The Ravens used 4th round picks on 23-year old TEs Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson with the idea that they would be replacing 30-year old Todd Heap sooner rather than later.  But, Todd Heap has stepped up this season holding off the rookies.  Heap has played in 11 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has caught 37 passes for 546 yards (14.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He is getting open quite a lot this year and his hands are still awesome.  Ed Dickson has gotten into 10 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 5 catches for 91 yards (18.2 avg).  At least he has done more than Dennis Pitta so far this year.  Pitta has played in 7 games this year for the Ravens and he has caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  I don’t see Heap willing to give his job any time soon so Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are going to have to wait for their time to shine.

28-year old OLB Terrell Suggs has been playing really solid football so far this year for the Ravens.  He has played in 11 games for the Ravens and he has 50 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Suggs has been the best pass rusher on the Ravens this season and he’s going to have fun Sunday Night chasing Ben Roethlisberger around all night with his horrible pass blocking line.

The Ravens’ D stood up yesterday and the offense played pretty well too despite only putting 17 points on the scoreboard.  Joe Flacco completed 25 of 35 passes for 289 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ray Rice was busy in this game for the Ravens with 20 carries for 85 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 47 yards (6.7 avg).  Willis McGahee pitched in with 9 yards rushing on 3 carries (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg) in this game.  Derrick Mason (8 rec, 87 yards, TD) and Todd Heap (2 rec, 79 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Ravens.  The Ravens finished up with 92 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes for 257 yards.

LBs Ray Lewis (12 tackles) and Jarret Johnson (10 tackles) led the way for the Ravens’ D in this game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 101 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 37 passes for 162 yards.  The Ravens are now 8-3 on the year and they are tied for first with the Pittsburgh Steelers who they play next Sunday Night in Baltimore.

The Ravens have won three of their last four games while the Buccaneers have won 4 of their last 5 games.  The Buccaneers have not beaten a team with a winning record so far this year.  They are o-3 in those games and they have been outscored 96-40!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens have been itching to get the running game going and this could be the week.  The Buccaneers are allowing 136.5 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  That means Ray Rice and Willis McGahee might get their rocks off in this contest.  Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to throw the ball but he has to be careful because the Bucs have 15 interceptions so far this year.  Look for Flacco to shy away from CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber meaning that T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Todd Heap and Ray Rice will be heavily involved in the passing game just like last weekend.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Ravens will likely key on LeGarrette Blount early in this game as he has been a jackhammer for the Bucs since taking over as the starting RB.  The Ravens will also likely slide safety Ed Reed to whichever side rookie WR Mike Williams is on as he is Josh Freeman’s favorite target.  The Ravens will likely also make sure that they contain Freeman in the pocket because he can make big plays with his legs.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 26, BUCCANEERS 17

The Panthers cut the Ravens lead to 20-13 with 14:44 left in this game after Panthers’ QB Brian St. Pierre hit WR Davis Gettis with a 88-yard TD strike.  But, the Ravens’ D took control of the game after that.  They scored TDs on two consecutive plays when they intercepted St. Pierre passes taking them both to the house.  The first INT was made by Ed Reed who ran it back 19 yards before pitching the ball to fellow safety Dawan Landry who ran the final 23 yards for the TD.  Ray Lewis picked off the next St. Pierre pass and he took it 24 yards to the house.  The Panthers finished up with 120 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 28 passes for 150 yards.

Offensively for the Ravens in this game it was all about the passing game.  Joe Flacco completed 24 of 33 passes for 301 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Ray Rice pitched in with 19 carries for 65 yards (3.4 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 6 passes for 66 yards (11.0 avg).  T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2 rec, 79 yards, TD) and Todd Heap (5 rec, 69 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Ravens last week.  The Ravens finished up with 100 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 33 passes for 278 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:33.  The Ravens are now 7-3 on the year.

The Ravens are going to be angry after losing to the Falcons in the last seconds last Thursday Night so they won’t be overlooking the Panthers.  That’s bad news for the Panthers who are 1-4 at home this season where they have been outscored 117-46!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens will likely try to be balanced in this game.  Ray Rice and Willis McGahee will handle the running game against the Panthers who are allowing 131.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Panthers don’t have much of a pass rush so Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Look for him to spread the ball around to keep his receivers happy in this game.

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Panthers are only averaging 11.6 points per game and 250.6 total yards on offense.  That is pretty darn bad.  But, this Sunday could be even worse with the Panthers starting Brian St. Pierre at QB.  The Panthers will likely turn to the running game but the Ravens D should be able to handle Mike Goodson.  This game is going to get ugly really quick!

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 37, PANTHERS 0

The Ravens have been evolving under 48-year old head coach John Harbaugh.  When he got to Baltimore the Ravens were known for their defense.  But, under Harbaugh they have rebuilt the offense which is averaging 21.8 points per game and 344.8 yards per contest.  The defense is still decent but teams don’t fear them anymore.  Harbaugh has the Ravens in a good spot as they are tied with the Steelers atop of the AFC North with a 6-3 record.  The Ravens are 26-15 (63.4%) in three years under Harbaugh who’s starting to look like he’s going to keep his job for a long time in Baltimore.

30-year old kicker Billy Cundiff is really doing a great job for the Ravens this year.  He has played in all 9 games this year and he has connected on 14 of 17 field goals (82.4%) and 22 of 22 extra points good for 64 points this year.  The Ravens aren’t leaving points on the field this year and that’s good.  Cundiff is also kicking the daylights out of the ball on kickoffs which is also good for the Ravens who are very happy with him.

25-year old QB Joe Flacco was having a rough night for three quarters before coming on like a hurricane.  It wasn’t his fault that the Ravens lost last night.  Flacco has now played in 9 games for the Ravens this year and he has completed 182 of 297 passes (61.3%) for 2,132 yards with 15 TD passes and 7 INTs (90.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 52 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Flacco is already the Ravens’ all-time leader in passing yards with 8,501 and he has 47 TD passes which is second all time on the Ravens’ list, 4 behind Vinny Testaverde.

Things were looking good with 1:05 left in the game as the Ravens took the lead on a 9-yard TD pass from Joe Flacco to Todd Heap.  But the Ravens scored too quickly as Matt Ryan led the Falcons on a 80-yard TD drive in only 45 seconds to win the game.  Joe Flacco has a solid game for the Ravens last night as he completed 22 of 34 passes for 215 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 13 yards (4.3 ypc) last night.  Ray Rice pitched in with 12 carries for 59 yards (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 43 yards (14.3 avg) last night.  Donte’ Stallworth didn’t catch any passes last night but he carried the ball 2 times for 34 yards (17.0 ypc).  TE Todd Heap (4 rec, 57 yards, TD), WR Anquan Boldin (5 rec, 50 yards, TD) and Derrick Mason (4 rec, 48 yards, TD) also helped out the Ravens’ cause in the passing game.  The Ravens finished up with 116 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 34 passes for 204 yards.  Those numbers aren’t too bad when you consider that they only had possession of the ball for 24:51.

The defense was incredibly bad against the pass last night and it cost them the game.  CB Josh Wilson led the way for the Ravens last night with 7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss…..but he was burnt to a crisp on the game winning TD pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White.  LB Jarret Johnson, CB Lardarius Webb and safeties Dawan Landry & Ed Reed each pitched in with 6 tackles apiece.  The Falcons finished up with 60 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 50 passes for 302 yards.  The Ravens are now 6-3 on the year.