After two straight first round exits from the playoffs, the Ravens looked early on like they might be headed for a third when they fell behind 10-0 to Tennessee in the first quarter on Sunday. The chatter about Lamar Jackson in the postseason was already starting to warm up, but Baltimore’s defense stood strong from that point, allowing just three Titans points in the final three quarters and Jackson got loose on the ground for some big plays to push the Ravens over the line at 20-13 to pick up his first playoff win.
The Titans had a chance to drive down the field and tie the game with four minutes to play after a Ravens field goal, but Kalif Raymond slipped on a post route and Ryan Tannehill’s pass found the waiting arms of Marcus Peters for the game-sealing interception with just under two minutes to play. It was a key play, but what will be most talked about is the celebration, as the Ravens ran onto the field and danced on the Tennessee logo — picking up a 15-yard penalty that actually made things a bit dicey if not for a big Jackson run to seal things.
RYAN TANNEHIL É INTERCEPTADO! MARCUS PETERS BOTA OS RAVENS A UM PÉ DA CLASSIFICAÇÃO! #NFLBrasil #BALvsTEN
📺: Assista à transmissão americana dos Playoffs no NFL Game Pass por um preço especial! 👉 https://t.co/uMRqwxJ5yr pic.twitter.com/FsiQ9q9143
— NFL Brasil (@NFLBrasil) January 10, 2021
It was an obvious callback to earlier in the season when the Titans stomped on the Ravens logo in pregame, leading to jawing between Tennessee and the Ravens players and coaches, including John Harbaugh.
How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/E57XiCrQoJ
— Pick Six Podcast (@picksixpod) January 10, 2021
After taking the final kneeldown to end the game, Baltimore ensured there would be no funny business or fights by taking off straight to the locker room, with just Harbaugh and a few players going out for handshakes to avoid any brawling.
https://twitter.com/NotScTop10plays/status/1348372237976535042
The Titans and Ravens very clearly don’t like each other and this win will be extra sweet after last year saw Tennessee upset Baltimore as the 1-seed. It also was smart by Harbaugh to send everyone straight to the locker room rather than risk letting Peters or anyone else chirp at the Titans and start something with another game to come.
