How the Titans stunned Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, and what's next
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- Covered Eagles for USA Today
- Covered the Ravens for Baltimore Times
- Played college football at Cheyney University
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans faced the ultimate test when they took on the Baltimore Ravens’ high-powered offense led by MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson in the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday. They did what few other teams could: They passed.
It wouldn’t be right to say the Titans stopped Jackson, because he accounted for 508 yards of total offense. The significant accomplishment was minimizing the explosive plays that Jackson has made a habit of creating that lead to touchdowns.
“They weren’t doing anything spectacular out there — nothing we’ve never seen before,” Jackson said.
How did Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees frustrate the Ravens’ offense and help punch the Titans’ ticket to the AFC Championship Game?
Force Jackson to move laterally
The Titans wanted to make Jackson run from sideline to sideline rather than get upfield and pick up chunks of yards. They collapsed the interior and rushed with discipline on the outside to minimize escape lanes for Jackson.
“We saw when he [Jackson] gained yards he was getting them between the hashes and the numbers. We defended from number to number and made him go laterally. There weren’t big plays,” coach Mike Vrabel said after the game.
Safety
“They forced us out of our comfort zone a little bit,” Ravens receiver Miles Boykin said. “We really haven’t played a lot from behind. We got down by two touchdowns, and it was kind of hard for us to fight back into the game and stick to our play.” Roman used the rushing attack to generate explosive plays on the ground and in the air via play-action passes during the regular season. The Ravens ran the ball only 29 times on Saturday with some coming from Jackson scrambling. That’s a far cry from the Baltimore attack that averaged 206 rushing yards per game and 37.1 attempts, both league highs. The early lead made Roman’s playcalling one dimensional and allowed Pees to focus on stopping the pass by using packages that featured more defensive backs. A critical moment came early in the game, when Byard intercepted a Jackson pass that bounced off the hands of Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, which set up Jonnu Smith’s fantastic one-handed touchdown reception to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead. The Titans forced three turnovers, including an interception by Vaccaro and a sack-strip by Casey. “It was beautiful,” Casey said. “They made a check on the front line, and I kind of knew a pass was coming. I had been beating these guys all day. Coach said, ‘We need a turnover,’ to make sure we kept the lead, and I was able to execute.” The Titans dominated the trenches throughout the game, especially on fourth down. Baltimore finished the regular season as the NFL’s No. 1 fourth-down offense, having converted 17 of their 24 attempts (70.8%) — including 8-for-8 on fourth-and-1 attempts. On Saturday, the Ravens went 0-for-4 converting fourth downs, including two fourth-and-1 plays. “They like, submarined and kind of took our legs out, and we could not get any movement on the line of scrimmage,” guard
The Titans go from facing the likely 2019 MVP in Jackson to preparing for the 2018 MVP in Mahomes of the What you need to know:
• Full playoff schedule »
• First look at GB-SF, TEN-KC »
• Answering four big questions »
• Super Bowl LIV coverage »
More NFL coverage »Fourth-down struggles and turnovers
Next up: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes
