The Baltimore Ravens looked to be in total control of their game against the Carolina Panthers after extending their lead to 20-3 in the opening moments of the third quarter. However, someone forgot to tell the Panthers to give up and they scored ten straight points to close to 20-13. Then the Ravens defense took over and decided to put the game out of reach with two interception returns for touchdowns on successive Carolina possessions to basically end any chance or hopes of Carolina.
Fans here on The Beatdown debated the merits of the offense's ability to put the game away but the defense wasn't about to wait to see if that was going to happen. The Ravens All-Pro and future Hall of Fame defensive stars, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis made the picks and while Ray took it in himself, Ed couldn't help himself from lateraling the ball to fellow safety Dawan Landry for the score.
That puts the Ravens record now to 7-3 and keeps them tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North, but by virtue of their win over Pittsburgh, gives Baltimore the current tie-breaker. A lot to dissect but for now a win is what we wanted and is what we got. Next week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town and they are a tough team that will challenge the Ravens.