National Post

Hungry Ravens dethrone the Titans’ rushing King

Baltimore, Jackson exact revenge on Tennessee after last year’s playoff loss

- John Kryk

It’s not that the King is dead. He was just stopped dead. Long live the Ravens defence. In one of the NFL’S epic defensive playoff performanc­es of recent years, the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday stuffed the NFL’S mighty leading rusher of the past two seasons, Derrick ( King) Henry of the Tennessee Titans, in a 20-13 AFC wild-card playoff victory.

If you saw Henry’s 40-yard rushing day coming, probably you were either an optimistic Ravens defender or coach. No one else did.

Yet Baltimore defenders bottled up the same man- beast of a running back, Henry, who’d bludgeoned them both in a ruinous playoff defeat 51 weeks ago, and again in Baltimore seven weeks ago. In those Titans victories, Henry ran for 195 and 133 yards, respective­ly, as the game’s central figure,

A chiselled, 6- foot- 3, 247- pound mountain of muscle, Henry got better as those games rolled along — averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and totalling 93 yards over the two first halves, then exploding for 6.9 yards per carry and 235 combined yards after halftime.

On Sunday, Henry rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries in the first half, then just 22 yards more on eight carries in the second half.

His longest carry was eight yards, compared to 66 in last January’s divisional playoff game, and 29 this past November. Utterly shut down. Without the threat of Henry ripping off big gain after big gain, the entire Titans offence was rendered impotent. Especially quarterbac­k Ryan Tannehill, whose effectiven­ess depends heavily on playaction run fakes.

After jumping out to a quick 100 lead in the game’s first 14 minutes, the Titans were held to just 103 total yards and a single field goal over the final 46 minutes. No one’s winning a playoff game in today’s NFL like that.

But with such defensive performanc­es, the Ravens might not be done next weekend, either.

Asked if this was one of the best all-around defensive efforts he has seen from a Ravens team since he took over as head coach in 2008, John Harbaugh said: “Right now, for this, this is the best win ever. And not just because of what was at stake … This may be the best win I’ve ever been associated with.”

The Titans, especially offensive coordinato­r and play-caller Arthur Smith, must have been convinced the Baltimore defensive front at some point late in the game would crack, as it did in the previous two meetings.

It did not crack. Not even close. Henry’s four fourth-quarter carries went for zero, eight, three and zero yards.

“Too many inefficien­t runs,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of Henry’s ineffectiv­eness. “That just kept us (from) getting into a flow or feel for anything.”

To repeatedly contain Henry as the Ravens did, Harbaugh said, required “a very strong effort. I thought our tackling was strong. We were strong across the board … edges … outside ’ backers … inside … ( Henry) didn’t really get great momentum downhill. Then we were able to hit him with multiple helmets and take him back.”

Baltimore defensive end Derek Wolfe summed up defensive coordinato­r Wink Martindale’s plan for stopping Henry much more succinctly:

“Physical — physical, physical, physical. Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Henry seemed rattled or annoyed late in the game, at one point pretty much walking away from Vrabel en route to a seat on the bench. On another late, crucial series, Henry missed two plays, unable to get a cleat back on while on the sideline. But no excuses, Henry said. “They were the better team today,” he said of the Ravens. “They had a plan and they executed it. You know, they played (well) on defence. They got the best of us today … I need to play better.

“This definitely is going to sting. Probably ( will) be in my mind for the rest of this year, until

we suit back up.”

How much did the victory mean for the Ravens? You can imagine.

Not just in crane- lifting that Henry-titans monkey off their backs, but also for other reasons.

The Ravens hadn’t won a playoff game since 2014.

They lost their last two playoff games with QB Lamar Jackson at the helm.

“There was a lot of attention on that. That’s how it works; we understand the nature of it,” Harbaugh said of the pressure on Jackson entering Sunday. “It’s something that he won’t have to talk about in the future, and that’s a meaningful thing.”

Jackson turned momentum permanentl­y Baltimore’s way with what Harbaugh described afterward as the best run by an NFL quarterbac­k he’d ever seen.

With Tennessee up 10-3 and 2:45 left in the opening half, the Ravens faced 3rd- and- 9 at the Titans 48. Jackson dropped deep to throw. He didn’t spot an open receiver, then took off through a crease up the middle — and after a juke to the right, with his blazing speed, he was gone. Touchdown.

Tie ball game at halftime. Having quickly fallen behind 100, with little going right, just added to Jackson’s and the Ravens’ challenge on this bright, pleasant day in Nashville. Importantl­y, at that time on the Ravens sideline, no one gave up or dropped their heads, Harbaugh said.

Especially the team’s leaders — none more so than Wolfe.

“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen,” Harbaugh said.

“Guys like that, in a sideline situation like that when you go down 10, that’s what holds a team together. That’s what keeps guys fighting, and those guys did a great job with that. I’m really proud of them for it.”

 ?? Wesley Hitt / Gett y Images ?? Ravens quarterbac­k Lamar Jackson reaches into the end zone to finish off an impressive 48-yard touchdown run Sunday in Baltimore’s 20-13
win over the Tennessee Titans in their AFC wild- card playoff game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
Wesley Hitt / Gett y Images Ravens quarterbac­k Lamar Jackson reaches into the end zone to finish off an impressive 48-yard touchdown run Sunday in Baltimore’s 20-13 win over the Tennessee Titans in their AFC wild- card playoff game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

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