Four Storylines For Ravens' Home Matchup vs. Titans

Breaking down the most intriguing angles of the Baltimore Ravens' Week 4 AFC clash against a hungry young team.

Sep 20, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) enters the field before the game against against the New Orleans Saints at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Ravens will be back in the confines of M&T Bank Stadium for the second time this season on Sunday in Week 4, when they will host the Tennessee Titans (0-3), who are in search of their first win of the year.

Coming off a thrilling victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 down in Brazil, when a Tyler Loop walk-off field goal was the difference in the end, the Ravens are currently tied for the second-best record in the AFC North division, behind the surprisingly 3-1 Cleveland Browns.

There are several intriguing storylines surrounding this AFC matchup between these two teams, who were bitter rivals once upon a time. Here are the top four.

Will Ravens finally win a home game?

Two weeks ago, this team let the New Orleans Saints come marching into Baltimore and spoil their home opener in a game they were favored to win by more than a touchdown. They got walked down in the fourth quarter after letting an inferior opponent hang around too long, and in doing so, they lost their fourth straight game at M&T Bank Stadium dating back to last Thanksgiving, and are now one shy of tying the worst stretch in franchise history.

The Ravens' overall home record in 2025 was 3-6, the worst mark in team history, which is a far cry from the days when they had one of the greatest home-field advantages in the league. Rewarding their home fans and reversing this inexcusable trend has been at the forefront of the minds of players and coaches all week.

"[There's] a lot of urgency," quarterback Lamar Jackson said Wednesday. "[In our] home opener [we] came up short in front of our home crowd. [It's] very disappointing to not just us but Flock Nation. There is definitely urgency to win back at home. We lost the last two home games to the [Tennessee] Titans, so definitely there is urgency."

Will Derrick Henry make Titans regret moving on even more?

Sep 27, 2026; Rio De Janeiro, BRA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) walks off the field after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Maracana Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The five-time Pro Bowl running back spent the first eight years of his career building a Hall of Fame-worthy resume as the focal point of the offense and face of the franchise for the Titans. Yet, they decided to move on from him three years ago, the year he turned 30, and since then, he has looked like an ageless wonder, putting together back-to-back seasons of over 1,500 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Through the first three games of this season, Henry is averaging 100.3 yards and two touchdowns on the ground per game.

Seemingly every week, he his making NFL or franchise history and surpassing a current Hall of Famer for a spot on one of the prolific all-time lists. This Sunday will mark Henry's first time playing against the Titans since he's been in the league. While he tried to downplay some of the significance of it when speaking to the media earlier this week, there's no denying that he'll have a little extra motivation to show them firsthand what they're missing, as his former employers haven't come close to replacing the consistently dominant and prolific force that is King Henry when he gets the ball in his hands.

"I think I knew the writing was on the wall throughout that season, and they were ready to move on," Henry said Wednesday. "Good things don't last forever. So, it was time for me to find a new home, and I knew what home I wanted to be [at], and it was here. So, God is good."

Can the defense put recurring concerns to bed?

Football - NFL - Baltimore Ravens v Dallas Cowboys - Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - September 27, 2026 Dallas Cowboys' Javonte Williams in action with Baltimore Ravens' Jaylinn Hawkins REUTERS/Brian Snyder | REUTERS

Expectations for the Ravens' defense, even in the first year under head coach Jesse Minter, a renowned guru on that side of the ball, were sky-high coming into the season, especially after their backups looked so dominant in the preseason. The prevailing thought was that if he could do this well with reserves and depth pieces, he should field the next coming of the 'Bullies of Baltimore' with the starters, but that hasn't been the case to start the year, at least for a full four quarters and late in games.

They'll be facing a Titans team with a good pass-protecting offensive line and a talented second-year quarterback, Cam Ward, who hasn't been pushing the ball much this year but can carve them up underneath and at the intermediate level. If they don't get off the field on third and fourth down by tackling better in open space and turning pressures into sacks, the second of which might be a little harder to do since they ruled out four-time edge rusher Trey Hendrickson for this game after he underwent surgery to repair his injured finger.

"My time is here to show exactly what I've been preparing for this whole time," second-year outside linebacker Mike Green said Friday. "I'm just going to play my style of football."

Nonetheless, the Ravens are too talented on that side of the ball, even without their prized free-agent acquisition, to be able to put forth a dominant effort. They still have a pair of multi-time Pro Bowl interior defensive linemen in Nnamdi Madubuike and Calais Campbell in the trenches, All Pro linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton up the spine and four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the boundary at cornerback, pairing with Nate Wiggins. They need to make more routine plays short of the sticks and splash plays when the game is on the line or too close for comfort.

"The urgency is definitely here to get it fixed," Humphrey said Thursday. "I don't think we feel we're doing a bad job necessarily, but if you're trying to be the No. 1 defense in the league, you have to be doing great. So that's what we're all chasing."

How will Olaivavega Ioane hold up in first full game at center?

Football - NFL - Baltimore Ravens v Dallas Cowboys - Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - September 27, 2026 Baltimore Ravens' Matthew Hibner celebrates scoring their fourth touchdown with Olaivavega Ioane REUTERS/Sergio Moraes | REUTERS

The Ravens had to do some reshuffling of their starting offensive line late in their thriller of an international showdown with the Cowboys after both of their top two centers went down and left the game with injuries. They were forced to shift first-round rookie Olaivavega Ioane over from right guard to finish the game, and he stepped up and helped Lamar Jackson lead the team to the exciting victory.

With both Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic set to land on injured reserve with what Minter described as 'long-term' setbacks, the Ravens are moving forward with Ioane at center for the immediate future, despite having signed eighth-year veteran Andre James on Wednesday. Since he knows the offense and already has chemistry with his fellow starter on the line and, most importantly, at quarterback, it makes the most sense.

However, just because it's the most logical move, it doesn't make the transition any easier or smoother because it's one thing to slide over and play less than a dozen snaps at a different position. It's a much more daunting task to be called upon to do so for a full game with one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league, four-time Pro Bowler Jeffery Simmons
, coming to town looking to wreck shop in Baltimore's backfield. Since Ioane plays guard, the two of them were bound to lock horns at some point in this game. The rookie now has to worry about blocking him, helping call out potential threats from depth, then adjusting protections accordingly.

"My message to the players was, we're going with a guy who's never really played center at a high level," offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said Thursday. "Everybody else has to lift their communication, their level of play.

"We all are responsible to cover for where the shortcomings are. Whether that's Lamar (Jackson), whether that's myself being able to ask him to do things he can handle, or the rest of the players elevating their play. We all have a hand in picking each other up."