Week 6 Game Recap: Carolina Panthers 23, Baltimore Ravens 21

What you need to know

Carolina Panthers

Jake Delhomme passed for a career high 365 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Panthers to a win on the road by completing 24 of 39 passes despite two interceptions. Playmaker Steve Smith responded with a huge game, tallying eight catches for 189 yards and a touchdown, with much of that come after the catch. Keyshawn Johnson was heavily targeted in this affair, but finished with only five catches and 46 yards while big and tall Drew Carter figured heavily in the outcome, pulling in four balls for 65 yards and a long touchdown. Out of the backfield, Nick Goings chipped in two receptions for 33 yards and DeShaun Foster added two catches for twelve yards. Tight end Kris Mangum was quiet in this game, catching one ball for three yards.

The Panthers did most of their damage through the air, showing that they missed the versatility which DeAngelo Williams offers to the rushing attack. DeShaun Foster carried the load, gaining 58 yards on 26 carries, but was kept out of the end zone despite a number of opportunities inside the opponents’ five yard line.

Baltimore Ravens

A hard hit on Steve McNair knocked him out of the game early with an apparent concussion after completing two of four passes for four yards with an interception. Kyle Boller entered, throwing three touchdowns and nearly rallying the team to victory late, completing 17 of 31 passes for 226 yards and one interception. Mark Clayton was the beneficiary, catching two touchdowns on five catches which went for 101 yards, with both touchdowns coming on deflected passes not intended for him. While Clayton was in the right place at the right time, teammate Derrick Mason failed to catch a pass in this game, and was targeted less frequently without former teammate Steve McNair in the game. Tight end Todd Heap proved to be a familiar security blanket for Boller, catching five balls for 55 yards and a touchdown. Fellow tight end Daniel Wilcox accounted for three catches and twenty yards. Out of the backfield, Jamal Lewis caught three balls early for nine yards, while Musa Smith caught just one for negative two yards.

Throughout much of the afternoon, the Ravens abandoned the rushing game, and only gave Jamal Lewis nine carries, which he took for 41 yards. At the end of the third quarter, the Ravens tried running the ball with Mike Anderson, who gained just seven yards on six carries. Musa Smith fumbled on his only carry, which went for five yards. Kyle Boller had as much success rushing the ball of anyone, gaining 27 yards on six official rushing attempts.

What you ought to know

QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 24 - 39 - 365 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0

Delhomme struggled a bit early in this game, throwing two balls off his back foot when the Ravens’ defender was already in front of his wide receiver, causing a pair of interceptions. Delhomme responded by putting his trust in Steve Smith to make the big play after the catch and throwing the ball over the top to Drew Carter, mixing in mostly short passes to Keyshawn Johnson throughout the game. By the game’s end, he had a passer rating of 88.1 by virtue of completing 62% of his passes for an average gain of 9.4 yards per passing attempt. The television crew counted at least four dropped passes by his receivers, which could have made his numbers even more impressive.

RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 26 - 58 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets)

Foster struggled near the goal line, being given the ball four times from inside the two yard line, and failing to convert any for touchdowns. Additionally, he lost a fumble early in the game, and never really got on track in the rushing game, averaging just 2.2 yards per carry with a long of twelve yards.

WR Steve Smith, Rec: 8 - 189 - 1 (11 targets)

Smith had a great day, highlighted by his 72 yard touchdown reception where he made the defender believe he was going to the outside of the field, and then turned in towards the middle with plenty of room to use his speed and take it for six points. On multiple occasions throughout the game, he made adjustments on balls most receivers would not have caught and came down not only with a nice catch, but additional yards after the catch.

WR Keyshawn Johnson, Rec: 5 - 46 - 0 (15 targets)

Johnson was heavily targeted in this game, but was not as productive as his peers. It often seemed Delhomme was trying to force the ball into Johnson, who was the targeted receiver on both of Delhomme’s interceptions.

WR Drew Carter, Rec: 4 - 65 - 1 (5 targets)

Carter showed excellent separation down the left side of the field on his 42 yard touchdown catch, and made a very nice catch on third down late in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Panthers.

TE Kris Mangum, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

Mangum caught the only pass thrown his way and was not a big part of the offense against the Ravens' crew of linebackers.

PK John Kasay 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points

Kasay connected on field goals of 21, 21 and 31 yards, plus successfully added two extra points. Kasay benefited in this game from the inefficiency of the running game to find the end zone.

CAR Rush Defense

The Panthers limited the Ravens to just eighty yards on the ground, with more than a third of that coming from the legs of a scrambling Kyle Boller. By slowing down Jamal Lewis early and taking the lead, the Panthers forced the Ravens to try to beat them through the air. The Panthers recovered one fumble on a rushing attempt by Musa Smith.

CAR Pass Defense

While coming up with three sacks and two interceptions, the Panthers gave up three touchdowns and 230 yards through the air, though a pair of those touchdowns came on tipped balls which just as easily could have gone the other way.

QB Kyle Boller, Pass: 17 - 31 - 226 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 6 - 27 - 0

In three quarters of action, Boller played as well as could be expected for a backup quarterback against the Panthers’ defense, accumulating a passer rating of 97.0 and averaging 7.3 yards per passing attempt while completing 55% of his passes. Boller certainly benefited in this game by the fact that Mark Clayton was in the right place at the right time, and that he had a veteran tight end in Todd Heap who was able to come down with the tough catch.

QB Steve McNair, Pass: 2 - 4 - 4 - 0 TD / 1 INT

McNair exited early with an apparent concussion after being sacked and did not return. Initial reports of a CT scan and x-ray on his head and neck were negative. Note that the Baltimore Ravens have a Week 7 bye.

RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 9 - 41 - 0, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Lewis did not see much of the field in the second half and despite his request for more carries, was given only nine opportunities to run the ball, averaging 4.6 yards per carry with a long of 17 yards. Four of Lewis’ nine carries went for one yard or less, but if he was able to turn the corner, he usually made a decent game of at least four or five yards. All of Lewis’ targets were early in the game, including the very first two plays of the game as they were making an effort to get him more involved.

RB Mike Anderson, Rush: 6 - 7 - 0

Anderson was used exclusively on a drive late in the third quarter, but failed to do much, with his best run of six yards called back due to a penalty.

RB Musa Smith, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (3 targets)

Smith received less action than he had in previous weeks, primarily because of a fumble in the first half on his only rushing attempt. Boller seemed to look to his tight end and wide receiver over the middle of the field before he would take the checkdown pass to his running back.

WR Mark Clayton, Rec: 5 - 101 - 2 (9 targets)

Clayton happened to be in the right place at the right time, catching a tipped pass in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown, and later a tipped pass over the middle for which he ran for most of the 62 yards after the catch. Clayton may be credited with 11 targets if you count the two deflected balls which he caught.

WR Derrick Mason (5 targets)

While Mason failed to catch a pass, he was targeted in the end zone on the first touchdown by Mark Clayton, as the ball bounced off his hands. Incidentally, had Clayton not been there, it is likely that Mason would have caught his own tipped ball in the back of the end zone. Mason’s value going forward may very well be tied to which quarterback is at the helm, as Boller did not look Mason’s way very often in this game.

TE Todd Heap, Rec: 5 - 55 - 1 (9 targets)

Heap made a fantastic catch in the corner of the end zone, going up above the defender, and appearing to get both feet in, despite the fact that the referee had already credited him with the touchdown, saying that he was pushed out of the end zone by the defender. Heap was used primarily in this game to get behind the linebacking corps and stretch the defense.

TE Daniel Wilcox, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (5 targets)

Wilcox was targeted as many times as Heap going into the fourth quarter of this game, however was not looked at late as the Ravens were mounting a comeback.

PK Matt Stover 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points

Stover connected on three extra point attempts and was not asked to attempt any field goals. It was interesting to note that down 13-7 at the end of the third quarter, the Ravens elected to punt the ball as opposed to giving Stover the opportunity to attempt a 51 yard field goal.

BAL Rush Defense

The Ravens limited DeShaun Foster and the Panthers’ rushing game to just 58 yards on thirty attempts, and forced one fumble, allowing penetration into their secondary on very few occasions.

BAL Pass Defense

Despite a pair of interceptions and one sack, the Ravens’ secondary was beat both on the deep ball and over the middle for long gains, giving up 365 yards through the air, with more than half of that going to Steve Smith.