Baltimore vs Carolina
Ravens Defense Shines in 13-3 Win Over Carolina as Baltimore Remains in First Place
The Baltimore offense sputtered a bit as 13-point favorites against Carolina in Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season, but fortunately for the Ravens, the defense was in top form for 60 minutes.
The result was a 13-3 victory over the Panthers (3-8) in front of over 70,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium to see the Ravens improve to 7-3 and remain in first place in the AFC North.
The defense held Carolina at bay all game, and in a 3-3 game entering the fourth quarter, that work paid off in the form of three turnovers that led to 10 points and the winning margin of victory for Baltimore, who won its season-high fourth-straight game to maintain a one-game lead over the Cincinnati Bengals in the division.
“It was a workman like win, it was a team win,” head coach John Harbaugh assessed after the game. “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 it away certainly, but I thought they got the key score in the fourth quarter that separated us. That was big, and then special teams was solid.”
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With the crowd getting a bit tense with the game tied a 3 against an overmatched opponent on paper, Justin Tucker kicked a 37-yard field goal with 8:27 left in the game to break the tie. Marcus Peters then provided the pivotal play of the game, forcing a fumble by Carolina wide receiver Shi Smith, which put Baltimore in good field position at the Panthers’ 31-yard line.
Lamar Jackson finished that drive with a touchdown run from a yard out to extend the lead to 13-3. Marlon Humphrey and Jason Pierre-Paul then each intercepted old AFC North rival Baker Mayfield to put the game away without Carolina scoring a touchdown on the day.
“The defense, basically what they said at halftime was, 'If they don't score, they can't win.' That was their mindset, and I think at the end of the game, that was the same mindset, 'It's on us,’” Harbaugh explained.
The offense has performed well for much of the season, so Lamar Jackson was thankful for the defense to pick them up on an off day.
“We just didn't get it done today. We moved the ball a little bit second half, but we weren't punching it in,” Jackson told reporters after the game. “[There were] a lot of penalties here and there, so I feel like it slowed us down a little. Our defense just played lights out."
Jackson threw the ball quite a bit, going 24-of-33 for 209 yards and an interception to go along with 31 rushing yards and the game’s only touchdown.
Despite few points, there were two big stories on offense.
The first was the best game of the year for Demarcus Robinson, who caught nine balls for 128 yards, two games after leading the team with six catches against Tampa Bay. Robinson, who is with the Ravens after spending several years with Kansas City (along with winning a Super Bowl there), is taking a leadership role in the receivers room.
“I've been to higher levels, and I'm just trying to get these guys to understand that, which I'm sure they do,” Robinson said. “We just talk about it a lot. Just to let them know that we're not even halfway to accomplishing our goals, so we just have to keep going harder and harder, because we don't have one of our best players."
The other big story was the return of tight end Mark Andrews after missing two games due to injury. Historically Jackson’s favorite target, Andrews slotted right back into the mix, catching six balls for 63 yards.
"It's self-explanatory; that's my guy. He's been my guy since 2018, so it felt great to have him back, as always,” Jackson said of Andrews’ return.
GAME RECAP
It was a windy day in Baltimore, and each team was conservative to start. After a first quarter full of punts on either side, Jackson was intercepted to start the second quarter by Brtavvion Roy, but the Panthers couldn’t capitalize and had to punt again. The Ravens took over at their own 10-yard line with three minutes to go before halftime and started to move the ball. After 14 plays, the ball sat at the Panthers’ 14-yard line, where Tucker kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 3-0 Ravens at the half.
Each team traded punts to start the second half as well, but Carolina had their lone scoring drive midway through the third quarter. After stalling at the 14-yard line of Baltimore, Eddy Pineiro tied it up at 3-3 after a 32-yard field goal.
Baltimore started the fourth quarter with a 12-play drive that ended in the 37-yarder by Tucker to provide the winning points at 6-3. On the second play of the Panthers’ ensuing possession, Peters forced the fumble that set Baltimore up for their lone touchdown. After the Jackson keeper made it 13-3, the defense closed things out from there by ending the next three Carolina drives in the following fashion: turnover on downs thanks to a Pierre-Paul sack, a Humphrey interception, and a Pierre-Paul interception to end the game.
UP NEXT
After one game at home following the bye, Baltimore again heads to the southeast, where they won games at Tampa Bay and New Orleans earlier this month when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are coming off their bye and last played two weeks ago in a 27-17 loss at Kansas City, dropping the Jags to 3-7 on the season.