BALTIMORE -- Sunday's Week 9 Seahawks-Ravens matchup shaped up as a good one. First-place Seattle flying across the country to take on first-place Baltimore. A tough Seattle run defense against a typically tough Ravens rushing offense. Geno Smith against Lamar Jackson. Good litmus test for two good, evenly matched teams.
The problem was, nobody told the Ravens. For the second time in three weeks, they welcomed a first-place NFC team to Baltimore by absolutely dismantling them. After crushing Detroit 38-6 in Week 7, the Ravens beat the Seahawks 37-3 on Sunday, pushing them around at the line of scrimmage, making Smith's life miserable with their pass rush and rolling up 298 rushing yards against a team that came in allowing under 100 per game.
"We're just staying locked in," Jackson said. "Just playing every opponent the same way. Physicality, playing smart and defending what's ours. Defending our home turf. We've got guys that are hungry."
The win improved Baltimore's record to 7-2, good for first place in an AFC North in which every team has a winning record. The Ravens have won four games in a row, are 4-1 on the road and are outscoring their opponents by 13 points per game. What's more, five of their remaining eight games are at home. And to reiterate, they have beaten the first-place Lions and the first-place Seahawks by a combined score of 75-9 in their past two home contests. That's the kind of thing that might make some people ... well ... overreact. Let's judge some Week 9 takeaways as we hit midseason in the NFL.
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Ravens as the AFC's top seed?
Dolphins flaming out in the playoffs?
Stroud in the MVP mix?
Eagles already won the NFC East?
Giants drafting a QB?
