by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2022
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Where to watch: FOX
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Ravens -12
FanDuel: Ravens -12.5
BetMGM: Ravens -12
Caesars: Ravens -12
Season record
Panthers: 3-7 (last place, NFC South)
Ravens: 6-3 (first place, AFC North)
The NFL season is heating up with a lot of great games! Did you see this week's slate of games? They might not be like this forever, but man, it's going to be hard to replicate what we saw in Buffalo and Green Bay this weekend. But the playoff races are heating up at the right time and they are certainly relaying some excitement as the season progresses. You know you want to get involved in this action, as well, with our champion handicappers killing it through the NFL season with 8 more games to play for some teams, and even 7 if you're feeling lucky. Look no further than our own Al McMordie sitting at 16-9-1 in the NFL over the last 30 days, along with Sean Murphy at 16-11-0 in the last month. There's a lot of success stories as it pertains to who wants it more with the schedule entering the second half of the year. If you want the best handicapping results, make sure you're following our champion handicappers to a T and get in on this action at bigal.com!
Panthers - Ravens preview, analysis and prediction
Last week
Panthers: won 25-15 vs. Falcons
Ravens: Bye (won 27-13 at Saints on Nov. 7)
The path to winning a division title and hosting a playoff game is right there for the taking for the Baltimore Ravens. Three wins in a row and coming off a bye week, the 6-3 Ravens are playing well at the right time with a prime opportunity for a fourth win in a row against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The path to winning a division title and hosting a playoff game is right there for the taking for the Baltimore Ravens. Three wins in a row and coming off a bye week, the 6-3 Ravens are playing well at the right time with a prime opportunity for a fourth win in a row against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The Ravens’ winning streak has been impressive from the standpoint that the Ravens won the last two games on the road against NFC South teams. The latter part of that isn’t as impressive as the road game portion. Baltimore is coming off a 27-13 win against the New Orleans Saints last Monday behind a dominant ground performance from Kenyan Drake. The veteran had 24 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns to pace an offense that had a tough day, primarily from Lamar Jackson. The quarterback went 12 of 22 for 133 yards and a touchdown.
"The human will can only take so much. It was just pounding down in and down out," Drake said. "That's just what this team is all about — just continuing to wear teams down and grind them out with four quarters of football. If you can stand up to that, more power to you, but more times than not we're going to win that battle."
Jackson did have an impact with running for 82 yards, while the Ravens defense forced Andy Dalton to beat them, which is something that’s been happening for years if you remember the old Cincinnati days. But Baltimore held Alvin Kamara to just 30 yards on nine carries and 48 yards on 15 carries in general.
When you look at the Ravens and where they stand in the pecking order of the AFC, of course it seems like they’re playing third or even fourth fiddle. Are they in the same realm of the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills? Likely not. Maybe the Miami Dolphins? Per evidence of that epic banger of a game from earlier in the year? Again, likely not. But as long as that defense continues to play well and Lamar stays Lamar, they’re going to win games and they’re going to be competitive in this conference race of division leaders.
One team that won’t be in that conversation is the Panthers, but hey, they won a game last Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons. Which by the way, if that game wasn’t the call to put Desmond Ridder at quarterback, Atlanta should just sell the football team. It’s getting so ridiculous for this team to throw Marcus Mariota in the fold each week.
Especially when the Falcons are getting outplayed by P.J. Walker and are watching D’Onta Foreman run for 130 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers haven’t had much to cheer for, but two division wins since firing Matt Rhule and trading Christian McCaffrey seems like solid work.
"You have to continue to grind, continue to pound it," said Foreman, who has three 100-yard running games since McCaffrey was traded to San Francisco. "That's what I wanted to do. I wanted the ball in my hands."
Prediction
But when looking at this through a full lens, the Panthers are still the Panthers and have no shot against the Ravens. The defense doesn’t have enough to take down Jackson or stop this running attack. I’d say, however, if the Ravens take their foot off the gas, it could open the door for a backdoor cover. I’d say that part is close. Ravens by 14
Betting trends
Panthers are 9-18 ATS the last two seasons.
Panthers are 5-13 ATS after the first month of the season the last 2 years.
Ravens are 60-39 ATS after gaining 150 passing yards or less in the last game since 1992.
Over is 25-12 when the Panthers lost 5 or 6 of their last 7 since 1992.
Statistical leaders
Panthers:
Passing: Baker Mayfield -- 1,117 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: D'Onta Foreman -- 426 yards, 4 TD
Receiving: D.J. Moore -- 478 yards, 3 TD
Defense: Brian Burns -- 7 sacks
Ravens:
Passing: Lamar Jackson -- 1,768 yards, 16 TD, 6 INT
Rushing: Lamar Jackson -- 635 yards, 2 TD
Receiving: Mark Andrews -- 488 yards, 5 TD
Defense: Justin Houston -- 8.5 sacks
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Carolina Panthers - Baltimore Ravens prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NFL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
