Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans: Revisiting recent matchups

It’s been less than a year since the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans squared off in a regular season matchup. This is a bit of a family affair this weekend as Baltimore faces off against former defensive coordinator, Dean Pees.

All-time record: 11-11
Regular season: 9-10
Post-season: 2-1
Harbaugh era: 1-3 / 1-0

2017 (23-20 Titans)

The big free-agent signing for the Ravens in 2017, Jeremy Maclin, was the focal point of the offense in this matchup. By the games end, Maclin finished with eight catches for 98 yards, the best for either team in terms of receiving yards. It was a sloppy, uneventful game for the Ravens. The longest pass play was 19 yards and longest run featured Alex Collins going 14 yards.

Flacco threw two interceptions; one off a tip from Titans CB Logan Ryan to DB Kevin Byard and a second was a jump ball won by Byard. In the end, the Ravens closed the gap from ten points to three with a touchdown to Mike Wallace, but they couldn’t secure the ensuing onside kick.

2014 (21-7 Ravens)

This was a strange one. The Ravens were hurting in the cornerback department. The starters for the contest featured Lardarius Webb and Anthony Levine. The standout corner for the game was Danny Gorrer, a former Raven in 2011 who had bounced around the league, with a 15-yard interception. Even with such a ravaged secondary, the Ravens pass-rush more than made up for the lack of talent. Elvis Dumervil produced 2.5 sacks, Terrell Suggs added another 1.5 and Timmy Jernigan notched 1.0 as well. Both offenses were lackluster, as both Joe Flacco and Zach Mettenberger’s completed 16 of 27 attempts. Mettenberger went for 179 yards and Flacco finished with 169.

The ground game was the difference maker in this game as Justin Forsett produced 112 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. The Titans finished with only 67 rushing yards.

2011 (13-26 Titans)

An early wake-up call for a team who finished 12-4. Flacco finished with less than 50% completion and tossed two interceptions to his one touchdown. The Titans defense also contained Ray Rice to 96 total scrimmage yards, an incredible feat as Rice usually broke through in the run or the pass.

Matt Hasselbeck carved up the Ravens defense, going 30/42 and throwing for 358 yards. Kenny Britt led the team in receiving yards with 135 on nine catches and a touchdown, with Nate Washington coming a yard from eclipsing 100. The Ravens only allowed two touchdowns, but they bent enough for Rob Bironas to complete four of five field goal attempts.

This weekend’s matchup will be an exciting one. Both teams are 3-2 and in early contention for a wildcard spot or better. A win over the other could carry big playoff tiebreaker implications. I’m not sure who has the advantage here with Pees moving from Baltimore to Tennessee. Does Dean know the ins and outs of the Ravens offense? Does Harbaugh and Marty Mornhinweg know how to break through the Pees’ defense? Hopefully, it’s the latter.