CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Ravens spread their wealth and minimized the damage of their mistakes last night for a 24-13 preseason victory over the Carolina Panthers at Ericsson Stadium.
Getting touchdown drives from three of their quarterbacks, and another major contribution from their defense, the Ravens (3-0) stretched their preseason winning streak to 11 games.
It took starting quarterback Tony Banks six offensive series to produce his touchdown, a 3-yard run by Obafemi Ayanbadejo, as the offense once again operated in fits and spurts.
Banks completed seven of 12 throws for 116 yards, but started the evening with an interception.
"We kept talking about the interception and how a good team must battle back from adversity," he said. "We weren't consistent on any one drive, but we had flashes of good things. The defense gave us good position."
Second-string quarterback Trent Differ had an even more difficult time. After completing one of his first nine passes, including one bizarre interception, he generated his only meaningful offense of the night with his feet.
On second-and-10 from the Ravens' 25, Dilfer bolted from the pocket and got all the way to the Carolina 28 before he was dragged down. The play covered 47 yards.
Three plays later, Dilfer closed out his night by rifling a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Billy Davis, who bounced off Eugene Robinson and Deveron Harper to go into the end zone standing up. That made it 14-10.
The touchdown drive had started with a spectacular diving interception by strong safety Anthony Poindexter, who stepped in front of tight end Casey Crawford to make the pick against Dameyune Craig.
Dilfer was 2-for-10 in his backup role for 21 yards. His interception came when a short pass over the middle hit umpire Undrey Wash and caromed into the hands of middle linebacker Lester Towns.
Carolina pulled within 14-13 when third-string quarterback Chris Redman took the Ravens 62 yards in nine plays to their third touchdown of the night.
Redman found rookie wide receiver Travis Taylor for completions of 15 and 24 yards to move the Ravens to the Carolina 21. The 24-yarder came on a rollout in which Taylor adjusted to the side-line pass and kept his feet in-bounds to complete the play.
That series ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jason Brookins, who had replaced an injured Robert Arnaud. Arnaud left with a left shoulder sprain.
Ravens coach Brian Billick was not happy with a first half in which the Ravens moved the ball sporadically and committed two turn-overs.
"Turnovers will hurt you, and so will stupid plays," Billick said. "We had both in the first half."
An apparent miscommunication between Banks and Taylor turned into an opening-series interception for the Ravens. Corner-back Eric Davis made the interception when Taylor ran his route deep and Banks threw short.
Spurred by the return of three regulars on offense, the Panthers capitalized with a 53-yard touch-down drive. Carolina went 3-for-3 on third down in the 10-play drive, finishing it off with a 7-yard scoring pass from quarterback Steve Beuerlein to wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. Both Beuerlein and Muhammad were making their preseason debuts for the Panthers.
Beuerlein, who endured five off-season surgeries for various ailments, went 4-for-4 on the drive and added a 10-yard scramble for a first down. He completed five of seven passes during his three series.
The Ravens threatened on only one series in the first quarter, when Banks completed three passes to Qadry Ismail and another to Priest Holmes to reach the Carolina 30.
But on the next play, Holmes had the ball punched loose by line-backer Dean Wells and Carolina's Doug Evans recovered the fumble to snuff the scoring opportunity.
The Ravens struggled against a defensive front that included the first preseason appearances by Reggie White and Eric Swarm, juggling their offensive line on the run. Baltimore started the game with backups at right guard (Damon Denson) and right tackle (Spencer Folau) and finished the quarter with Orlando Bobo and Sammy Williams on the right side.
Denson had been run over by Swann on consecutive plays in the first quarter, once for a sack. Folau, meanwhile, left the game after two series with back spasms.
The Ravens finally found the end zone on their fifth offensive series. In a five-play scoring drive, they went to tight end Shannon Sharpe and fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo twice apiece.
Sharpe's second catch in the series was the big one, breaking for 32 yards to the 3, taking advantage of rookie middle linebacker Lester Towns.
On the next play, Ayanbadejo powered his way through the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run.
With the game tied 7-7, coach Brian Billick sent Dilfer, new full-back Sam Gash and Arnaud into the game.
But Dilfer missed his first six passes, one of them a drop by Davis, and the offense continued to sputter.
Panthers backup quarterback Jeff Lewis missed his first seven passes, meanwhile, before a one-handed catch by tight end Kris Mangum broke the streak.
Mangum's catch produced a third-down conversion, and kept alive a 17-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by newly-signed kicker Richie Cunningham.
That sent the Panthers into halftime with a 10-7 lead.
Ravens linebacker Jamie Sharper left the game in the second quarter with a left-knee strain that was not believed serious. He was replaced by Anthony Davis.
