The Seahawks are Super Bowl champions in Mike Macdonald's second year as head coach after a dominant 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots.
Here are five Raven-ized takeaways from the game:
High hopes for the Macdonald-Minter connection.
Macdonald and Ravens first-year Head Coach Jesse Minter are good friends dating back to their days together in Baltimore from 2017-2020.
They worked together to evolve the Ravens' defensive scheme, which each coach took to their respective teams after leaving Baltimore.
Minter has followed the Macdonald path. He became Michigan's defensive coordinator, made the leap to NFL defensive play-caller for two years, then became a head coach.
The hope is that Minter can continue that track.
"Mike and I kind of grew up together here with the Ravens. We think about football I think very similarly and what it takes to build a great team. So happy for him and his success there in Seattle," Minter told FOX Baltimore's Morgan Adsit after his introductory press conference.
"I do think that is a blueprint of showing that it can be done quickly when you get the buy-in from the players and from the people. I look forward to trying to not just match that and get in the Super Bowl in Year 2, [but] hopefully in Year 1."
The defense they crafted is dominant.
The world got to see Macdonald's defense on center stage in the Super Bowl and it suffocated the Patriots, who had the second-highest scoring offense in the league in the regular season (28.8 points per game).
The Seahawks pitched a first-half shutout, sacked Drake Maye six times, and got three turnovers, including a pick-six. The Patriots had no answers for what the Seahawks defense kept throwing at them.
Minter will bring a similar scheme to Baltimore's defense – one that clouds the picture for opposing quarterbacks and puts them under pressure.
Defensive pressure starts up front.
The Seahawks blitzes were a major problem for Maye, and Devon Witherspoon's corner blitz was what caused the pick-six. Macdonald did a masterful job of predicting where the Patriots' pass protection would be and scheming free runners.
However, per Next Gen Stats, Maye was pressured nearly 48% of the time when the Seahawks rushed four or fewer defenders. That's the highest pressure rate without a blitz of any team this postseason.
The Philadelphia Eagles' front four dominated the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive line a year ago. This time, the Seahawks' defensive front crushed the Patriots' pass protection even without sending extra men.
Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones led the team with five sacks this season. If Nnamdi Madubuike returns from his neck injury that knocked him out early last season, that would be a boon for Baltimore's defensive hopes. Either way, the Ravens need to improve up front.
Match the defense with a strong running game.
As great as the Seahawks' collective defense was, the Super Bowl MVP was running back Kenneth Walker III, who had 27 carries for 135 yards and caught two passes.
With fellow running back Zach Charbonnet lost to injury, Seattle leaned on Walker to get the job done and keep the clock moving in the second half as it became clear that the Patriots were not going to score much.
If Baltimore's defense rebounds under Minter and reportedly newly-hired Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, the Ravens certainly have the horse in the backfield to carry the load with Derrick Henry.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold only threw for 202 yards and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Offensive Player of the Year, was held to just four catches for 27 yards and missed a chunk of the game due to injury. Yet with a ground-and-pound attack, the Seahawks had more than enough offense.
Take care of the football in crunch time.
The Seahawks had the second-most offensive turnovers (28) in the league during the regular season. Darnold threw the third-most picks (14) in the league.
However, Seattle became the Super Bowl winner in NFL history to not commit a single turnover during its postseason run.
The Ravens' bugaboo in the playoffs, and in some critical losses last season, was committing turnovers. That's something that will need to be rectified if Baltimore is going to not only get back in the postseason, but over the hump.
