NFL Week 9 odds: Seahawks open as sizable road underdogs vs. Ravens

Seattle faces their second consecutive opponent from the tough AFC North in the Ravens and dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson.  Can the underdog Seahawks pull off the upset?

The Seattle Seahawks are fresh off their last-minute win against the Cleveland Browns in those wonderful throwback uniforms – a victory that proved the Pete Carroll Seahawks try to give every fan a heart attack each week no matter what threads they wear. After two straight weeks of home cooking, they have to make the cross-country trip to take on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

Both of these teams are leading their respective divisions, yet DraftKings Sportsbook has the Seahwawks as a pretty heavy (+5) underdog.

Baltimore has been Baltimore so far this season. What I mean is that the Ravens play excellent defense and run the heck out of the ball. That combination has led them to a 6-2 record, fresh off a 31-24 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. The week prior, they absolutely pantsed the Detroit Lions 38-6 where they put up 503 total yards on offense. So yeah, they’re good.

The all-time series is tied up at 3-3 but the Ravens took the last game in 2019 at CenturyLink Field 30-16. It was a weird game in which Baltimore scored two defensive TDs and Seattle did relatively well against Lamar Jackson in what would be his MVP season. I say relatively because despite being held to 143 passing yards, Jackson still put up 116 rushing yards and 1 TD.

The over/under is 43, which seems a bit low to me considering the Ravens are coming off 38 and 31 point outbursts. Seattle’s offense is streaky, but their defense has been playing lights out so that might be the “line” of thinking…pun intended.

The Seahawks face a “dreaded” early kickoff once again – which we know hasn’t really been that big of a deal under Pete Carroll. Really, it will come down to how well they can stop the Ravens potent rushing attack on defense and whether or not they can find enough points on offense to come away with a victory. In other words, a typical 2023 Seahawks game so prepare for another heart attack.