The Carolina Panthers (2-1) are set to take on the Baltimore Ravens (2-1) in a Week 4 matchup on Sunday. It's a game between two 2-1 teams, both of which are playing in tough, contested divisions. But the biggest story line revolves around a single player -- wide receiver Steve Smith. The 35-year-old Smith was with the Panthers for 13 years, but they elected to release him this offseason. It didn't take long for the Ravens to snatch him up, getting him inked to a three-year deal in under a day.
Panthers vs. Ravens 2014: Steve Smith faces his old team
Both the Ravens and Panthers are 2-1 on the season and hoping for that big third win. This is also Steve Smith’s first game against his old team.
Maddie Meyer
Smith has been excellent so far this season, but we’ll talk about him more later. The Panthers and Ravens have both been solid this year, though both have struggled in some unexpected areas. The Panthers are woefully inept at running the ball and stopping the run, aspects of the team that are usually strengths. The Ravens typically can defend the pass well, but they’re among the worst teams in the league in that regard so far.
But whatever the case, both teams are winning. The Panthers lead the NFC South, while the Ravens are second in the AFC North thanks to a 3-0 start by the Cincinnati Bengals. Carolina didn't do Baltimore any favors by falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, either. The Panthers will be hoping to rebound, while the Ravens will be hoping to extend their winning streak to three games.
Digits
The Ravens are thriving in the running game, despite not having their expected starter from the offseason. Somehow they've managed to put up 137.0 rushing yards per game on average, and that's against some tough defenses in the Bengals, Steelers and Cleveland Browns. They're also stopping the run just as well, allowing only 87.7 rushing yards per game. Both stats work out to eighth in the league.
Carolina is the opposite at this point. They can’t run, going for just 72.3 rushing yards per game (29th in the league), and they can’t stop opponents from doing so, allowing 145.3 rushing yards per game (sixth-most). Needless to say, the Ravens will be trying to exploit that in a big way. Carolina has put up just 217 rushing yards this season, and have allowed 436. The Ravens have put up 411 and allowed just 263. The game plan for both is probably clear at this point.
Who to watch
Steve Smith: This one was probably obvious, wasn’t it? Smith has instantly become the top receiver for the Ravens. In three games, he’s caught 18 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. He’ll be looked at early and often for Baltimore, when the team isn’t trying to run the ball.
DeAngelo Williams: Williams carried the ball 14 times for 72 yards in Carolina's opener, but he missed the next two games due to injury. Now he's expected back (while backup Jonathan Stewart, who was not good in reserve, is expected to miss the game), but he'll have his work cut out for him against Baltimore's stingy run defense. Williams is past his prime, but he's Carolina's best (and really their only) option at the running back position. It will be interesting to see how many carries he gets on Sunday.
Justin Forsett: Bernard Pierce has been out-played by both Lorenzo Taliaferro and Justin Forsett. The latter of those, Forsett, is leading the team with 30 carries for 189 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Taliaferro has 18 carries for 91 yards (5.1 per carry) and a score, while Pierce has 28 carries for 113 yards (4.0 per carry) and has not yet found the end zone. Forsett may be on track to securing the starting role with a big game against Carolina.
How to watch
Where: M&T Bank Stadium
When: 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green
Online Streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile
The venue
The fan experience at M&T Bank Stadium is one of the best in the league, but does it ever account for an advantage for the Ravens? Baltimore went 6-2 at home last season and the season before that. They did win there against the tough Steelers in Week 2 this year, though they struggled and fell to the Bengals in Week 1. Whatever the case, the Ravens have one of the biggest home/road winning percentage differentials in the league, and the same goes for points. A report from ESPN back in 2012 put them second only to the New England Patriots in that span, and they did just fine at home in 2012 and 2013.
Odds
The Ravens opened up as 2.5-point favorites for this matchup, and the line moved further in their favor throughout the week. Some books had them favored by as much as 3.5 points, according to OddsShark. Baltimore is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games at home, however.
Preliminary judgment
SB Nation’s seven experts came to a narrow consensus in their Week 4 picks. For this matchup, Ryan Van Bibber, Stephen White, David Fucillo and Danny Kelly all picked the Panthers to win, while Joel Thorman, PFT Commenter and Matt Ufford picked the Ravens. You can find the full Week 4 picks here.
Further reading
You can find more on the Ravens over at Baltimore Beatdown. For more on the Panthers, head on over to Cat Scratch Reader.
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