The last time the Tennessee Titans faced the Baltimore Ravens ended in an embarrassing 21-0 shutout loss in Nissan Stadium.
A lot has changed since then, with both teams featuring new quarterbacks at the helm and a new-look Titans team with a more efficient offense than we’ve seen in years.
The Titans have the star power they need to get the job done in M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, but taking down a Ravens team coming off a bye with dual-threat Lamar Jackson taking snaps will be no simple task.
Here are three things Titans must accomplish to continue their Super Bowl run.
1. Limit Lamar Jackson.
Getting Jackson on the ground and not allowing him to break away on big plays could easily determine the outcome in this one.
Other than try to tie his shoelaces together, not many people have had success,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Jackson.
Finding a way to put pressure on Jackson, force the pocket to collapse and not allow an open run lane for him to use his legs is really the only way to limit the signal-caller who can seemingly do it all.
2. Time of possession.
The Ravens may have the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL, but that’s not the only category they lead the league in.
The team has done a fantastic job of playing keep away, with their average time of possession in 2019 standing at 34 minutes and 47 seconds, the best in the NFL.
The Titans will want to balance this out with their own star rusher in Derrick Henry, and clearly have a lot of work to do as they rank 30th in the league with an average time of possession of 28 minutes and 31 seconds.
3. Win the turnover battle.
Takeaways could be crucial for the Titans, who come into the matchup as underdogs to the Ravens for a reason.
Baltimore finished the regular season with a plus-10 turnover margin good for sixth in the NFL, while Tennessee was ninth in the league with a plus-six turnover margin.
Forcing Jackson to make mistakes won’t be easy, and he’s been mostly clean this season with just six interceptions and two fumbles lost.
