Panthers vs. Ravens: Complete Week 4 Preview for Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens have gotten the benefit of playing at home in three of their first four games. That continues Sunday as they host the Carolina Panthers. 

Both teams enter the matchup at 2-1 while looking to keep pace in their respective divisions. Carolina is tied with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South.

Baltimore is tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for second place in the AFC North behind the 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals. Because Cincinnati is off this week, Baltimore can equal its three wins with a victory over Carolina Sunday.

It won't be easy though. The Panthers are coming off a 12-4 campaign in 2013 that saw them win 11 of their final 12 games in the regular season. 

Baltimore on the other hand is looking to rebound from a disastrous 8-8 season in 2013. It's off to a good start at 2-1. However, that's the same record the Ravens had after three weeks in 2013. 

Needless to say, there's still plenty of football left to be played. Here is my preview of Sunday's game between Carolina and Baltimore. 

Week 3 Recap

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The Ravens finished their first round of the AFC North games on Sunday as they hit the road to face the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore has now faced all three division opponents through the first three weeks of the season.

Though it wasn't easy, Baltimore escaped with a narrow win on the road. 

Baltimore took a quick 3-0 lead on its first drive, but Cleveland responded with an 80-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Terrance West to put Cleveland up 7-3.

Baltimore responded with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to go up 10-7 heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Cleveland went on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard rushing TD by Isaiah Crowell that put the Browns up 14-10. The rookie tandem of West and Crowell was proving to be tough for Baltimore's defense to handle. 

Once again though, Baltimore responded with an 80-yard drive that ended in Lorenzo Taliaferro running in for the score to put Baltimore back up 17-14.

The Browns answered that with Brian Hoyer hitting Miles Austin for a four-yard TD to give the Browns a 21-17 lead, but those would be the final points Baltimore surrendered. 

The defense forced two Cleveland punts and blocked a field goal to shut out the Browns in the fourth quarter. On the other side, Baltimore had two scoring drives that ended in field goals, the final of which being to win the game. 

After a Browns three-and-out, Baltimore's offense got the ball back at the 50-yard line with two minutes left after a short punt by Cleveland.

Flacco would hit Steve Smith for a 32-yard gain to put kicker Justin Tucker in position to kick the game-winning 32-yard field goal to give the Ravens a 23-21 win.

News and Notes

Steve Smith Ready For Panthers

The Carolina Panthers enjoyed the services of receiver Steve Smith for over a decade. However, that relationship ended this offseason when Carolina cut the veteran receiver.

Smith is the Panthers' all-time leader in catches (836), receiving yards (12,197) and touchdowns (67), and he ranks 19th in NFL history in receptions.

Smith has a long history with Carolina, and he's had this game marked on his schedule for a while. 

In fact, Smith has had the Panthers on his mind since Week 1, as evidenced by his remarks in the video above. Those came during the Ravens' game against the Bengals in Week 1, in which Smith was talking about facing the Panthers in Week 4. 

Smith also promised this offseason there was going to be “blood and guts everywhere” when he talked about facing the Panthers in Week 4 during an appearance on WFNZ (h/t ProFootballTalk).

It's safe to say Smith is looking forward to Sunday. 

Ravens Place Dennis Pitta on IR

For the second year in a row, the Ravens will be without the services of Dennis Pitta for the duration of the year. 

The veteran tight end dislocated his hip during Sunday's win over the Browns, and the Ravens have since placed him on season-ending injured reserve. 

Pitta was leading the team in receptions prior to the injury. He finishes 2014 with 16 catches for 125 yards and seven first-down conversions. The good news is Pitta's surgery to repair the hip was successful, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

Tight end Phillip Supernaw was called up from the practice squad to the active roster to replace Pitta.

Ravens Re-Sign Deonte Thompson 

Because Baltimore was without Bernard Pierce in Week 3, it called up rookie running back Fitzgerald Toussaint from the practice squad. In order to make room for him, the team waived wide receiver Deonte Thompson. 

The Ravens expect Pierce to play this week, so they waived Toussaint and re-signed Thompson, as reported by the team's official site. That's good news since Thompson is the backup kick returner in the event Jacoby Jones goes down with an injury. 

Injury Report

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The Ravens are pretty healthy coming into Week 4 with the players still on the 53-man roster. However, Baltimore was hit with some tough news Wednesday afternoon.

According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, starting left tackle Eugene Monroe will miss several weeks after having knee surgery. James Hurst will start in his place. 

Hurst is an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina who earned a roster spot in the preseason. He has yet to play this season, but he's slated to start Sunday vs. Carolina.

Hurst will likely be tasked with blocking Panthers defensive end Mario Addison, who leads the team with 3.5 sacks. 

According to the team's Twitter account, running back Bernard Pierce is expected to play this week after missing Week 3 with a thigh injury. 

Matchups to Watch

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CB Lardarius Webb vs. WR Kelvin Benjamin

The Carolina Panthers may have found a future star in Kelvin Benjamin. The rookie receiver out of Florida State was Carolina's first-round pick in this year's NFL draft. 

Benjamin leads the team in receiving yards (253), 20-plus-yard catches (5), yards per receptions (15.3) and is tied for the lead in touchdown catches (2). 

On the other side, Webb is Baltimore's No. 1 cornerback. However, he missed the entire preseason and first two regular-season games while dealing with a back injury. When he finally played in Week 3 vs. Cleveland, Webb played in just four snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). 

Expect to see him play more against the Panthers now that he's getting back into football shape, and he could be tasked with covering Benjamin for a good portion of the game. 

How well Webb holds up against the rookie could determine how well Carolina's offense performs Sunday.

LT James Hurst vs. DE Mario Addison 

The Ravens will be without starting left tackle Eugene Monroe Sunday, as he's expected to miss several weeks after having knee surgery.

Getting his first NFL start Sunday in Monroe's place will be James Hurst. An undrafted rookie out of North Carolina, Hurst earned a roster spot in the preseason as a backup offensive tackle.

Hurst will likely be tasked with blocking Carolina defensive end Mario Addison on Sunday. Addison leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

How well Hurst can hold up against Addison and keep Joe Flacco's blind side safe will determine how effective the passing game will be against Carolina. 

DT Haloti Ngata vs. LG Amini Silatolu

The Ravens will likely have the benefit of having one of their best defensive players matched up with one of Carolina's worst offensive players. 

Amini Silatolu is a liability on the offensive line. His negative-2.2 grade by Pro Football Focus is the fourth-worst grade of any Panthers offensive player. His negative-2.4 run-blocking grade is the second-worst mark of any Panther. 

Ngata is one of the best defensive linemen in football, and he does excellent against the run. In 2013, Ngata's 8.9 run-defense grade was the second-best of any Ravens defender. 

If Ngata can consistently get one-on-one matchups with Silatolu, it will be a nice advantage for the Ravens. 

Prediction

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Carolina is coming off a demoralizing 37-19 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. Baltimore easily beat those same Steelers in Week 2, 26-6. 

The Ravens offense is finally finding its rhythm, while the defense is consistently playing well. Last week against Pittsburgh, Carolina gave up 454 yards of total offense, 264 of which came on the ground. 

Baltimore's offense is built on having a strong run game, as evidenced by its 137 rushing yards per game. The Ravens will take an early lead in this game and then use their run game to control the clock and cruise to an easy win. 

Baltimore's defense will take advantage of an injured Cam Newton and force him into two turnovers that the Ravens will score points off of. 

Steve Smith will have a big day in his first game against his former Panthers team, recording eight-plus catches and 100-plus receiving yards. 

Ravens win, 23-13