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Titans vs. Ravens: Reasons for optimism and concern for Tennessee

By Michael Moraitis

CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 12: Cornerback Marcus Peters #24 of the Baltimore Ravens reacts to a play during the game against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 12: Cornerback Marcus Peters #24 of the Baltimore Ravens reacts to a play during the game against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Concern: Ravens pass defense

As we already highlighted, the Ravens can be run on based on DVOA despite their overall ranking as the No. 5 run defense in the NFL this season. However, even if Henry gets going, the Titans are still going to need to throw the football.

That’s where this matchup becomes tougher. Not only does Baltimore own the No. 6 pass defense, it also sports a DVOA ranking of fourth, which means there is no metric showing a weakness against the Ravens through the air.

Tannehill faced a similarly tough pass defense last week against a Patriots team that limited him to 72 passing yards. Thankfully for the Titans, New England wasn’t able to get anything going on offense themselves, so Tennessee was able to overcome the poor production.

That will not be the case this week against the league’s best offense. As much as you keep the ball out of the hands of the Ravens offense, it is still going to score points, and you can bet that point total will be more than 13.

The infusion of Marcus Peters into the Ravens’ defense has been a real game-changer, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is going to have to figure out a way to get his quarterback to make more of an impact in this divisional round game against what is a very talented secondary.

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