-13 to the Miami Dolphins.
The Ravens, who are missing their No. 1 quarterback (Joe Flacco), running back (Justin Forsett) and wide receiver (Steve Smith) to injury, still have some weapons on offense. Javorious “Buck” Allen, in particular, had 170 yards from scrimmage and a passing touchdown against Miami.
Schaub’s propensity to hand the ball over to the opposing team makes it tough to back Baltimore keeping it close against the Seahawks, though. Dating back to his spell with his final games with the Texans in 2013, Schaub has now thrown two picks in each of his last four starts.
However, the Ravens have been incredibly resilient this season, injuries and all. They’ve lost all eight of their games by only one score. Their defense has also played well, limiting opponents to 15 points or fewer in two of their last three games.
The Ravens, though, are just 3-7-2 ATS this season and 0-4-1 ATS at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Seahawks extend their streak to five as they smoke the Ravens, 31-10.
