Fun while it lasted TITANS 28, RAVENS 12
Record-setting season ends in a stunning divisional-round loss
The Ravens’ season started to end early in the second quarter Saturday night, when they lined up from a distance that had defined them. It was fourth-and-1, and the Ravens had Lamar Jackson at quarterback, and, well, that has normally been enough.
There had been no better offense in the NFL this season because there had been no offense better at making the most of its unconventional philosophy. The Ravens would run to set up the pass, to control the clock. They’d go for it on fourth down because chances were that they’d get it. They’d score. That was how the Ravens won 12 straight games. That, and a nearly-as-elite defense, was why they were Super Bowl favorites.
But on this tone-setting and gameturning snap in the AFC divisional round, Jackson went nowhere, an increasingly familiar ending for the Ravens in postseason play. He was stopped short of the sticks, the Ravens’ first fourth-and-1 failure in nine attempts this season. The sixthseeded Titans scored on the next play. A regular season of grit and greatness went bust in a 28-12 playoff loss.
With the loss, the Ravens, who won a franchise-record 14 games in the regular season, became the first top seed to fall in the divisional round since the 2016 Dallas Cowboys; they were 12-1 overall over the past six seasons. Even after earning consecutive AFC North titles, the Ravens still don’t have a playoff win since 2014.
Jackson, who fell to 0-2 in the playoffs, looked like the NFL’s Most Valuable Player front-runner only in spurts. He finished 31-for-59 for 365 yards and a touchdown, but he had a career-high three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble). He added 18 carries for 116 yards, the lone bright spot in a league-leading rushing attack without a fully healthy Mark Ingram II (six carries for 22 yards) or a much-used Gus Edwards (three carries for 20 yards).
The Titans made the Ravens play the game that the Los Angeles Chargers had in last season’s wild-card game — they had to play from behind. The Ravens trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, 14-6 after the second and 28-6 after the third. Jackson’s 59 pass attempts, a career high, were proof of an abandoned running game.
But then, the rush attack that had set a single-season NFL record for rushing yards could not exactly be trusted, not even with a week off to prepare for an average Titans defense. First, there was the failed fourth-and-1 to open the second quarter. Then, in the third quarter, with the chance to extend a potentially game-tying drive, Jackson went backwards on a bizarre quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1.
Derrick Henry (30 carries for 195 yards) rumbled 66 yards to the Ravens’ 6 three plays later, and the Titans scored three plays after that. Tennessee’s offense was not overpowering, but it did enough: 300 yards . And the Titans, unlike the Ravens, avoided costly penalties. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill finished 7-for-14 for 88 yards and two scores, while Henry added a 3-yard score on a third-down pop pass at the goal line, a nice reward for his big run.
After another tough end to another one-of-a-kind season, the Ravens will face tough questions at a micro and macro level. Will the Ravens pay to keep outside linebacker Matthew Judon? Will Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda return for another season? Can the front office and coaching staff maximize a receiving corps headlined by its young tight ends?
But the most immediate concerns for the team will be about how a disaster like Saturday happened at all. The Ravens’ first half was uncharacteristic of a team that had/has typically dominated the game’s opening act. After forcing a punt, the Ravens started to move the ball, crossing midfield in five plays. Then the margins for error started to narrow, maybe smaller than they’ve been since September.
Tight end Mark Andrews, limited in practice all week, couldn’t catch up to a pass that was just a bit high and just a bit ahead of him. The ball glanced off his fingertips and into the waiting arms of safety Kevin Byard. His interception return and an unnecessary-roughness penalty on Jackson gave the Titans a short field, taking over at the Ravens’ 35.
The small failures started to compound.
First, the Ravens couldn’t bring down Tannehill on a third-and-short scramble. When they forced third-and-goal from their 12, Titans tight end Jonnu Smith was the target on a fade route, a low-percentage shot. He went over defensive back Brandon Carr for a borderline end-zone catch. Had the play been ruled an incompletion, the subsequent review might’ve upheld it. But it wasn’t, so it couldn’t.
When the Ravens took over, their run game broke down, too. On fourth-and-1 from their 45-yard line, Jackson took a designed run out of the pistol formation, one of the surest short-yardage plays in the Ravens’ playbook. But there was no push, and there was no first down.
If the Ravens were reeling then, the next play knocked them on their backside. On a first-down play-action look, Tannehill looked deep to wide receiver Kalif Raymond, running a double move on cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Raymond entered the game with fewer touchdowns this season than Humphrey; he still glided past him. Safety Chuck Clark’s help came too late, and Raymond had an easy 45-yard touchdown catch. They’d trailed by double digits just twice all regular season — in their two losses.
Even when the Ravens offense popped, it fizzled soon after. After the Ravens next crossed midfield, wide receiver Willie Snead IV dropped a catchable ball short of the sticks. Kicker Justin Tucker’s 49-yard field goal ended their scoring drought.
On the half’s final drive, the Ravens should’ve taken over at their 20-yard line after a punt into the end zone. Instead, they got it at their 5 after an illegalblocking penalty on returner De’Anthony Thomas. Every yard mattered, especially when rookie wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s highlight-reel, onehanded, 38-yard catch took the Ravens to the 4-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.
Jackson took too long to realize there were no open receivers on the next play, and the Ravens had to settle for a short field goal. They went into halftime with six points, a season low, and no touchdowns, a first for this season.
Jackson’s final pass Saturday night ended in the dirt, too. As he walked glumly off the field Saturday night one last time, Jackson took off his chin strap. He didn’t say much.