Baltimore Ravens Grades, Carolina Panthers Edition

Sep 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is sacked by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil (58) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Defense: A-

It’s hard to find a lot of fault with any aspect of the Raven’s performance, but we do have a couple of bones to pick here and there. The pass rush started out strong as both Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs set up shop in the Panther’s backfield. The two combined for a pair of sacks on Cam Newton and six total QB hits.

Outside of those two, however, nobody else was getting pressure. Even with the two sacks racked up against the Panthers, the Ravens have only five sacks on the season. And the two this week came against a team that had given up seven coming into Sunday. The Ravens should have had a field day.

Brandon Williams was excellent once again and has really been a force against the run. He even recovered a fumble against the Panthers. C.J. Mosley led the defense with 11 tackles and had the best game of his young professional career as he batted down a pass and had an amazing 7 stops.

Safety play remains a huge concern as both Matt Elam and Darian Stewart turned in poor performances in coverage. Stewart gave up 4 completions on 5 targets for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Elam gave up 3 receptions on 3 targets for 61 yards, including a 30 yard pass completion to possession receiver Jericho Cotchery.

The good news is, both corners graded out positively. Aside from a blown coverage by Jimmy Smith (and Matt Elam) that resulted in a touchdown, he gave up a mere two completions for 25 yards on 6 targets. Asa Jackson was targeted 4 times and allowed 2 receptions for 24 yards. It was a huge improvement for Jackson, who had played poorly to this point.

Next: Special Teams