The Carolina Panthers (2-1) travel to M&T Bank Stadium to take on the Baltimore Ravens (2-1) on CBS at 1:00 PM ET. Ravens top wide receiver, Steve Smith, will take the field against the team he played with for 13 seasons.
Smith was released on March 13, in less than 24 hours, he was in Baltimore.
"I never really imagined that I'd be in a different uniform," he said. "I never really thought that I'd be playing against the Panthers."
Smith will walk out on the field as a Raven. After 13 seasons with the Panthers, he is there all-time leader in receptions (836), yards receiving (12,197), and touchdowns (67).
"I think for every man that tries to earn a living despite the amount of money, you always try to go to work doing (more), always trying to give them more than they pay you," Smith spoke about moving on from Carolina. "And when things don't work well, unless you obviously hate your job, nobody walks out going, 'Yay, I just got fired!'"
Joe Flacco has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 728 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Flacco has been able to put up 237 yards passing per game and has helped the Ravens achieve 374 total yards per game.
Without Ray Rice, Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce have taken the carries for Baltimore. Forsett has ran the ball 30 times for 189 yards and one touchdown. That is an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Pierce has rushed 28 times for 113 yards, however, he has not found the end zone. Another man to look out for is rookie Lorenzo Taliferro. He rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown last weekend.
Smith and tight end Dennis Pitta have been the top receivers this season. Smith has caught 18 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. That is an average of 16.1 yards per catch. Pitta on the other hand is out for the year due to a dislocated right hip. His replacement will be Owen Daniels, who has a team-best two touchdown catches.
After missing the first game of the season, Cam Newton will continue to start for the Panthers. He has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 531 yards and two passing touchdowns on the season. His backup, Derek Anderson, played week one and passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Both quarterbacks have not thrown an interception to this point. Carolina is averaging 260 yards through the air per game.
"We know (Newton) is a big part of what we do," Rivera said. "The thing it shows is we can't rely on him all of the time. Now we have to find other answers and other ways to (run the ball) and the coaching staff is working on that."
Their man receiver has been Kelvin Benjamin. The rookie has caught 16 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He has been the top target along with tight end Greg Olsen. He has a team-high 19 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
The running game should get a boost with the return of DeAngelo Williams. He has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. His backup, Jonathan Stewart, attempted to practice Friday with a sprained knee, but he probably will not play much at all on Sunday. Williams has ran 14 times this season for 72 yards. Stewart has ran 29 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers have struggled using their feet this season, only averaging 72 rushing yards per game.
The Panthers are without All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert, who will miss at least eight games with a hairline fracture in his left leg suffered against Pittsburgh.
"We all know who Steve is and we know what Steve's done," Rivera said. "He's had a great career, he's assimilated very well to Baltimore, he's doing a great job for them. But after that, we're playing the Ravens."