The Buffalo Bills indirectly contributed to the Tennessee Titans Divisional Round victory Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills may not have crossed paths in the 2019 NFL playoffs on the field. However, the Titans borrowed a page from Buffalo’s playbook to thwart Lamar Jackson’s productivity, which ultimately was an integral part of Tennessee’s victory against Baltimore Saturday night.
Cornerback Logan Ryan shared how the Titans employed a strategy against Jackson that was similar to how the Bills prepared for the electric quarterback.
We wanted to give him loaded boxes all night to get him out of the game. We were either playing a loaded box and man to man and make him beat us throwing the ball outside mano-a-mano, or we were going to play a quarters defense similar to what Buffalo did. And Buffalo played them well. Buffalo just didn’t score a lot of points on offense.
Jackson and the Ravens put up massive numbers in the game. Jackson went 31-of-59 for 365 passing yards and one touchdown pass while rushing for 143 yards on 20 carries. However, when push came to shove, the Titans defensive scheme kept the Ravens from putting points on the scoreboard.
Jackson threw two interceptions and lost one fumble during the AFC Divisional Championship as well.
The Bills, for their part, limiting Jackson to his lowest rushing output for a full game on the season, gaining 40 yards on 11 carries. The contained Jackson and limited the Ravens offense to only 257 total yards.
In a copy cat league, it’s expected that teams will follow some form of this plan, forcing Jackson to beat his opponents through the air. This reveals how head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier are among the league’s best defensive minds, especially when tasked with facing explosive offenses and players.
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