Ravens @ Panthers
Final Score: Ravens 20, Panthers 3
Writer: Corey Saucier (@Deputy_Commish on Twitter)
Images of Panthers’ star RB Christian McCaffrey in full uniform going through pre-game warmups opened the telecast for the Panthers vs. Ravens preseason game on Saturday night. I thought for sure that meant we would catch a glimpse of McCaffrey in action against Baltimore, but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. With the new 17-game NFL regular season on tap and therefore a shortened, three-game preseason, it’s tough to anticipate when we might see some starters getting some run.
Panthers’ play-by-play analyst Taylor Zarzour mistakenly announced that the game’s first snap was taken by Ravens’ superstar QB Lamar Jackson. It was not. In fact, it was QB Tyler Huntley who went wire-to-wire at QB in Baltimore’s 20-3 victory over Carolina – leaning heavily on the run game and controlling the time of possession 38:43-21:17. Carolina’s defense was consistently able to put pressure on Huntley, keeping him unsettled in the pocket. Carolina’s offense failed to take advantage of two first-quarter Baltimore turnovers and consistently struggled to move the ball throughout the night. A couple of 2nd half TD drives from the Ravens brought a little bit of life to what was otherwise a punt fest. Let’s dive into what we saw.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterbacks
Tyler Huntley: 24/34, 187 yards, INT | 7 carries, 23 yards
In a departure from last week’s matchup against New Orleans, QB Trace McSorley didn’t see any action against the Panthers on Saturday. Instead, QB Tyler Huntley got to show what he could do in a real game situation. Huntley quickly responded by throwing an INT on his first attempt of the night:
HELLO DEFENSE 💪
Haason Reddick with the PICK!
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/mOEPeCctC0
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 21, 2021
It wasn’t all bad news for Huntley, though, as he led the Ravens to a 20-3 victory and Baltimore’s 19th consecutive preseason win. Huntley was able to move the ball efficiently against the Panthers’ defense at times, but often he struggled with pressure. To Huntley’s credit, he was a super-efficient 10/16 passing on 3rd downs for the night. Later in the second half, Huntley did a better job of anticipating rushing lanes to escape the pocket but still failed to connect on any throws downfield. In Baltimore’s backup QB competition, Huntley hasn’t done much to separate himself from McSorley, so it will be interesting to see how much Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh decides to divvy up playing time amongst his QBs next week in Baltimore’s final preseason game.
Running Backs
J.K. Dobbins: 4 carries, 8 yards
Nate McCrary: 15 carries, 64 yards, TD | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 19 yards
Ty’Son Williams: 10 carries, 47 yards, TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
It was a night where Baltimore’s running backs carried the torch for the offense and a couple of rookies took their opportunities to shine. RBs Nate McCrary and Ty’Son Williams may not have a fantastic chance to crack Baltimore’s 53-man roster, but they both did their best to make a case on Saturday night against the Panthers. McCrary is an intriguing prospect – an imposing physical presence at 6’0″ 213 pounds out of Division-II Saginaw Valley State. McCrary consistently showed decisiveness by quickly choosing a lane and hitting the hole with speed and purpose. The highlight of his night was this 3-yard TD scamper:
We have the lead after that touchdown run by @natemccrary28!
Tune into the fourth quarter on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/Z0JVNGljUc
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 22, 2021
RB Ty’Son Williams didn’t enter the game for Baltimore until after the McCrary TD and he didn’t get as many touches as McCrary did, but was still able to find the end zone for the Ravens in the 4th quarter. He converted a 4th down to keep a drive alive, and then shortly thereafter produced this spectacular run:
We're up 20-3 after that touchdown run by Ty'Son Williams!
Tune in to the rest of the game on @wbaltv11. pic.twitter.com/CaqA6yBnls
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 22, 2021
In more of a lowlight moment, Williams also got absolutely thumped by Carolina S Doug Middleton. Luckily for Ty’Son, there is no GIF floating around of that one. It was also somewhat of a surprise how ineffective RB J.K. Dobbins appeared in a limited role. I’m sure that Harbaugh and the Ravens are holding him back for the regular season, but he has not impressed so far this preseason.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Josh Oliver: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 50 yards, Fumble (Lost)
Tylan Wallace: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 36 yards
Devin Gray: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 19 yards
Jaylon Moore: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
With the running game clicking and Huntley moderately struggling throughout the night, the pass catchers for the Ravens had a fairly quiet game. Rookie WR Tylan Wallace had a couple of splash plays, including a nice grab and scamper to set up Nate McCrary’s rushing TD:
The big play from @OfficialTylan2 set up that go-ahead TD❗️ pic.twitter.com/dNka61CkMp
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 22, 2021
It was impressive how Wallace kept his balance along the sideline as he was able to avoid would-be tacklers in the process. Saturday’s game marked the second straight contest we didn’t see WR Marquise Brown in action as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. First-round draft pick WR Rashod Bateman is out until sometime in September after just having undergone a core-muscle surgery. The jury is still out on what this group will look like with Lamar Jackson come Week 1.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 1/2, 16 yards
Will Grier: 11/14, 144 yards
P.J. Walker: 1/8, 8 yards | 1 carry, 4 yards
Carolina’s fans warmly greeted shiny new starting QB Sam Darnold as he took the field for the first time at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte Saturday night. Darnold showed immediately that he appreciated the gesture by connecting with former New York Jets’ teammate WR Robby Anderson on a 16-yard pickup on an outside route to the right. That would be Darnold’s only completion of the night, but the buzz around his presence was palpable.
Since the telecast I had was the local Carolina team broadcast, I was treated to a halftime exposé going behind the scenes with Darnold as he settles into his new digs in Charlotte. He didn’t have any furniture yet, and he had boxes everywhere – some opened, some half empty and some ready to be opened (such as his new TV that was waiting to be hung). It felt like they caught Darnold just a couple of weeks too early, but he seemed excited to be in a new city with a new outlook on his young career.
Panthers’ GM Scott Fitterer was interviewed at halftime, and referred to the battle for the backup job between QBs Will Grier and P.J. Walker as an “open competition.” Grier clearly had the better showing of the two on Saturday, going 11/14 and at one time racking up 9 straight completions. Grier failed to lead Carolina to any points, but he clearly had a better time moving the ball than did Walker.
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard: 9 carries, 24 yards, Fumble | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards
Spencer Brown: 4 carries, 2 yards
Darius Clark: 2 carries, 1 yard
Rookie RB Chuba Hubbard once again got the start for Carolina, and once again failed to impress for most of the night. It wasn’t all bad for Hubbard – he did show maturity in his patience while waiting for blocks to develop, and he did look sharp in a 29-yard catch and run down the left sideline. But otherwise, Hubbard averaged a very pedestrian <3 yards per carry.
Running backs other than Hubbard (and of course the aforementioned absence of RB Christian McCaffrey) failed to do anything noteworthy and were mostly shut out while Grier was slinging the ball all over the yard. Hubbard certainly appears ready for the NFL game and is a versatile threat out of the backfield. I’m just really eager to see McCaffrey fully healthy after last season.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Terrace Marshall Jr.: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 50 yards
Shi Smith: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 35 yards
Robby Anderson: 1 target, 1 reception, 16 yards
Tommy Tremble: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Rookie WRs Terrace Marshall Jr. and Shi Smith have both had an impressive preseason so far, and they both continued to shine in limited work on Saturday against Baltimore. Marshall’s highlight-reel catch was an absolute laser from Will Grier down the right sideline:
Check out this sideline catch from TMJ 😎
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/zXDOn0dVXT
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 21, 2021
Marshall added two more catches before his night was done. Shi Smith led the Panthers’ pass-catchers with 6 targets but was only able to haul in two of them. Smith nearly had a spectacular catch on the sidelines but couldn’t quite get his second foot in bounds. Overall, this is an exciting young WR duo to add to Carolina’s top two WRs D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson.
— Corey Saucier (@Deputy_Commish on Twitter, /u/Lights_Kamara_Action on Reddit)
Test
Great read thank you!