Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey: Baltimore's Identity to 'Choke' in Playoffs

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was certainly frustrated following Baltimore's 28-12 loss to the Titans in the AFC divisional round on Saturday, telling the media, "this team’s identity right now is get in the playoffs and choke."

“The sad reality of it is, this Ravens’ team, we’ve been here two years in a row and we’ve lost, so I think you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror,” Humphrey said postgame. “This team’s identity right now is get in the playoffs and choke. It is what it is. That’s just the hard truth.”

Humphrey doubled down and stood by his comments on Sunday morning.

"I stand by that," Humphrey said, according to ESPN. "It actually was what I was thinking on the sideline. It's crazy. You are what you show on paper, and you are what you show on the field. That's what we've shown on the field."

The Ravens dominated the AFC in the regular season, posting the NFL's best record at 14–2. But Baltimore could not come through on Saturday in its first game of the playoffs. The Titans punished the Ravens on the ground, with Derrick Henry tallying 195 rushing yards on 30 carries. Baltimore quarterback and likely MVP Lamar Jackson threw for 365 yards, but many of his completions came in garbage time. Jackson's 59 pass attempts marks a career-high.

Baltimore lost its first game of the 2018 playoffs as well. The Chargers bottled up the Ravens in Jackson's first playoff start, limiting the then-rookie to 194 passing yards on 14-29 passing. The Ravens have not won a playoff game since 2014, the franchise's longest drought since they were established in 1996. 

Tennessee will face the winner of Texans vs. Chiefs in the AFC Championship. The Titans have not reached the AFC Championship since 2002, and their last Super Bowl appearance came in 1999.