The Tennessee Titans put a stop to the New England Patriots on Saturday, squandering their last-minute chances of finding a way to win with cornerback Logan Ryan intercepting Tom Brady on the final drive.
So, the Titans have proven they can beat teams with dominant quarterbacks, and they’ll face a dual-threat in Lamar Jackson as they take on the Baltimore Ravens this week.
The Ravens lead the NFL with an average of 33.2 points per game, and Jackson has been a big part of that.
“Offensively, near the top in almost all statistical categories,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said this week. “Offensively, they have the best player in the league who’s impossible to tackle. 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.”
[lawrence-related id=24014]
In his second season, Jackson has completed 66.1% of his passes for 3,127 yards with 36 touchdowns and six interceptions.
He’s just as much of a factor in the ground game, racking up 176 carries for 1,206 rushing yards and seven touchdowns against opposing defenses this season.
“He is a great athlete, but he’s also a great quarterback and he has been a great quarterback throughout, even though he didn’t always get acknowledged for that,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said on Tuesday. “All the way from pee-wee through high school through college he’s been a great QB.”
ESPN’s Turron Davenport compared limiting Jackson to a pack of lions hunting gazelles.
[lawrence-related id=24005]
“It will be critical to force Jackson to move off his spot by matching the interior pass rush with the defenders who rush from the outside,” he wrote. “Think of lions teaming up to hunt gazelles by having one group flush the prey into another group waiting to pounce. The edge defenders have to be careful not to rush too far up the field, so they don’t take themselves out of the play, but they have to get deep enough to force Jackson to step up in the pocket where the interior guys are pushing it back.”
The Titans and Ravens are set to face off at 7:15 p.m. CST on Saturday in M&T Bank Stadium.