The Baltimore Ravens battled through injuries and penalties to hang on for a 24-18 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 4. The Ravens did not score in the second half after Lamar Jackson exited but they managed to hang on for their third victory of the season. Here are the Baltimore Beatdown staff’s reactions to the winning result.
Time to exhale.
That was UGLY. The game ends up in the win column for the Ravens, but as we’ve seen so often, it was a lot more stressful than it needed to be. The injuries
stacked up, including being without Lamar Jackson for the second half, and sub-par officiating contributed to a heap of penalties that put Baltimore behind the eight-ball. Combine that with a second half defense that was woefully insufficient in the secondary and another missed kick by Tyler Loop, and you had a perfect storm of a game that almost got away.
I’ll give credit where it’s due: Loop hit a massive kick at the end of the half to give the Ravens some breathing room, LJ and Zay put together a couple of really nice plays, and the defense did generate a couple of turnovers and some decent pressure on Cam Ward (even with the officials missing holds on every other play). They’ve got to have their fingers and toes crossed that the injuries they suffered today aren’t long-term and that they can shore up defense before taking a road trip to Atlanta next week.
Offensive MVP: Zay Flowers
Defensive MVP: Kyle Hamilton
— Kevin McNeils
What was shaping up to be a blowout victory turned into an ugly second-half slugfest following Lamar Jackson’s injury. The Titans were able to key in on Derrick Henry and make life difficult for Baltimore in the run game. Zay Flowers was once again putting on a show before Jackson left the game, proving every week now that he was worth every penny of his new contract. The Ravens’ defense had a strong day outside of a couple of drives, but it was disappointing to see the unit only sack Cam Ward once despite effective pressure throughout the game. Penalties were yet again a massive issue for the Ravens and is something that threatens to hold them back every week. Obviously the biggest talking point following this game will be injuries, the most notable being Jackson, but also to Marlon Humphrey, Andrew Vorhees, and Durham Smythe as Baltimore looks toward Atlanta now.
Offensive MVP: Lamar Jackson
Defensive MVP: Kyle Hamilton
— Dustin Cox
While it wasn’t a pretty win, it was won handily by the Ravens. An incredible first half from Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense gave them 24 points and that was all they needed as the defense had their best performance of the season, holding the Titans to 18. The win was heavily marred by a Lamar Jackson injury that held him out of the second half and a massive amount of penalties. But overall, I was happy with the performance. The offense was unstoppable outside of penalties when Lamar Jackson was on the field and the defense was incredibly solid outside of the first drive of the game. Outside of Carnell Tate’s catch and run at the end, the tackling was massively improved and they were in Cam Wards face all day. Big home win that was much needed to get rid of some bad voodoo. For as close as it felt, it’s important to remember this game would have been a 20+ point blowout if Lamar Jackson played the whole time.
Offensive MVP: Lamar Jackson
Defensive MVP: Mike Green
— Zach Canter
This felt like a game we all just wanted to end. The Ravens established a 17-point cushion in the first half due to a red-hot offense and opportunistic defense. However, on the final offensive play of the half, Lamar Jackson appeared to twist his ankle and did not return. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there as Andrew Vorheees, Durham Smythe, and Marlon Humphrey all exited with injuries. The Ravens did what they needed to do and beat the lowly Titans but the main topic moving forward will be the status of Jackson and some of the other injured Ravens. It goes without saying that any meaningful injury to Jackson would eliminate any chance of real success this year. The penalty issues continue to be a major thorn in their side, and while there are some procedural things they need to get worked out, it’d be nice for some of the 50/50 type calls to go their way every once in a while. All-in-all, the Titans are so bad, it’s difficult to take anything meaningful away from this game but I’d consider myself disappointed in the Ravens performance.
— Stephen Bopst
