Key to Panthers’ beatdown of NFL’s best defense? Some magic, and lots of Cam Newton

This is simple. No complex magic to explain — just a little sleight of hand.

Here, let Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith explain why the Carolina Panthers’ misdirection on offense is so effective:

“Look at my hand,” Smith said, holding up his right fist. “If I smack you with this one (the left), you won’t see it coming. That’s how it works.”

See, not so difficult, right?

Only, it is. Or rather it was, especially for the No. 1-ranked Ravens defense on Sunday against the Panthers. That Ravens defense, the one that entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL in yards allowed, points allowed, and sacks? Well, it got dragged all afternoon and finally dumped at the end of a 36-21 beatdown.

And while any number of players on the Panthers offense are to thank — Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore and several others all more than played their part — it was someone else who was the architect of the Ravens’ destruction, Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

“Norv Turner has been one of the best at what he does and obviously with a quarterback like Cam who can run and do all that type of stuff with the weapons they’ve got,” Baltimore safety Tony Jefferson said, “you have to be on your P’s and Q’s.

“If you don’t have your eyes right, they’ll get you.”

The message in the Ravens locker room was that Turner out-schemed them, same as he’s been known to do throughout his long NFL coaching career. With so many versatile athletes around Newton, the Panthers are constantly able to disguise where the ball is going. On a normal read option play, for example, Newton could hand it off to McCaffrey, run it himself, pass to any number of receivers ... or wait, fake it to another runner on the end-around or throw a screen.

The options are endless.

So basically — and to borrow from Smith here — the Ravens got caught staring at Newton’s right hand while his left one bludgeoned their glitzy reputation.

Magic? No.

Trickery? Absolutely.

“We prepared well — they kind of just executed on another level than us,” defensive end Brent Urban said. “Caught us off guard at times. We knew what Cam was going to do, we knew the type of offense they were going to run.

“We’ve seen it on film all year.”

And even with that foresight, Baltimore was helpless.

Newton finished with 219 passing yards and two touchdown tosses, plus another 52 rushing yards and a score on a naked bootleg in the fourth quarter. McCaffrey had a touchdown run, a touchdown catch, and 56 total yards on 18 touches. Moore led all receivers with five catches for 90 yards, and had two carries for 39 more.

Again, who do you hone in on at any given point?

By any metric, the Panthers overwhelmed Baltimore on Sunday. The Ravens defense that allowed just 14.4 points and 280.6 yards per game coming in? Well, Carolina had 24 and 233 ... at halftime.

Jefferson even went so far as to compare this Panthers offense to the triple-option flexbone at Air Force, which he played against while in school at Oklahoma. In that offensive system, it isn’t uncommon to have three running backs on the field on the same play — as potential outlets, but also as decoys.

“You’ve gotta be real disciplined with that type of stuff,” Jefferson said of the Panthers. “What they do, it’s a little bit different.”

Newton is naturally a huge part of that equation, as his running ability rivals any professional quarterback in history. He’s fifth among active NFL players in terms of rushing touchdowns with 57. Not NFL quarterbacks, NFL players in general.

He has more career rushing touchdowns than ex-Panther Jonathan Stewart (51), the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

But it isn’t just about the red-zone looks with Newton. His ability as a runner means defenses have to respect him on every play as both a passer and a rusher, which sometimes creates mismatches or situations where Carolina has one more man open than the defense can account for.

“I mean, everybody wants a quarterback like that,” Smith said. “He’s a big dude that can run the ball, that throws every throw. He’s definitely difficult to contain, and that showed up today.”

The Panthers thoroughly bested the Ravens defense on Sunday, and nobody in either locker room would dispute that fact. But understanding why — how difficult it is to contain so many pieces, led by a former MVP at quarterback, and with someone as experienced as Turner scheming those players into the best situations — lends more context and appreciation to what Carolina was able to do Sunday.

Now for their next trick?

Making sure defenses never know which player — or hand — they’re supposed to be watching.