The Tennessee Titans (0-3) will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens (2-1) this Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. The teams will kick off at 12:00 p.m. CDT.
Last week, the Titans fell to the New York Giants in a heartbreaking fashion, with Cam Ward failing to meet the moment and prove he has arrived. The defense played well, but the Titans’ offense must be better and execute if they even want to compete. The Ravens are coming off an emotional victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL's first game in Rio de Janeiro.
Ahead of their meeting, we sat down with Ravens Wire Managing Editor Glenn Erby and picked his brain in this week's edition of Behind Enemy Lines.
The Ravens are coming off a historic game in Rio de Janeiro against the Dallas Cowboys. Did the insane travel schedule for the international game affect the team, and will they have a hangover against the winless Titans?
The travel is a legitimate concern, but I don’t expect it to become
an excuse. Baltimore played late Sunday afternoon in Rio, flew overnight, and then had to begin preparing for Tennessee without the benefit of a bye. Several important players were listed as limited or did not participate Wednesday, including Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, Ronnie Stanley, Calais Campbell and Trey Hendrickson. That suggests the staff understood the trip's physical toll and managed workloads accordingly.
The greater concern is an emotional hangover after a frantic 34-31 win. Baltimore committed nine penalties for 78 yards, converted only three of nine third downs, and missed 13 tackles against Dallas after missing six in each of its first two games. Those are the habits that could keep an inferior opponent in the game. Still, the Ravens are returning home, and Tennessee’s 0-3 record should eliminate any temptation to overlook the Titans. The first quarter will tell us whether Baltimore has reset mentally.
The big story this week has to be centered on running back Derrick Henry and his history with the Titans organization. While history hasn’t served backs who face their former team after accumulating over 9,000 yards with them, do you think there will be extra emphasis on getting Henry going this week?
There should be extra emphasis on Derrick Henry, but Baltimore can't let the reunion storyline dictate its play-calling. Henry produced 9,502 rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns during eight seasons with Tennessee, so this will carry meaning regardless of what he says publicly. He enters the game with 301 yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries this season, averaging 100.3 rushing yards per game.
The Ravens should feed him because the offense is built around the stress of Henry and Lamar Jackson sharing the backfield and forcing teams to make decisions. The interesting subplot is short yardage. Henry was stopped on four short-yardage opportunities against Dallas, including fourth-and-goal from the 1. He has acknowledged that he must be better in those situations. I expect Baltimore to give him a chance to answer that criticism, but Declan Doyle still has to use motion, play-action, and Jackson’s legs to keep Tennessee from loading the box. The goal should be an efficient Henry game, not a forced revenge-game workload.
It looks like both teams will come into this one with questions at interior offensive line because of injuries. Do you think the Ravens have the interior depth to battle Jeffery Simmons and John Franklin-Myers, and can they, on the flip side, take advantage of the question mark at right guard on the Titans' offensive line?
The Ravens have enough options to survive inside, but there is a significant difference between having options and having continuity. Jovaughn Gwyn suffered a fractured fibula and could miss two to three months, while Ethan Pocic is also expected to miss substantial time with a knee injury. That leaves first-round pick Vega Ioane preparing for his first start at center after starting the first three games at right guard. The encouraging part is that Ioane handled the final eight plays of Baltimore’s go-ahead touchdown drive against Dallas.
The Ravens also signed veteran center Andre James, who has 61 career starts, and guard Kyle Hergel to the practice squad. Andrew Vorhees or Emery Jones Jr. can replace Ioane at right guard, while Ronnie Stanley’s potential return would stabilize the group. Jeffery Simmons remains the matchup Baltimore must control. He had 11 sacks, 60 pressures and 17 tackles for loss last season and already has two sacks this year. Tennessee can align him over Ioane and test the rookie’s communication immediately.
Baltimore should also be able to attack Tennessee’s interior. Starting right guard Fernando Carmona and backup Jackson Slater are on injured reserve, leaving Garrett Dellinger, Atonio Mafi and potentially Pat Coogan as the options. Nnamdi Madubuike’s return gives the Ravens an interior disruptor who can make that uncertainty costly, particularly on passing downs.
The Ravens have a new head coach, Jesse Minter, this season. What has he brought to the organization, and will they focus on making the defense dominant again as part of their identity?
Jesse Minter has brought a direct, demanding approach and a clear desire to restore defense as the organization’s identity. He retained defensive play-calling duties, and his system is designed to use versatile players such as Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey in multiple alignments while creating pressure without becoming predictable.
The expectation is aggressive, physical, and communicative football. The finished product is still up for debate. Baltimore opened the season by holding Indianapolis to 251 yards and forcing two turnovers, but the defense has since allowed 24 points to New Orleans and 31 to Dallas. The Ravens are allowing 321.3 yards per game, which ranks in the middle of the league, and the 13 missed tackles in Rio were particularly troubling. Dallas also repeatedly found favorable matchups during the second half.
Minter has brought accountability, and the players appear to respond, but the defense is still searching for consistency. Madubuike's return should help the pass rush, while Hamilton, Humphrey, and Roquan Smith provide high-end building blocks. Tennessee presents an opportunity to establish the standard Minter has discussed. A dominant defense should control an inexperienced quarterback and a compromised offensive line at home.
What player should the Titans focus on outside of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry if they have any hope of pulling an upset? And what is your prediction for this one?
The player Tennessee must account for is Zay Flowers. His speed changes the spacing of Baltimore’s entire offense, and he gives Jackson a receiver who can win vertically, create after the catch, or take a jet sweep around the edge. Flowers produced a career-high 150 receiving yards and a touchdown in the opener. He then missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury and was limited to roughly one-third of the offensive snaps in Rio.
The early split demonstrated his importance: Baltimore scored touchdowns on four of five drives with Flowers on the field before his injury, compared with three touchdowns on 16 drives without him. If his hamstring allows him to handle a larger workload Sunday, Tennessee cannot devote all its attention to Jackson and Henry. That creates favorable opportunities for Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman and the Ravens’ complementary receivers.
I expect the Titans to compete defensively early, especially if Simmons disrupts Baltimore’s new interior combination. Over four quarters, however, the Ravens have too much offensive firepower, and Tennessee’s uncertainty at right guard creates a favorable matchup for Baltimore’s defensive front. My prediction is Ravens 30, Titans 17.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans vs. Baltimore Ravens: Behind enemy lines Week 4
