Ravens rally past Titans, 20-13, in wild-card round for first playoff win in six years

It didn’t look like anyone expected it to, but the Ravens got a playoff win.

With the NFL’s two best rushing offenses kept under wraps in Nashville, the fifth-seeded Ravens relied on their defense and Lamar Jackson’s playmaking to hold off the fourth-seeded Tennessee Titans, 20-13, in the wild-card round and earn their first playoff victory since 2014.

Cornerback Marcus Peters’ interception with under two minutes remaining ended the AFC South champions’ hopes of a game-tying drive and capped a dominant day for the Ravens defense.

Titans running back Derrick Henry,

the NFL’s leading rusher, was held to 40 yards on 18 carries (2.2 per carry). After a strong start, quarterback Ryan Tannehill finished 18-for26 for 165 yards, a touchdown and the crucial interception.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson overcame a slow start and a surprisingly stingy Titans defense to finish 17-for-24 for 179 yards. He added 16 carries for 136 yards, including a game-changing 48-yard score in the first half. Overall, the Ravens finished with 35 carries for 236 yards (6.7 per carry), though their running back room combined for just 81 yards.

The win silenced Jackson’s most vocal critics, who’d pointed to his 02 record as a starter in the postseason, both times as a favorite. The Ravens also got a small measure of revenge against Tennessee, which ended their Super Bowl dreams last season before adding to their misery with a Week 11 overtime win in Baltimore.

“We finished,” Jackson said in a postgame interview. “We finally finished.”

The Ravens didn’t lead until the third quarter, after their easiest drive all game. A 10-play, 77-yard march to open the second half ended with running back J.K. Dobbins (nine carries for 43 yards) barreling in from 4 yards out and a 17-10 lead.

The Ravens — and the Titans — kept the scoring to a minimum after that. After Tennessee was stymied in the red zone to end the third quarter, a rarity for any opposing defense, Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit a 25-yarder.