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Having defeated the reigning Super Bowl champions last week, the Tennessee Titans will be looking to stop the main pretenders to the throne when they face the Baltimore Ravens on the road on Saturday.
The Titans were almost perfect in their 20-13 win over the Patriots in New England on Saturday, keeping the six-time Super Bowl winners scoreless in the second half and shredding New England's defense against the run thanks to a phenomenal game from Derrick Henry.
The Titans running back, the league's leading rusher, racked up 182 rushing yards and one score on 34 carries as he celebrated his 26th birthday in style.
More of the same can be expected from Tennessee on Saturday. The Titans ranked third in the NFL rushing yards during the season and they will continue to pound the rock, as they look for what would be a first divisional-round win in 17 years.
Similarly, however, Tennessee can expect a taste of its own medicine as the Ravens topped the league in rushing yards this season—setting a new single-season record with 3,296—and their high-octane offense—which led the league with 33.2 points per game—has been built on a sparkling running game.
The Ravens' formula has been a winning one largely thanks to Lamar Jackson's otherworldly performances this season. The second-year quarterback has rushed for 1,206 yards this season, a new NFL record, and topped the league in touchdown passes with 36.
Jackson became the first quarterback in history to have at least 1,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdown passes in the same campaign, breaking NFL and franchise records at a rate of knots.
Behind the 23-year-old, who will almost certainly be crowned MVP next month, the Ravens went 14-2 and arrive into the weekend on the back of a 12-game winning streak.
Jackson presents a completely different challenge to the one the Titans faced in the wild-card round in the shape of Tom Brady, and Tennessee knows it could be in for a tough night in Baltimore.
"He [Jackson] is from Mars," Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said, as per Tennessee's official website. "He's definitely an outer-space guy. He's unbelievable. The stuff that he's doing so far this season, it's unreal."
Titans coach Mike Vrabel echoed Casey's stance, suggesting slowing down Jackson was the best his team could hope for, as stopping him was downright impossible.
"Offensively, they have the best player in the league who's impossible to tackle," he was quoted as saying by ESPN.
"It's a great scheme. I think on any other day it'd be fun to watch, but not when you're trying to prepare for them and stop them. [Ravens offensive coordinator] Greg [Roman] does a fantastic job."
If the Ravens offense has been almost unstoppable, the Titans have looked a completely different team since Ryan Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota at quarterback in Week 6.
In the 10 games Tannehill started, the Titans were the NFL's fourth-highest-scoring offense. The eighth overall pick of the 2012 draft led the NFL with a 117.5 passer rating, the fourth-highest single-season mark among qualified passers in NFL history.
Tannehill threw for just 72 yards against the Patriots as the Titans relied on Henry and Ravens coach John Harbaugh hinted stopping the running game would be key to limiting the Titans this Saturday.
"Ryan Tannehill has done just an excellent job with that [the play-action schemes]," he told the Ravens' official website.
"It's been schemed up really well. It starts with the run game, of course. The run game is what makes all that go."
Tannehill has also excelled against the blitz, completing 64.9 percent of passes when under pressure this season. His prowess under the blitz adds a layer of intrigue to the matchup, given the Ravens have blitzed more than any other team in the NFL this season.
As this graphic provided by Statista shows, Baltimore enters the game as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, while the Titans are the No. 6 seed in the NFL playoffs.
The significance is two-fold, as it means Baltimore enjoyed time off last week, while Tennessee slugged it out against New England.
It also has a significant statistical bearing, as No. 6 seeds have lost the last eight consecutive games in the divisional round.
Baltimore leads the playoff series 2-1 over Tennessee, but the Titans' only win came on the road in January 2004.
A repeat of that scenario would suit Vrabel and his team just fine.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Saturday.
When and where is the game?
The Baltimore Ravens host the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, January 11.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.
TV coverage
The game will be broadcast nationally by CBS.
Live stream
A live stream will be available via CBS's digital platforms, CBS Sports website and fuboTV.
Form
The Titans knocked out the New England Patriots in the wild-card round winning 20-13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, while the Ravens enjoyed a week off after finishing with the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Series record
The all-time series is finely balanced, with Baltimore winning 12 games to Tennessee's 11 and prevailing in two of the last three meetings, including a 21-0 in Tennessee in October 2018 the last time the two teams crossed paths.
The Ravens hold a 2-1 advantage in the playoffs and won the 13-10 in Nashville when they last met Tennessee in the postseason.
The Titans' solitary playoff win in the playoffs against the Ravens came in January 2004, with Tennessee winning 20-17 in the wild-card round.
Odds
According to Oddschecker, the Ravens are a nine-point favorite and are 23/25 to cover the spread, while the Titans are 16/5 underdogs and the over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 47.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more