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Posted at 11:00 AM EST.

1:00 PM EST. The Ravens are the "what if" team of Week 7 after kicker Justin Tucker missed his first career extra point and handed the Saints the win. While that missed single has dominated the highlights, the reason the Ravens lost that game is so much long and more troublesome. First of all good teams don't blow double-digit leads in the second half like Baltimore did and the way its defense allowed the Saints to march up and down the field in the fourth quarter must have made Ray Lewis and Ed Reed shed a tear, as New Orleans posted 17-points in that final frame. Blame "Tuck" if you must, but don't be fooled by the narrative that it was the kicker's fault Baltimore lost the game because that bullshit isn't going to fly around here.

The Ravens are a very limited offensive team and the only reason that Joe Flacco is still their starting quarterback is that he's getting paid the big bucks and owner Steve Bisciotti wouldn't be able to stand it for a second if he was signing fat cheques to a backup quarterback. Bisciotti's loyalty to Flacco is incredible and it's almost unfathomable that he signed the 33-year-old pivot to a three-year contract extension this offseason season that guaranteed him another $44-million including a $40-million signing bonus. The football operations side grabbed former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson at the end of the first round in this year's draft, which was a point of contention for Flacco. While all things are not equal, the rift has a Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers feel to it. That coach John Harbaugh has designed plays to get the rookie involved in the offense have reportedly caused some friction between QB and coach as well. If it were up to Harbaugh, he'd likely have made the switch already and used that Flacco money to build the rest of the team. Quarterbacks that start on a rookie contract are all the rage in the NFL, as once the pivot gets paid, it becomes much harder to build a team around them. Just look at the Ravens mediocre performances in the years since they won the Super Bowl. Flacco was handed the richest contract at the time after that championship win. That's called buying high and Baltimore has paid for it since.

We rag on the Panthers, but his line is flat out disrespectful to a team that is 4-2. That huge fourth-quarter comeback by Cam Newton and company on Sunday in Philadelphia might actually have their stock trending downward, which is somewhat unexpected, as a win on the road no matter how it comes is usually cause for celebration. However, it is the market that is turning its back on the Panthers here, as oddsmakers opened with Carolina as a favorite at home, but that line has been pushed across the threshold and the Cats are now a pooch in their own barn and that's not right.

"He's not a pure, pure pocket passer. A lot is about his desire and wanting to win. He wants the ball. Cam has always wanted the ball." That's what Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of Newton and he's not wrong. Newton has completed 17 fourth-quarter game-winning comebacks and so this is one of those cases where "scoreboard" applies. Were Cam's 269 yards passing in Philly last week pretty? Nope, and the fact that 200 of them came in the fourth quarter gives you an idea of how fortunate the Panthers were to win that game, but win they did. One of these teams proved they had what it took when the chips were down on the road in hostile territory, while the other pissed away a huge lead on its home turf. Mindset is everything and if the Ravens can quickly move on from such a crushing loss then so be it, but we get the better team and the better quarterback while also taking back a price. Lastly, the Ravens are so much better at home and they’ll play on the road here while the Panthers home-field edge is a good one.

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