The Tennessee Titans finished the 2019 regular season as one of the hottest offenses in the NFL. They managed to pile up the yards and the points despite an old-school offensive mentality. First-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has done a tremendous job featuring Derrick Henry while also getting production out of rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Keeping the Titans quiet will not be an easy task for Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale and his players this weekend. Let’s break down the Titans’ passing and rushing attacks against the Ravens’ defense to see who has the edge in this game.
Titans’ rushing offense vs. Ravens’ rushing defense:
Like the Ravens, the foundation of the Titans’ offense is the running game. They have the league’s leading rusher in Derrick Henry, who finished the regular season with 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns on his 303 rushing attempts. To put an exclamation point on the regular season Henry gained 182 rushing yards on the New England Patriots in the wild-card round to propel Tennessee to victory. Thanks to Henry’s deeds, the Titans averaged 138.9 yards on the ground per game which trailed only the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers in 2019.
At first glance, one would assume that this is a matchup that the Ravens have well in hand despite Henry’s dominance. The Ravens allowed the 5th-fewest rushing yards per game this season. However when we look closer we discover that the Ravens saw the second-fewest running back rush attempts in the regular season (296), thanks no doubt to their opponents being forced to abandon the run and play catchup. Opposing rushers averaged a not too shabby 4.4 yards per attempt against Baltimore, the 12th highest average in the regular season.
Rushing edge: Titans
If the Titans are able to keep Lamar Jackson and company in check and slow the Ravens’ offense down, Henry could be a huge thorn in the side of the Ravens defense. But it’s a very big if.