The Baltimore Ravens will take on the only playoff team they’ve yet to see in the regular season when they host the Tennessee Titans this week. While the Titans completely reshaped their season after changing from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill, there is so much more to Tennessee heading into the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
To get more insight on what Tennessee has going for them, I sat down with Titans Wire managing editor Crissy Froyd to pick her brain. I opened up with the question that likely has the biggest impact on whether Baltimore wins this game or not.
What’s the best way to limit Derrick Henry on the ground?
That’s going to be the toughest part of this matchup for the Ravens. Henry finished the season with the league’s rushing title, and the Patriots certainly didn’t have an answer for him last week. Not much of any team has and the Titans seem to be more successful with each carry they give the former Alabama standout rusher. He’s hard to tackle and it’s important to not let him get to the edge where he can outrun almost anyone, as Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey mentioned this week. It’s going to take all 11, and stacked boxes may not be enough to limit the big back.
Ryan Tannehill has been fantastic against the blitz this season while he wasn’t with the Dolphins. What’s the change for him?
No one expected this level of performance from Tannehill in Tennessee. He’s in the midst of his best season ever at the professional level. He seems more comfortable in this offense than he was with Miami, and has shown an ability to evade pressure in a way similar to LSU’s Joe Burrow. In the face of pressure, Tannehill has still delivered strikes, as we saw against the Patriots. He’s a tough one to rattle and appears to have almost instantly made a huge jump in the level he’s playing at since joining the Titans.
Where’s the biggest weakness on the Titans’ defense and how has it been attacked successfully in the past?
Both of these teams are good on offense in red-zone, but the same thing can’t be said about the Titans’ defense in the same category. Despite how impressive their performance was against the Patriots on the goal-line stand last week, the Titans rank fourth-worst in the league where points allowed per appearance is concerned at 5.26. The defense has also allowed a touchdown 68.1% of the time to opposing defense in the red zone, good for 31st in the NFL. It goes without saying that Baltimore has what they need to expose this in a big way Saturday.
How do you think Tennessee will try to deal with Lamar Jackson?
The man with the most single-season rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history is a tough one to bring to a halt. Getting Jackson on the ground is going to be top priority for Tennessee. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees said earlier this season that not allowing “one big play a game” was crucial to the Titans keeping the momentum, and Jackson is more than capable of coming up with momentum-shifting plays that could entirely change the outcome of the contest. Not allowing Jackson and the offense to start fast will be paramount, considering the Ravens have outscored opponents 128-31 in the first quarter throughout the season.
What’s your final score prediction and which Titans players have the biggest positive and negative impact on the scoreboard?
The Ravens come out with the 30-23 victory.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, wide receiver A.J. Brown and linebacker Rashaan Evans are almost guaranteed to have a positive effect on the scoreboard, while the performance of Wesley Woodyard and David Long, if they’re called upon in Jayon Brown’s place once more, could go either way depending upon their performances.
