Ravens' Record-Setting Season Comes to Grinding Halt Against Titans
BALTIMORE — Ravens coach John Harbaugh was still proud of his team.
After a regular season where they broke a franchise record with 14 wins and shattered the NFL's single-season rushing record, the top-seeded Ravens were outplayed Saturday night in every facet — offense, defense and special teams— in a 28-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC divisional playoffs.
Instead of game-planning for a shot at the Super Bowl, Baltimore is forced to dig deep and do some soul-searching to figure out how the team collapsed in the playoffs for a second straight season. Nonetheless, Harbaugh did not want to discount what the Ravens accomplished over the past six months and the potential of his players moving forward.
"With the group that we had, we made the most of us, becoming the best football team we could be," Harbaugh said. "We just weren't that today and that's the disappointing thing. But in the big picture, I couldn't be more proud of what they did every single day, how they came to work, how they made the most of their talents and abilities, played as hard as they possibly could, including today.
"We have to take a step back and take a look at that and understand that and see it for what it is."
It was the first time a No. 6 seed had defeated a No. 1 seed since 2010 when the Jets beat the Patriots and the Packers beat the Falcons. It was also the first time the Ravens had been a No. 1 seed.
Lamar Jackson is a leading candidate for NFL MVP, but he struggled the entire game against the Titans, who mostly kept him contained with a zone defense.
Jackson had three turnovers — two interceptions and a lost fumble — and was sacked four times. He did pick up some big yards in the second half when the Titans went to their prevent defense.
Jackson was 31-of-59 for 365 yards with the two interceptions. He also ran for 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. That's 508 yards of total offense for Jackson; the Ravens had a total of 530 yards. Even so, Baltimore's offense produced just one touchdown and two field goals.
"We beat ourselves," Jackson said. "We had, I had, a lot of mistakes on my half, Three turnovers, that shouldn't happen. They came out to play. We started slow. We just have to do better next time, but moving forward, get ready for this offseason, get ready for next year."
The Ravens' biggest priority entering this game was stopping Derrick Henry. Instead, the bruising running back stomped on Baltimore's defenders and finished with 195 yards on 30 carries. Henry also threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis. Last week in the 20-13 victory against the Patriots, Henry rushed 34 times for 184 yards.
Another priority was forcing Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill to win the game by throwing the ball downfield. He obliged the Ravens with a 45-touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond early in the second quarter that provided a 14-0 lead and the Ravens never recovered.
Both Ravens running back Mark Ingram and tight end Mark Andrews entered the game as questionable because of injuries. Both were able to play but neither made much of an impact. Andrews had a ball tip off his hands that led to the Titans' first interception and led to a touchdown, Ingram had just six carries for 22 yards and was forced to wear a bag of ice on his sore calf on the sideline.
Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman didn't appear to have a clear idea of how to compensate for those injuries and did not get other players involved, namely backup running back Gus Edwards and fellow tight ends Nick Boyle and Hayden Hurst.
Receiver Marquise Brown was a lone highlight for the Ravens, finishing with 126 yards on seven receptions. "We came here in a hostile and difficult environment and got off to the fast start that we talked about," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said.
The Titans will play in the AFC Championship on the road against the winner of Sunday's Houston-Kansas City game.
