Ravens' Earl Thomas on return to Seattle: 'Came in here with a purpose'

Amid a matchup between two MVP front-runners and two Super Bowl contenders in the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, Ravens safety Earl Thomas made his return to CenturyLink Field on Sunday. He made sure to come out of it with a win.

"I definitely came in here with a purpose, and we got it done," Thomas said after Baltimore's 30-16 victory, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "It's the best feeling in the world."

Thomas - who received a mixture of boos and applause from Seahawks fans - spent his first nine seasons with Seattle. He left the team on bad terms after failing to receive a contract extension and then suffering a season-ending lower leg fracture. The 30-year-old made his feelings known to his former club as he directed some choice words toward the Seahawks' sideline following teammate Marcus Peters' 67-yard pick-6.

"You knew I was going to say something," Thomas said. "I definitely said what I had to say. It was between me and them."

The defensive back's relationship with Pete Carroll also ended on a sour note. While being carted off the field in Week 4 of last season after injuring his leg, Thomas flipped off his longtime head coach. The two walked past each other after Sunday's contest without exchanging a single word.

However, Thomas seems to enjoy a positive relationship with his former teammates. He joked with linebacker Bobby Wagner and swapped jerseys with quarterback Russell Wilson after the game.

"I hold Earl in high regard, man," Wilson said. "I really love him. Just how much he's meant to my family, his family, and everything else, and what that means and then also just to the Seahawks organization and what he's meant ... he played really good today, he played great, he was battling out there, back-and-forth ... Earl's one of the best to ever do it."

Thomas managed five total tackles against his old club.

With the triumph, Baltimore is 5-2 for the first time since 2014 and sits alone at the top of the AFC North.

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