Tennessee Titans vs Baltimore Ravens Pick

The Tennessee Titans take on the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Divisional Playoff showdown on Saturday. For the Titans, they look to continue what would be a Cinderella run, following their upset road-win over the Patriots in the Wild Card round, 20-13. With Derrick Henry running wild, they’re not a team that can be discounted, even in this realm. With 14 wins and 12 straight to close the season, the Ravens have been the class of the league. After sitting out last week as the conference’s top-seed, they now look to begin what many suspects will be a deep postseason run.

Can the Titans Put a Dent in the Baltimore Attack?

For a defense ranked 21st in total yardage allowed, the Tennessee defense fared well on Sunday in allowing a home Pats team to just 13 points. It gets harder this week against a vital and varied Baltimore offense. Lamar Jackson has the stats of a good QB and RB all in one and is hard to stop. They have another 1000-yard rusher in Mark Ingram, with Gus Edwards also with over 700 yards. Jackson leading the league with 36 passing TDs shows the aerial-game is more than a mere afterthought. It’s the top-scoring offense in the league.

One should look beyond yardage-allowed figures when judging the Tennessee defense. They seem average against the run and a downright liability aerially, but the story goes a bit deeper. They’re pretty clutch and able to dial up the right answers in a pinch, which goes a long way on third down and when a team is threatening to score. They get a nice pass-rush from a variety of sources, with a playmaking secondary that can take a sad song and make it better. Nevertheless, against the better offenses they faced this season, the Titans’ defense wasn’t that special, and they’re going to need to be this week.

The Titans’ Only Chance

And when saying chance, it’s not some bolt from beyond. Derrick Henry is a genuine threat, and the prospects of him cutting loose even on a good Baltimore defense aren’t that far-fetched. It’s a part of the team that has delivered time and again, especially in the second half of the season. The scary thing about Henry is that he gets better late, whether it be in the season or just within a game. This is a spot where the Titans can perhaps deaden the game, control the time of possession with the ground-attack, get some plays from Ryan Tannehill and his cast, and just sort of hang around. With this spread, all they need is for the “D” to get a turnover a two, stop some drives, and then let Henry do the rest. With that seemingly doable recipe, they would find themselves right in this thing at the end with an excellent chance to make a run at this cover.

Tough Realities for Tennessee

Wins in the second half of the season over the Chiefs and Texans, along with the big win over the Pats on Sunday show the Titans are a worthy playoff team and a franchise on the rise. But in a season where it became a mish-mosh of shifting powers, the Ravens have managed to rise above the pack. With 12 straight wins and most of them blowouts, they emerged as the class of the league, a team that you would suspect to thrive in a context such as this. The Titans are a tough opponent, but also one in its third must-win road game in a row, a flawed team that could hit a wall this week in a significant way.