Baltimore Ravens Crush Carolina Panthers 38-10 as Steve Smith Dominates
By Brett Foote
Sep 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith, Sr. (89) runs on the field in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
For weeks the hype around Steve Smith’s “revenge” game against the Carolina Panthers seemed to be a bit overblown. On Sunday, Smith’s epic performance made all the hype seem moot in comparison. Smith finished with 7 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens rolled over the Panthers 38-10.
Steve Smith wasn’t the only factor in a game where the Ravens simply dominated the Panthers in every phase of the game. Joe Flacco had his best passing performance of the season and picked apart the Panther’s secondary, finishing 22 of 31 for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns with zero interceptions.
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Flacco enjoyed a clean pocket all day and wasn’t sacked once, even though the Ravens started undrafted rookie free agent James Hurst at left tackle. The O-line dominated the line of scrimmage as well, as the Ravens rushed for 127 yards on the ground. The Panthers defense simply got manhandled on all levels.
The Panthers came into this game reeling from injuries in the running game, and lost starter DeAngelo Williams to an ankle injury. The Ravens defense limited the Panthers to 67 yards rushing on 26 attempts for a meager 2.6 yards per carry. Cam Newton absorbed two sacks and a number of hits as he was under duress for the entire game. Elvis Dumervil picked up 1.5 sacks, with Terrell Suggs picking up 0.5 with the assist.
After looking like they would continue their hot streak from last season, the Panthers have simply fallen apart in two blowout losses to AFC North teams in consecutive weeks as they fall to 2-2. Meanwhile the Ravens keep pace with the 3-0 Bengals in the division by moving to 3-1 on the season. The Ravens travel to Indianapolis next week to face the 2-2 Colts.