Playing without Ray Rice (coach’s decision) Joe Flacco managed to engineer a 10 play, 96 yard drive in 5:27 to extend the Ravens’ lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter – a lead they would never relinquish on their way to a 17-12 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Flacco finished his one quarter plus going 8 for 12 and 120 yards including a 30 yard scoring strike to Mark Clayton.
Pass protection was a bit of an issue for the Ravens as they allowed six sacks. Flacco was dropped twice in the first quarter, both times by Tyler Brayton and both times he beat Michael Oher who played at left tackle.
The Ravens had 7 sacks of their own lead by Paul Kruger and Kelly Talavou who both had 1 ½ sacks. Defensive standouts were Terrence Cody, Antwan Barnes, Cary Williams and Tom Zbikowski.
The contest was a sloppy one thanks to the rather consistent and at times heavy rainfall which played a hand in the game’s 5 turnovers including three lost fumbles by the Ravens (Marc Bulger, Jalen Parmele and Curtis Steele).
Much more coverage on the way tomorrow.
