This football game pits two teams against each other that are moving in different directions.  The Panthers are rolling and have won 4 straight games, while the Bengals have lost their last two games.

The Panthers are starting to click on offense.  Steve Smith is finally healthy and that will cause huge problems for the Bengals defense.  Smith already has 31 receptions for 450 yards this season.  But the Panthers will not come out throwing in this game….not with the Bengals run defense allowing 140.4 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry!  Look for DeShaun Foster to have a huge game against the Bengals defense.  Foster has 431 yards rushing (3.8 ypc) this season and will add many more by the time this game is over.  QB Jake Delhomme has played well this season (1,343 yards passing, 83 QB rating).  Look for Delhomme to throw the ball after the Panthers establish their running game.  Smith and Keyshawn Johnson (32 rec, 419 yards) form a deadly combination at wide-out so the Bengals DBs will have their hands full.

When the Bengals have the football, look for them to try to run the ball with Rudi Johnson (405 yards rushing) against a Panther run defense that is allowing 115.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  Also, look for Carson Palmer (1,178 yards passing, 90.1 QB rate) to throw short passes to TJ Houshmandzadeh (23 rec, 291 yards) and Chad Johnson (24 rec, 300 yards) because the line has had trouble with protecting on long passes.  Palmer has already been sacked 17 times this season, and DE Julius Peppers already has 8 sacks by himself! 

This should be a good football game that will probably be decided by who protects the football better…..Jake Delhomme or Carson Palmer. 

 

Rookie running back DeAngelo Williams will miss up to a month with a sprained ankle.  Nick Goings and Eric Shelton will get a few carries in his absence.

DE Julius Peppers has been the most dominant defensive player in the NFL.  Peppers is unstoppable so far!  Peppers has 34 tackles, 8 sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.   LB Chris Draft has stepped up after Dan Morgan was injured….again!  Draft has 43 tackles to lead the team, a sack and a fumble recovery.  Converted OLB Thomas Davis has adjusted well to his new position and has 38 tackles.  Rookie CB Richard Marshall is a big-play machine so far.  Marshall has 27 tackles, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery.

This was a huge win for the Panthers!  The Panthers really surprised the Ravens and came out throwing the football.  Jake Delhomme had a good game, completing 24 of 39 passes for 365 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INT.  DeShaun Foster had a rough game, but that was probably anticipated against the Ravens strong front 7 on defense.  Foster had 26 carries for 58 yards (2.2 ypc).  Steve Smith had a fantastic game, catching 8 passes for 189 yards and a TD!  Drew Carter also had a good game, catching 4 passes for 65 yards and a TD.  Keyshawn Johnson added 5 catches for 46 yards.

The Panthers played a good game on defense, led by DE Julius Peppers who had 5 tackles and 2 sacks.  MLB Chris Draft also had a huge game.  Draft had 6 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.  Rookie CB Richard Marshall continued his fine play with another interception today.  The Panthers held the Ravens to 80 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.6 ypc).  The Ravens completed 19 of 35 passes for 212 net yards thru the air.

This was a solid win for the Panthers, who have now won 4 in a row after an 0-2 start.

This should be a hard-hitting, low-scoring football game.  Neither team has been lighting up the scoreboard with Carolina averaging 17.2 points per game and the Ravens scoring 17.8 points per game.  The Ravens defense has been awesome this season allowing 9.2 points per game and only 219.6 yards of offense per game!

The Panthers come into this game needing to protect the football against the greedy Ravens defense.  To do that, they will need to have some semblence of a running game.  DeShaun Foster has been good this season (373 rushing yards), but he’ll have to go alone against the Ravens because DeAngelo Williams is out for this game.  If the Panthers can be effective running the ball (Ravens allow only 73.8 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry), then the pass rush of the Ravens will have to slow down a little bit.  The Ravens already have 18 sacks and 9 interceptions this season and have held opposing QBs to a 52.0 QB rating.  If given time, Delhomme should be able to get the ball to Keyshawn Johnson (27 rec, 373 yards) and Steve Smith (23 rec, 261 yards).  Smith has to catch the ball when it hits his hands this week, because the Ravens defense won’t give them alot of opportunities to score.

The Ravens prefer to run the football, but it hasn’t worked out to well for them this season.  The Ravens have only averaged 97.2 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry.  That is hard to believe with Jamal Lewis, Mike Anderson and Musa Smith at running back.  Nevertheless, look for the Ravens to come out running with Jamal Lewis (311 rushing yards) to start the game.  If the Ravens get the running game going (the Panthers allow 122.0 yards rushing per game) then Steve McNair can run some play-action passes and take a few shots deep to his buddy Derrick Mason (23 rec, 310 yards).  The linebackers and safeties of the Panthers will be challenged by TE Todd Heap who has already caught 22 passes for 180 yards with 3 TDs.  McNair can be forced into mistakes if the Panthers bring the heat, and you know Julius Peppers will be in his grill a few times on Sunday.

This should be a great football game.  I think the QB that makes the least mistakes wins this football game.