Steve Smith gets a visit from his old team this week, as the Panthers take on the Ravens. Carolina will face Baltimore at 1 PM EST on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. You can watch the game on CBS, or via live stream online from the links below.
The Ravens are tied for second place in the AFC North behind the perfect Cincinnati Bengals. They have played most of their games at home, and they better enjoy these early ones in Baltimore, because they will have to prove themselves on someone else's field later.
For them to win at home or on the road, they will need Smith to keep doing his thing. Since coming over from the Panthers, he has proven his worth to Joe Flacco and the Ravens. He has become a offensive variable for the Raven's offense, with team highs of 18 catches and 290 yards. He will probably be eager to have his best game yet against the Panthers this week, and how he fares will be a big part of the Raven's success or failure.
On Defense, the Ravens need to do more to prevent the passing game. They looked soft against the Browns last week, as they have in their other games, as well. Hoyer threw for nearly 300 yards, and there is no doubt Carolina's Cam Newton is licking his chops because the Ravens have allowed 787 yards through the air in their first 3 games.
Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton can burn defenses with his arms and his legs.
For the Panthers, the offense starts with Cam Newton and his favorite target, Kelvin Benjamin who has done a great job filling the void left by Smith. He has amassed 253 yards and 2 touchdowns so far, and looks like he will get better as time goes by. Jerricho Cotchery is going to be in the lineup this week, after being sidelined by a hamstring pull, so he will give Newton another option.
The Carolina defense, after some high hopes this offseason, will be out to turn things around after a rough outing against the Steelers last week. They gave up a pile of rushing yards in the loss, so they will want more out of the front 7 this week. They gave up 265 yards on the ground in the loss last week.
Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott told the Charlotte Observer that he was hoping the defense could pick up the pieces and get better this week.
"Sometimes we learn more from losses than we do from wins, and I'm hoping that's the case in this situation," he said. "It's where we go from here that matters the most."
To watch the game online, check out NFL Sunday Ticket. If you want to listen on the radio, the Panthers can be heard on WFNZ 610 AM, and the Ravens broadcast on WBAL 1090 AM. The game will be on the CBS Television Network with a 1:00 PM EST kickoff.
