Seahawks vs. Ravens: Previewing Baltimore's Week 14 Matchup
The Baltimore Ravens begin a three-game homestand this Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks come to town.
When the 2015 NFL schedule was made, many pointed to this game as a matchup of Super Bowl contenders. After all, these two franchises have combined for 13 playoff berths, eight division titles, three Super Bowl appearances and two Lombardi Trophies.
Needless to say, these have been two of the most successful NFL franchises of the past decade. However, neither team is where it hoped to be at this point in the 2015 season.
Seattle is 7-5 and three games behind the Arizona Cardinals for the AFC West lead. It's also barely holding on to the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff standings, per ESPN.com.
Meanwhile, the Ravens are out of the playoff mix at 4-8 with four games left. The good news is they'll get three straight home games before playing the Bengals in Cincinnati in the regular-season finale.
This is a great opportunity for the Ravens to string together some wins and end 2015 on a high note, but it won't be easy with a strong Seahawks team coming to town.
Here is our preview for Ravens vs. Seahawks.
Game Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore
Date: Sunday
TV: Fox
Week 13 Results and Recap
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The Ravens are coming off a hard-fought loss to the Miami Dolphins.
It was yet another game Baltimore had a chance to win in the final minutes, but it was unable to get over the hump en route to a 15-13 loss on Sunday. The game was marred with missed opportunities and bad mistakes that prevented the Ravens from winning.
They ultimately lost the game in the second quarter, when backup quarterback Matt Schaub threw back-to-back interceptions the Dolphins converted into touchdowns. The second one was actually a pick-six that defensive lineman Derrick Shelby returned 22 yards for the score.
Those two scores put Baltimore in a 15-0 hole, and while it fought back valiantly, it was unable to come all the way back. Prior to that loss, the Ravens were enjoying a two-game winning streak that had the team going in the right direction in hopes some late-season success could parlay into a better season in 2016.
AFC North Standings
1. Cincinnati Bengals (10-2)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
3. Baltimore Ravens (4-8)
4. Cleveland Browns (2-10)
News and Notes
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Nick Boyle Suspended
The Ravens have routinely lost players to injury this season, but now they've lost one to suspension.
The team announced Monday that rookie tight end Nick Boyle had been suspended for the final four games of this season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
A fifth-round selection out of Delaware in the 2015 NFL draft, Boyle finishes his rookie season having caught 18 passes for 153 yards and no touchdowns. Following the announcement, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh did not give any specifics on Boyle’s suspension.
“I can tell you this: It wasn’t like steroids or anything like that,” Harbaugh said, per Ryan Mink of the Ravens website. “When I first heard about it, that was my first thought, ‘Man, I hope it’s not something like that.’ It’s nothing like that.
“He can confirm what it was,” Harbaugh continued. “It’s pretty common. It’s what you read about all the time with guys. I don’t think he realized that it was something he shouldn’t be doing. Or if he did, he didn’t think it through.”
Neither Boyle nor Harbaugh is saying what the substance is, but it doesn't sound like something Boyle intentionally took in hopes of gaining an unfair competitive advantage.
“He was telling me how stupid it was, and I agreed,” Harbaugh said. “It was pretty dumb. Hopefully, he’ll grow and learn from that."
With Boyle out, that leaves yet another offensive player done for the season, an occurrence that's been happening far too often in 2015.
Ravens Sign Konrad Reuland and Richard Gordon
With Nick Boyle now out, the Ravens don't have a healthy tight end on the roster.
Maxx Williams missed Sunday's loss to the Dolphins while dealing with a concussion. Crockett Gillmore left the game with a back injury and did not return.
With those two possibly being out this week, the Ravens have added tight ends Richard Gordon and Konrad Reuland to the roster.
Gordon, now in his fifth NFL season, was just with the Denver Broncos before being cut earlier this month. He's bounced around the league since 2011 and has just four career catches for 14 yards and one touchdown.
As for Reuland, he's been on Baltimore's practice squad for stretches of the past two seasons. He played 26 games for the New York Jets from 2012-13 and has 12 career catches for 90 yards and no scores.
Neither player is going to be a game-changer for the Ravens offense, but at this point, Baltimore just needs enough bodies to field a 46-man game-day roster.
Injury Report
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Eugene Monroe
The Ravens continue to be without starting left tackle Eugene Monroe as he deals with a shoulder injury.
That same injury caused Monroe to miss the Week 12 win against the Browns in Cleveland and then this past Sunday's loss in Miami. That's part of why quarterback Matt Schaub has been brutalized since then, as the offensive line has struggled without Monroe.
It's not looking good for him this week after he was unable to practice on Wednesday, according to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. If Monroe can't go this week, second-year man James Hurst will continue to start in his place.
Hurst continues to be a liability along Baltimore's line, though, so getting Monroe back ASAP will be critical to this offense having any success the rest of the season.
Matt Schaub
Speaking of that, Baltimore's inability to block consistently now has Matt Schaub dealing with an injury. Per Meoli's report, Schaub was unable to practice on Wednesday, so this will be something to monitor as the week progresses.
The 34-year-old QB was hit frequently Sunday and put through the NFL’s concussion protocol during the game after a big hit in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, Schaub passed it and won't have to worry about the hard process of getting cleared to play again.
That said, it's worrisome any time a player can't practice. If Schaub's unable to go this week, Jimmy Clausen will go in his place.
Crockett Gillmore
As mentioned in the previous slide, tight end Crockett Gillmore is dealing with a back injury that led to his missing the second half of Sunday's loss to the Dolphins.
The good news is Maxx Williams is back, though he was wearing a red non-contact practice jersey on Wednesday, per Meoli's report. Gillmore is a much more focal point of this offense, though, and not having him would be crippling against a tough Seahawks defense.
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Matchups to Watch
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Seahawks DEs vs. Ravens OTs
The Ravens offensive line is hurting right now and letting its quarterback get hurt even more.
Life isn't about to get any easier for it with the Seahawks coming to town. They have one of the league's best defenses once again, and it's due in large part to their pass rush.
They feature one of the best defensive end tandems any team has in Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. According to Pro Football Focus, those two have combined for 18 sacks and 81 QB hurries.
That's a ridiculous production rate they're getting, and it's a big problem for Baltimore. It doesn't help that left tackle Eugene Monroe is already looking iffy for this game.
How well whoever plays at offensive tackle for the Ravens against Avril and Bennett will heavily factor into how well the Ravens offense performs.
Seahawks RT Garry Gilliam vs. Ravens OLB Elvis Dumervil
Like the Seahawks, the Ravens defense may be able to wreak havoc this week thanks to some bad play at offensive tackle.
Seattle right tackle Garry Gilliam has been a major liability this year as he's routinely gotten beat off the edge. He is the team's worst-rated offensive player, according to PFF.
That's thanks in large part to Gilliam allowing 31 QB hurries, four sacks and seven QB hits this season. That's good news for Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who is once again the team's top pass-rusher.
Dumervil leads Baltimore in sacks (seven), QB hits (14) and QB hurries (33) while being tied for PFF's seventh-best 3-4 outside linebacker. He has the ability to wreck Seattle's game plan and keep quarterback Russell Wilson off his game.
With the offense likely not doing much in this matchup, it will be up to Dumervil to make some game-changing plays on defense.
Prediction
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The Ravens have continued to fight hard in victory and defeat, and there's no reason to think they won't continue that this week.
However, Baltimore is now hitting a stretch of games against opponents who want to win just as badly, if not more, in order to boost their chances of making the playoffs. That begins this week with a Seahawks team that—while it's struggled at times—is still one of the best teams the Ravens will face this year.
With only four games left in the regular season, every game is critical for Seattle to win just to ensure it's playing in the postseason. The Seahawks are going to bring the same kind of intensity and fight that have often pushed the Ravens to victory this season amid all the adversity they've faced.
In the end, Seattle comes into Baltimore and takes control of this game early to run away with an easy win.
Final Score: Seahawks 27, Ravens 13
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