Ravens End Playoff Frustration, Get Measure of Revenge With 20-13 Victory Over Titans
NASHVILLE — The Ravens finally got their revenge and Lamar Jackson quieted his small circle of critics.
Jackson ran for 136 yards with a long touchdown to lead Baltimore past the Titans 20-13 in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.
It was the first postseason victory of Jackson's young career and earned him the game ball from coach John Harbaugh.
"It's something he won't have to talk about ever again," Harbaugh said. "This might have been the best win I've ever been associated with."
An interception by cornerback Marus Peters with under two minutes remaining sealed the victory for the Ravens. After the interception, Peters and several Baltimore defenders stomped on Tennessee's logo at midfield in retribution for the Titans doing the same prior to their Week 11 matchup.
"This is an emotional football game," said Ravens defensive end Derek Wolfe, who managed a sack. "Sometimes you just act out of emotion. It wasn't a disrespectful thing. It was more of a team-unity thing."
Tennesse knocked top-seeded Baltimore out of the playoffs last season and also took down the Ravens in that earlier matchup this season.
This time, it was Baltimore that had the last word behind Jackson, who completed 17 of 24 pass attempts for 179 yards with an interception.
After the Ravens fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter, Jackson tied the game with an electrifying 48-yard touchdown run. It was the second-longest scoring run by a quarterback in the history of the postseason.
Baltimore never trailed again.
"I knew we had the capability of doing that," Jackson said. "There's always going to be naysayers no matter what."
The Ravens managed to contain Titans running back Derrick Henry, who led the NFL with 2,027 yards. Henry finished with just 40 yards on 18 carries.
"They were the better team today," Henry said. "They had a plan and they executed it. You know, they played good on defense. They got the best of us today. Credit goes to their defense and they are the better team today, and I need to play better. We didn't play better. We didn't play good enough to win today. Baltimore (was) just the better team."
After trailing 10-0 in the first quarter, the Ravens took a 17-10 lead on a 4-yard run by J.K. Dobbins. Baltimore extended the lead on a 51-yard field goal by Justin Tucker after a questionable pass interference penalty was called on wide receiver Willie Snead that would have provided a first down on a fourth and short.
A 25-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski cut the margin to 17-13 to open the fourth quarter. Baltimore's Justin Tucker responded with a 51-yard kick that rounded out the scoring. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 16 yards with a touchdown and that critical interception to Peters that sealed Tennessee's fate.
Titans managed just 19 sacks in the regular season, which ranked 30th in the NFL. However, they sacked Jackson five times, including four in the first half.
Hollywood Brown had seven receptions for 109 yards.
The Ravens led the NFL with 191.1 yards rushing per game during the regular season, and managed 236 yards against the Titans.
Baltimore fell behind by double-digits for the third straight year in the postseason. Tennessee opened a 10-0 lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to A.J. Brown and a 45-yard field goal by Gostkowski.
However, the Ravens recovered and picked up perhaps the biggest win of Jackson's young career.
