The Baltimore Ravens finally get their chance to taste the 2019 NFL playoffs this week. After sitting out of the first round thanks to holding the top seed in the AFC, the Ravens will go up against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round.
While there are some reasons to be concerned about the Titans — or any playoff team for that matter –, Baltimore is in good shape for this game. In fact, they have eight great reasons why they’ll not only beat Tennessee but put a whoopin’ on them.
We’ll start off with the biggest reason the Ravens have been so successful this season . . .
Lamar Jackson is unstoppable this year
There’s a reason why Jackson is the presumptive MVP this season and that’s because no defense has really figured out how to stop him. More importantly, Jackson has turned the game back into 11-on-11 football, which favors the offense and forces opposing defenses to match them talent-wise.
Whether it’s been through the air or on the ground, Jackson has been efficient and explosive. He’s created big plays with his arm this season, posting a 66.1% completion rate, along with a league-leading 36 touchdown passes and 9.0% TD-to-attempt rate. He’s done it with his legs, breaking Michael Vicks’ rushing record while posting a 6.9 yards-per-carry rate to lead the entire NFL.
Jackson has been shattering both franchise and NFL records all season long. No offense to the Titans, but they don’t have anything special that the likes of the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49er don’t have. If those teams couldn’t stop Jackson from destroying them, I can’t see Tennessee suddenly having the recipe or the secret sauce to get it done.
Pick your poison offense
This is kind of a follow up to the previous point. But Jackson making it 11-on-11 football for Baltimore’s offense has forced defenses to pick their poison in a way we haven’t really seen often before.
The key for many opponents has been to contain Jackson on the ground. But that has almost always required a dedicated spy who can’t match his speed or multiple defenders to keep their eyes in the backfield on every play. That overcommitment of personnel to stopping one player means someone else is left open in the passing game or running back Mark Ingram is going to have a wide-open rushing lane.
It’s an offense that doesn’t really have any stars outside of Jackson but it’s one that spreads the love around well to the tune of the second-most total yards in the league.
The Ravens have two 1,000-yard rushers in Jackson and Ingram with backup running back Gus Edwards topping 700 rushing yards himself. Four different players have two-plus rushing touchdowns this season while three have gained at least 5.0 yards-per-carry.
In the passing game, 10 different players have 11-plus targets this season with eight catching double-digit passes. Though Baltimore has no 1,000-yard receivers, nine players have a touchdown reception.
All that ultimately means the Ravens don’t have to rely on just one player excelling to win. If an opponent wants to stop the inside run, they better be prepared for Jackson and Justice Hill bouncing outside. If they want to take away tight end Mark Andrews, they better be able to handle Marquise Brown’s deep speed. That’s too much for a defense to consistently handle and both Jackson and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have done a great job of switching up their packages to take advantage of where the holes are at each week.
They’re the hottest team in the league
All week long I’ve seen fans and pundits calling the Titans the “hottest team” in the playoffs. I’ll give them the excuse that the Ravens weren’t yet playing so they might have forgotten.
In reality, Baltimore is on a 12-game winning streak — the longest active — including wins over five of the teams that made the playoffs. They feature a NFL-record rushing attack, the presumptive MVP, the most balanced offense, and a defense that has completely transformed into one of the best in the league over that timeframe.
Until someone stops the Ravens from being the best team in the league, they get to hold that crown. That alone makes them the hottest team in the playoffs without question.
Ravens are more physical
Sure, the Titans beat the New England Patriots last week. But if you watched any of that game it was apparent New England wasn’t very interested in playing physical football. From blocking, shedding blocks and trying to tackle running back Derrick Henry, the Patriots were beat up for all 60 minutes.
Tennessee isn’t going to be facing the same finesse type of team they did last week. In fact, Baltimore’s entire strategy revolves around physical, aggressive, smack-you-in-the-mouth football that most teams can’t handle. And based on the Titans’ record, they’re not all that great at dealing with it either, losing to other physical teams like the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans.
If this game comes down to which team can be most physical upfront, that’s going to lead to the Ravens putting a whoopin’ on yet another opponent.
Playing at M&T Bank Stadium
The Ravens so rarely lose when in M&T Bank Stadium, especially when the crowd gets particularly rabid like they’re expected to do this week. This season, Baltimore is 7-1 at home and 24-8 over the last four seasons.
Whether it comes from the rest players get by playing at home, no jetlag, some home cooking from the officials, the crowd noise or just plain ole’ fashioned good coaching, the Ravens are incredibly difficult to beat at home.
It’s going to be the most hostile environment the Titans have been in this season and that’s going to make everything Tennessee wants to do more difficult.
Health and rest
The Ravens did the right thing sitting out many of their best players from Week 17. Even with a lot of backups playing, Baltimore still picked up a dominant win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that week while ensuring the guys that got them here got a little extra rest. Add that to the Ravens’ first-round bye and Baltimore should be the healthiest team in the postseason.
That might not seem like a lot but bye weeks during the season are looked forward to and savored by players for that exact reason. Football is tough on a human body, even after just a handful of weeks. After a full season, guys are going to treatment just to not break down further, much less actually heal.
Effectively getting three weeks of rest for key players is going to pay off dividends this week. Guys like Earl Thomas, Ingram, Mark Andrews and Lamar Jackson will enter this game as close to 100% as a player can be at this point while taking on an opponent that’s exhausted and dealing with all types of bumps and bruises.
For a Baltimore squad that has been physical and fast all season long, being fresher than an opponent isn’t only a recipe to win but to completely demolish them.
More experience
A lot of succeeding in the playoffs is about talent but underestimating the experience needed to succeed in the postseason is a mistake too many teams make. That’s not the case for Baltimore, who retained a core of experienced players in spite of going to a far younger roster this season.
I think the Ravens brought in Thomas partially for this reason. He adds a Super Bowl resume to a roster full of players that haven’t gone deep in the postseason, much less to the big game. Add to it a coaching staff that has been there and won it all and you have one of the more experienced teams in the playoffs right now.
It might not sound like much but there are a lot of small differences in the postseason. From the difference in intensity on the field to how teams need to prepare at this stage; an experienced roster and staff know how to maximize their talents at the most crucial point of the season.
Top seeds don’t lose
As I noted earlier in this article, the Ravens are the best team in the league and they have the seeding to prove it — clinching the No. 1 seed back in Week 16. Apparently, history is on their side in this matchup.
According to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, the top seed hasn’t lost to the lowest seed in the NFL playoffs since 2010. Even then, it’s not like the games have been terribly close over the last decade, with the average margin-of-victory being just shy of eight points.
So much goes into that record. From the rest the No. 1 seed gets, to the home-field advantage and just being a more talented team, there’s a reason why the top seed does well in the playoffs.
