Baltimore Ravens: Keys to Victory Sunday

First I’d like to say congratulations to my editors Randy Buchman and Shawn Brubaker and the rest of the writing staff at The Baltimore Wire for the 1,000th post. Having been here only a month, writing for this local sports blog is insanely addicting and a lot of fun, needless to say. Living in Louisiana of course I fully support my New Orleans Saints but the Baltimore Ravens have been my team away from home since I first saw Ray Lewis play when I was a teenager. Finally, I’ve found an outlet to relentlessly talk Ravens football. And since segues are weird and I typed this opening while waiting in line at Subway, let’s just get right into this matchup.

They may not be a division opponent but the Baltimore Ravens will have their hands full as they host a dangerous Carolina Panthers this Sunday. This game has a number of implications. Sure, we’re all waiting to see Steve Smith go up against his former teammates, but let’s look at a few things on both sides of the ball the Ravens can do to end Sunday with a victory.

Carolina’s biggest threat is their defense. Ranked 14th and surrendering 19.3 points a game, Carolina will be pressuring Joe Flacco all day. We can expect Steve Smith to play lights out in the “There will be Blood and Guts Bowl” but he and Torrey Smith are going to be blanketed. It’s difficult with Luke Kuechly leading the league in assists and defending the middle of traffic to find the mismatches needed to find the end zones. Owen Daniels — time to step up! With Dennis Pitta out, the former Houston Texans tight end will have to help Flacco get rid of the ball quickly in the short passing game. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk will be the most important part of the offense as the Ravens will look to him to occupy Kuechly.

Fortunately the offense should get plenty of chances thanks to the advantages the Ravens’ defense possesses. Carolina has one of the poorest offensive lines currently and quarterback Cam Newton will be under duress all day. Ranking 25th in rushing yards per game, Carolina will be forced to throw more than expected with Elvis Dumervil, CJ Mosley, and Terrell Suggs devouring the line preventing any running lanes.

I expect Greg Olsen to be shut down leaving Newton to target Kelvin Benjamin more times. Cornerback Jimmy Smith needs to have a big game, as he’s the best matchup for Benjamin and Carolina knows Baltimore gave up many deep plays against Cleveland at the expense of safety Matt Elam.

I’m predicting a 24-17 victory for our Ebony Birds. With Flacco controlling the pace of the game and the defense staving off big plays, we will see the Ravens move to a comfortable 3-1 with two wins over the AFC North.