By David Rogers. BALTIMORE, Md. — A defensive battle finally that was knotted at 3-3 after three quarters of play saw host Baltimore erupt for 10 points in the final period to defeat the Carolina Panthers at M & T Stadium, 13-3, in front of reported paid attendance of 70,667 predominantly Ravens fans.
After exchanging 32-yard field goals — Baltimore’s Justin Tucker in the second quarter and Carolina’s Eddie Piniero in the third — the Ravens added a 37-yard field goal by Tucker early in the final stanza. Following Baltimore’s kickoff, on Carolina’s first play from scrimmage a Baker Mayfield pass to Shi Smith along the right sideline was completed, but the ball was ripped away by Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters. The call on the field by the game officials was that Smith was down before the ball came out, but a video review (after Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh challenged) reversed the call and that the Ravens recovered what was ruled a fumble.
It took just two plays and 58 seconds for quarterback Lamar Jackson to get his offense across the short field, from the Carolina 31 yard line. On the first play, running back Kenyon Drake was pushed out of bounds after a 29-yard run around the left side. A defensive offsides penalty against the Panthers moved the ball half the distance to the goal line, to the one-yard line, and it was from there that Jackson punched it in on a keeper for the game’s final points.
Harbaugh’s assessment when talking with reports was candid.
“It was a workman like win, it was a team win. It wasn’t pretty, but our defense stepped up in a big way, controlling the run and getting the turnovers. (The} offense was able to maintain time of possession. We could have done better at the end in the fourth quarter to put (the game) away certainly, but I thought they got the key score in the fourth quarter that separated us,” said the veteran Baltimore coach.
In the other media room, Carolina head coach Steve Wilks said, “All the credit to the Ravens. They made plays down the stretch, and we did not. I thought we played a great half of football. But just not enough. We have to learn how to finish, that’s the key thing with us. We have to protect the football down the stretch. (We had) too many turnovers in the fourth quarter.”
Carolina will try to get back on track Nov. 27 when the Denver Broncos visit Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Total Net Yards – CAR 205, BAL 308
- Net Yards Rushing – CAR 36, BAL 115
- Net Yards Passing – CAR 169, BAL 193
- Penalties – CAR 9/66, BAL 10/93
- Turnovers – CAR 3, BAL 1
- Time of Possession – CAR 26:46, BAL 33:14
- 3rd Down Conversions – CAR 3/12 (25%), BAL 6/15 (40%)
- 4th Down Conversions – CAR 0/1 (0%), BAL 0/0 (0%)
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
- BAL Lamar Jackson 24-33, 209 yards, 3 sacks, 1 INT
- CAR Baker Mayfield 21-33, 196 yards, 4 sacks, 2 INTs
Rushing
- BAL Kenyon Drake 10 carries, 46 yards
- BAL Lamar Jackson 11 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD
- CAR D’Onta Foreman 11 carries, 24 yards
Receiving
- BAL Demarcus Robinson 9 catches 128 yards
- CAR Terence Marshall, Jr. 3 catches, 76 yards
- BAL Mark Andrews 6 catches, 63 yards
