Seattle Seahawks vs. Baltimore Ravens: What's the Game Plan for Seattle?

The Seattle Seahawks enter Sunday's contest as heavy favorites despite playing on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.

It's a perfect trap-game scenario—the Seahawks are on a high-flying roll right now, while the Ravens are playing out the rest of the season just to save face. 

Is the 12th Man worried? Not this member:

Seattle has an outstanding chance this weekend to further cement its already-solid postseason chances. Let's take a closer look at how the Seahawks can emerge victorious in Baltimore.

Offensive Game Plan

Quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seahawks receivers have been rolling recently, and the Ravens pass defense has allowed 22 touchdowns and has forced only four interceptions this season.

On paper, it's a perfect matchup for Seattle. Expect the Seahawks to exploit it.

Head coach Pete Carroll often praises Wilson's work ethic. And, a Friday tweet from Wilson confirms that he's locked in for this weekend's game:

How could you sleep if you knew you've been dropping perfectly placed fireballs for three straight games? That's only halfway joking, of course. 

In the following highlight, forget for a moment that the Seahawks are playing the San Francisco 49ers and instead pay attention to the touch Wilson puts on the touchdown pass to rookie Tyler Lockett:

Wilson has made these types of throws on the regular lately, and it's why he's having a career-best stretch of performances. There's no reason to believe this type of success won't continue against the Ravens.

In four games this season, all losses, the Ravens defense has surrendered 325 or more passing yards. Baltimore even allowed an astonishing 422 passing yards to the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. 

It's safe to say that Wilson and Seattle's passing offense is expected to do great things this weekend.

Wilson should have plenty of opportunities to spread the ball around, given that Baltimore has actually played quite well against the run in 2015.

Sunday should prove to be a good test for rookie runner Thomas Rawls, who has helped Seattle average a whopping 146.6 ground yards per game after he rushed for nearly 400 combined yards in his last three starts. 

Unlike in most NFL games, the key to finding success on the ground Sunday begins with Seattle effectively throwing the ball first. By taking an early lead on big passing plays, the Seahawks will be able to salt away the rest of the game on the back of Rawls.

If that plan does fall into place, expect Rawls to eclipse the mark of 83 rushing yards per game allowed by Baltimore. 

Defensive Game Plan

At the beginning of the week, the 12th Man must have been salivating at the fact that Baltimore was slated to start quarterback Matt Schaub against the Seahawks.

If that was tasty news, then how does the following tidbit make fans feel?

It probably makes them feel pretty good, considering that the Seahawks already feasted on Jimmy Clausen in a Week 3 win against the Chicago Bears. The then-Bears quarterback threw for 63 total yards and zero touchdowns in a depressing shutout loss to Seattle.

Clausen's second dance of the season with Seattle will likely yield better results but not by much. We only say this because, after all, it is Clausen's second try against the Seahawks. You'd think a better performance would come naturally.

This Ravens fan isn't getting his hopes up:

One person who should get his hopes up is rookie defensive lineman Frank Clark. He had a breakout game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13, racking up a pair of sacks and knocking down two Teddy Bridgewater passes at the line of scrimmage.

His ferocious pass-rushing performance against the Vikings was among the best in the league, as noticed by Pro Football Focus:

Clark and the rest of Seattle's pass rush will have chances to attack Clausen at some point, because the Ravens haven't run the ball with much success this season. That won't change against a Seahawks run defense that allows just less than 88 yards per game on the ground. 

Consider this: Quarterback Joe Flacco, despite suffering a season-ending injury a couple of weeks ago, still leads the Ravens in rushing touchdowns with three. Baltimore has only seven total rushing touchdowns on the entire season. 

The Seahawks should quickly make Baltimore's offense Clausen-centric, which is exactly how Seattle can march to another convincing win.

The bottom line? Make Clausen beat you with his arm, because, you know, he probably won't. 

Key Matchups 

Frank Clark and Bruce Irvin vs. Ravens Offensive Line

On defense, Clark and Irvin provide the Seahawks with a nasty one-two punch that the Ravens won't be able to handle.

You've read about Clark's ability to rush the passer already. But part of what opens opportunities for Clark is the effectiveness of Irvin from the outside linebacker position.

Irvin has 5.5 sacks on the year, which is third on the team. Fans love his production:

But perhaps even more important than his sack totals is the amount of disruption Irvin causes at or behind the line of scrimmage. In Week 13, he constantly met running back Adrian Peterson at the line and emerged victorious more times than not. He also forced a sack fumble from Bridgewater to help seal Seattle's victory. 

Against the Ravens, it wouldn't be shocking to see Irvin end up with two sacks and multiple tackles for losses. 

Look for Clark and Irvin to feast Sunday.

Tyler Lockett vs. Ravens Secondary

Against Minnesota, Lockett enjoyed an effective seven-catch, 90-yard performance that didn't feature a touchdown. 

Look for him to add that cherry to the top of Sunday's stat line.

As aforementioned, the Ravens have struggled against the pass. Baltimore's once-feared secondary has given up big performances to young NFL receivers such as the Oakland Raiders' Amari Cooper this season.

Draft status and season stats aside, Cooper and Lockett share an ability to create separation with tremendous bursts of speed. Cooper burned the Ravens for 109 yards and one touchdown on seven catches in a Week 2 win.

Lockett will be able to put that same skill set on full display against a subpar group of Ravens defensive backs. Wideout Doug Baldwin will likely be the center of Baltimore's attention on defense, which will open up opportunities for Lockett to burn the Ravens—on short or long passes.

Prediction: Seahawks 24, Ravens 13

Make no mistake—the Ravens are a far more competitive team than their 4-8 record suggests. Baltimore has not lost a game by more than eight points this season. As this week's game preview suggested, this game has the potential to be a close one.

But a high-flying Seahawks team facing Clausen at quarterback will prove to be too much for the Ravens to overcome, as Seattle takes another road win in convincing fashion. 

Sunday will see Baltimore suffer its first double-digit loss of the season.

Seattle's defensive front, led by Clark and Irvin, comes away with six sacks on Clausen, who will quickly be forced to try to carry the Ravens on his back. This will not yield positive results for Baltimore.

On offense, Wilson will throw for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Lockett will catch at least one of those scoring passes.

Rawls will have a tough start against a defense that is allowing less than 85 rushing yards per game. But as Seattle piles on the points, Rawls' job becomes a little easier, and he finishes the contest with 95 yards and a touchdown run. 

The Seahawks will not apologize for dominating a lesser opponent with major quarterback issues; they further solidify their playoff chances with an 11-point win in Maryland. 

Ethan is a Seattle Seahawks game-day correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ebai_today for Seahawks coverage and musings about the NFL.