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“We can build on this,” said Thomas, smiling ear to ear. “This is a big, big, big, big win. Everybody’s morale is high. We haven’t been like this in a minute. So it just feels good to get that ‘W’.”
A collective exhale could almost be heard coming from the Seahawks’ locker room afterward, as they stopped a three-game skid by beating one of the best teams in the National Football League.
“We really respect them so much that this is a very special win in that regard,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We have to get back to work. We have a lot to do, we have a lot of stuff to clean up. But I’m glad that we had a chance to celebrate with our fans today.”
The Seahawks forced three turnovers in the first three quarters, including two fumbles on kick returns by Baltimore’s David Reed. Seattle used the miscues to take a commanding 22-7 lead early in the second half, and then held off a late rally by Baltimore for the win.
Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch was the catalyst for Seattle offensively, finishing with 167 yards from scrimmage (109 rushing yards on 32 carries and five receptions for 58 yards) and a 1-yard touchdown run. But Seattle’s defense was the story.
With one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses on the other sideline, the Seahawks showed they can play some defense as well, holding Baltimore to 323 total yards.
The Seahawks took a 19-7 lead into the locker room at the half – the first time they led at halftime all season. And Seattle extended that lead to 22-7 after K.J. Wright batted a Joe Flacco pass to the flat up in the air, and fellow linebacker David Hawthorne corralled the deflection then rumbled 34 yards to the Baltimore 8-yard line before Flacco chased him out of bounds.
That set up kicker Steve Hauschka’s fifth field goal of the game.
“That’s some stuff you dream about,” Hawthorne said about his interception. “Getting the ball and running toward the zone. But in my dream I don’t think I run out of bounds. I ran into the end zone, I dunked it on the goal post and did all kinds of stuff. But that didn’t happen today.”
After that, the Seahawks held on. Baltimore cut Seattle’s lead to 22-10 on a Billy Cundiff 35-yard field goal late in the third quarter. And the Ravens pulled to 22-17 on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson from Flacco with a little over five minutes left in the game.
But Baltimore never got the ball back, as Seattle converted four first downs and Tarvaris Jackson knelt on the ball twice to end the game.
“Coaches love nothing more than to get that situation in the fourth quarter and be able to run the clock out,” Carroll said. “And think about who we just did it against. So that’s really cool that that happened today.”
