The Baltimore Ravens are about as healthy as a playoff team can be heading into their divisional-round matchup against the Tennessee Titans. After holding several of their starters out in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and getting a first-round bye thanks to being the top seed in the AFC, it appears as though the Ravens will have everyone available for Saturday’s game.
The only two players currently in jeopardy of not suiting up for Baltimore is running back Mark Ingram and tight end Mark Andrews — both listed as “questionable” but still likely to play against the Titans. Andrews and Ingram have been critical in the Ravens’ success this season and if either is unable to play, Baltimore would lean on their replacements quite a lot.
If Ingram is unable to go, the Ravens will turn to Gus Edwards. We’ve already seen what Edwards can do when given the starting role against the Steelers two weeks ago. Edwards gashed a solid Steelers defense to the tune of 130 rushing yards on 21 attempts. Thanks to one of the best offensive lines in the league, there likely wouldn’t be much dropoff from Ingram to Edwards when it comes to running the football.
The real concern would be if Andrews wasn’t able to suit up. While former first-round pick Hayden Hurst would take over for Andrews’ role in the offense, Baltimore would be losing their top receiving option and the guy Jackson tends to rely on most when under pressure.
Andrews led the Ravens in all major receiving stats with 98 targets, 64 receptions, 852 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in 15 games this season. Hurst had a respectable season but comes in at about half of Andrews’ production, catching 30 passes for 349 yards and just two touchdowns this year.
However, the Titans missing linebacker Jayon Brown still provides a huge mismatch for Hurst and the Ravens to take advantage of.
Hurst is deceptively fast, posting the same 40-yard dash time as Andrews at the NFL combine. While not as polished a route runner as Andrews, Hurst against either Wesley Woodyard or David Long is a matchup Jackson should keep an eye on all game long. When combined with the indecision Jackson and Baltimore’s rushing attack creates in opposing linebackers, Hurst could get a free release and quickly lost in coverage. As we saw back in Week 14 against the Buffalo Bills, Hurst can do some damage under that exact scenario.
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While missing Andrews would still be a big blow for the Ravens’ offense, they’re getting a little lucky that the Titans are banged up at the right spot. It might not be the same level of production we’d see from Andrews against Tennessee’s defense but Hurst is more than capable of gashing an opponent thanks to Baltimore’s unique offense.