Ravens vs. Panthers: Terrance West Scores 2 TDs in 22-19 Win

The Baltimore Ravens opened the NFL preseason with a 22-19 win over the defending NFC Champions Carolina Panthers behind two touchdowns from Terrance West.

Yes, it is only preseason. But coming off a 5-11 season in which wins were difficult to come by, the Baltimore Ravens will take any win they can get.

The Ravens exited their first preseason game with a 22-19 win, and more importantly, left the game relatively unharmed. There were a few injuries that occurred during the game, but none look to be serious at this time.

The Ravens held out several of their Week One starters, including Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett, Mike Wallace and the players currently on the physically unable to perform list. It was an opportunity for the young guys to get in added reps in the first preseason game.

Carolina drove down the field without much resistance in Cam Newton’s only drive of the game. The secondary allowed Newton to get downfield in a hurry, but the defense was able to hold them to a field goal. It was an early 3-0 lead for the Panthers.

The Ravens started with Ryan Mallett at quarterback and Javorius Allen at running back. The first drive was one to be forgotten as the offense went three-and-out. Mallett was forced to scramble after a high snap on third down and took a pretty good shot trying to make something out of nothing.

Derek Anderson, the Ravens sixth-round pick in 2005, took over for Newton and the Ravens got to him in a hurry. Za’Darius Smith got his hand on Anderson’s arm to strip the ball loose and Carl Davis was able to come up with the recovery. That is something we need to see more of from this Ravens’ defense.

Terrance West looked good on two rushing plays on the ensuing drive, looking explosive on both carries. Mallett threw an interception a few plays later, but Darren Waller is to blame as the ball was right on target and he allowed A.J. Klein to pick off the pass and take it for a touchdown. The play was brought back on a penalty because of a Newton penalty of all things. He came on the field as Klein was returning the ball for the score, and the Panthers were forced to take over from the 26-yard-line.

It did not take long for the Panthers to make them pay for the turnover. Anderson found Devin Funchess on a back shoulder route and Funchess was just too big for Shareece Wright to cover on the play. Kelvin Benjamin caught a pass earlier in the game and Wright could not handle his size either.

The Ravens responded on the ensuing series with an impressive drive that resulted in a touchdown to make it a 10-7 game. West capped off the 13-play, 84-yard drive on a one-yard score, as the running game was the focal point. Kenneth Dixon took his first carry for 19 yards and Allen had an impressive run of his own on the possession.

After several drives stalled, the Ravens got their final offensive series of the first half in good field position following a fair catch interference penalty against the Panthers. Mallett would extend the drive with an 8-yard scramble on third down, and found Allen on a screen pass one play later for a 19-yard touchdown. It was terrific execution of the two-minute offense.

The Panthers responded with a strong drive of their own, advancing all the way to the Ravens 13-yard-line. Graham Gano added another field goal as time expired, and the Ravens entered the half with a 14-13. The late score is sure to irk John Harbaugh. We remember how he reacted during a halftime interview last preaseason.  

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Baltimore opened the half with Josh Johnson at quarterback and he led the Ravens to points on his first drive of the preseason. He kept the drive going twice with scrambles on third down. West capped off the drive with a beautiful touchdown run in which he ran left, realized there was nothing there, changed direction and beat the Panthers defense to the right side of the end zone for his second touchdown of the night. There has been a lot of talk about West in camp, and he backed it up on Thursday night.

Johnson would find Boyle on a two-point conversion to make it a 22-13 game.

The Panthers switched to Joe Webb at quarterback to start the half, and the first drive resulted in a punt. However, Carolina would retain possession as Kaelin Clay muffed the punt deep in Ravens’ territory. Gano would tack on another field goal to make it a 22-16 Ravens lead.

Josh Johnson found Nick Boyle for a completion of 29 yards on the ensuing drive, and it looked as though the Ravens would responded right away. Boyle hurdled over one defender on the play, showing off his athletic ability. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Johnson was sacked and fumbled the ball on the next play, and the Panthers recovered.

The Ravens defense held the Carolina offense to three points once again, cutting the lead to 22-19 with 12:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. Johnson answered with another solid series for the Ravens, but backup kicker Wil Lutz missed a 53-yard field goal. Safe to say that Justin Tucker’s job is safe.

The Panthers would drag the clock out for most of the fourth quarter and had a chance to win the game. They had the ball at the Baltimore 10 with 3:28 remaining, but the Ravens defense bunkered down once again inside the red zone and forced a turnover on downs. Matt Elam made his only play of the night on the fourth-down play, breaking up a pass intended for Marcus Lucas.

As the teams changed possessions, the crowd and both teams at M&T Bank Stadium saw Michael Phelps win his fourth gold medal of the Rio Olympics with ease. The entire stadium cheered on the hometown hero as he continues to prove to the world that Baltimore is the home of the best athlete of all time.

Jerrod Johnson came in for the final drive of the series, but it resulted in nothing. The Panthers then gave away the game when Damiere Byrd muffed the punt, and the Ravens recovered to end the game.

Next: Ravens vs. Panthers Game Day

All around, it was a solid performance for the Ravens in their first action of the new league year. The next time we will see the Ravens in game action will be next Saturday when they travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts. It might only be preseason, but Baltimoreans will always look to beat the Colts.