Staff Reactions to the Ravens’ 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans

The Ravens will leave London with a victory as they defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-16 victory. Below are the reactions from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.

A Ravens-esque victory. Dominant in terms of yardage and time of possession in the first half. Points, however, were at a peculiar premium. Field goals were aplenty. I like to imagine they break through in this game if not for some of the most lop-sided officiating I’ve had the displeasure of watching. Suspect pass interference calls on the Ravens’ defensivebacks. A completely uncalled for roughing the passer call on defensive tackle Michael Pierce. An unnecessary ejection on safety Kyle Hamilton. It’s moments like those that call into questions of integrity.

Offensively, the Ravens must fix their red zone issues and special teams protections. It’s been a poor process the past six weeks. Consistently, there have been issues with the Ravens special teams units.

As for the red zone, the Ravens were trying to hammer Gus Edwards through against a stout front. Maybe being risk-averse was Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken’s strategy? Either way, a 4-2 team is far superior than 3-3, even with it being an ugly 8-point win. — Kyle Barber

The Ravens didn’t make it especially pretty with a few costly penalties and ineffectiveness scoring touchdowns in the red zone. However, they led from start to finish and re-gained control late in the second half. Baltimore’s defense had another strong showing aside from a few long runs allowed and the offense was able to generate seven scoring drives. Even if six of those ended with field goals, it’s hard to be too upset with a much-needed bounce back victory over a conference opponent. — Frank Platko

The Ravens escaped London with a victory over the Titans after looking like they would cruise to the finish line early in the game. It was another promising but frustrating showing from the offense as they had to settle for field goals on all but one of their red zone trips. The signs of a great offense are there but little things must be cleaned up before they can truly explode and realize their potential. Lamar Jackson had another efficient day throwing the ball and continues to put the offense on his back as a runner in crucial situations.

On defense, two huge plays from Tennessee’s running backs hurt what was an otherwise dominant defensive performance. The pass rush was the best it has been all season, with Justin Madubuike, Jadeveon Clowney, and Kyle Van Noy taking control of the game. Geno Stone once again proved how valuable he is to Baltimore with his third interception of the season in a moment where it felt like the Ravens were losing control of the game. Baltimore exits the game with much to improve on, much to be happy about, and a dangerous Detroit Lions squad on the horizon. — Dustin Cox

“It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t pretty. But it’s us.”

It’s an old John Harbaugh quote that’s described Ravens teams year after year. It works today too. Once again, another game that probably should have been a more dominate win then it was, but they pulled it out. A rough third quarter that started to look like a classic Ravens second half collapse was followed by a fourth quarter that put the game away.

The defense was once again dominate. Outside of two drives gifted to the Titans by bad penalty calls and a late screen pass for long yardage, it was cut and dry. The offense moved the ball at will today except for the redzone where they only converted one of six attempts. But Todd Monken had previously had them as the third best redzone offense in the NFL, so that should get fixed with a normal week of practice.

The Lions are next at home and it will be the best teams the Ravens have seen yet. It will be important to use that game as an assessment to see where to attack with the tradeline following right behind it. — Zach Canter

Credit to the Ravens today. Midway through the third quarter, the team found itself in a very similar position to the one that presented itself last week in Pittsburgh. Momentum was shifting, and after an interception by Lamar Jackson which resulted in a Titans touchdown, Ravens fans were probably saying “here we go again”. However, the team buckled down and were able to regain momentum after Geno Stone’s interception of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The lack of offensive production in the second half of games is officially an issue but the greatness of Lamar Jackson enabled the Ravens to put six more points on the board, and keep the game out of reach. The Ravens defense shut Tennessee down with the exception of two big plays by Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears, and kept the pressure on Tannehill and Wills with six sacks. It wasn’t pretty and the Ravens have a very good Detroit team in town next week but the Ravens seem to be back in the AFC North driver seat after this win. — Stephen Bopst