Ravens have always struggled on the road–even during the most prosperous parts of their history.
WHAT: Week Nine at Tennessee Titans
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, November 5
WHERE: Nissan Stadium; Nashville (69,143)
RECORDS: Ravens, 4-4; Titans, 4-3
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Tied, 9-9; Oilers/Titans lead at home, 5-4
TV: WJZ-TV (Channel 13) (Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, booth; Melanie Collins, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Stan White, Justin Forsett)
REFEREE: John Hussey
About the Titans
—The Tennessee Titans began their existence in 1960 as the Houston Oilers, one of the American Football League’s charter franchises. They moved out of Texas after the 1996 season, playing at Memphis’ Liberty Bowl in 1997 and Vanderbilt University in 1998 — operating as the Tennessee Oilers — before opening its current stadium in 1999 and adopting the Titans name.
—The Houston/Tennessee franchise has made 21 playoff appearances in 57 full seasons of operation, winning nine division titles (six in Houston), the AFC Central crown in 2000, and the AFC South in 2002 and 2008. Houston won the AFL championship in its first two years, 1960 and 1961. During the Super Bowl era, the franchise has won just one AFC Championship game, beating Jacksonville to advance to Super Bowl XXXIV, where they narrowly lost to the St. Louis Rams.
—When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL, they split six games with the Oilers, beating Houston in 1983, 20-10, in what would turn out to be the Colts’ last game in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. In 1996, the Ravens’ first year of operation, the Oilers won both intradivisional meetings with Baltimore before moving on to Tennessee.
—The Ravens and Titans are tied in regular-season play, 9-9, but the teams have met three times in postseason play with the road team winning every game. The 2000 Ravens won a Divisional round game in Nashville, 24-10, but the Titans returned the favor in a wild-card game three years later in Baltimore, 20-17. In 2008, the Ravens got a late field goal to pull out a 13-10 Divisional win on the road.
—The Titans opened their current stadium in 1999, but the Ravens were the first visitors to win there in November of 2000, taking a 24-23 thriller. Tennessee is one of five currently-operating stadiums where the Ravens were the first visitors to win. They also did it in Denver, Pittsburgh, Washington and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
—Tennessee is the only Ravens opponent this year to be coming off its bye to play Baltimore. It’s the first of two straight post-bye home games for the Titans, who are in the midst of playing four consecutive games against AFC North Division teams. The Titans edged Cleveland in overtime before the bye, 12-9. After playing the Ravens, they’ll entertain Cincinnati before traveling to Pittsburgh.
—Pregame ceremonies for this game will include a tribute to Tyler and Trent McNair, sons of former Ravens quarterback and longtime Oilers/Titans signal-caller Steve McNair. He retired as a Raven in 2007 after two seasons with the team. He was murdered on July 4, 2009.
—Third-year Titans head coach Mike Mularkey (15-17 with Tennessee, 31-49 career) is the 18th man to hold the job in Oilers/Titans history. He has lost his only career meeting against the Ravens. Mularkey’s staff includes two Hall of Fame players–defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau (now in his 59th year in the NFL as a player and coach) and offensive line coach Russ Grimm, part of the Washington Redskins’ “Hogs” offensive line. The running backs coach is Sylvester Croom, who made history at Mississippi State as the Southeastern Conference’s first African-American head coach.
—Through seven games, Tennessee is ranked 18th in total offense (tied for 9th rushing, 26th passing, 13th scoring) and 16th in total defense (tenth vs. rush, 19th vs. pass, 26th scoring). The Titans have the league’s fourth-worst red-zone defense and the second-worst red-zone offense (after leading the league in that category last year). The team is eighth in third-down defense. The Titans have committed just 43 penalties, the league’s third-lowest total, and have had a feast-or-famine season on the scoreboard, tallying 16 or fewer points four times and 30 or more points on three occasions.
—The Titans are one of three NFL teams that has an even turnover ratio at this point in the season (NY Giants, LA Rams), partially due to the fact that they have recovered only three fumbles. The penalty total is low, but the Titans do have eight false starts, five offensive holding calls, and five defensive holding infractions. They have jumped offsides defensively only twice.
—Quarterback Marcus Mariota (15-18 as a starter), who turned 24 this week, has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions this year. He has missed playing time with a hamstring injury, but he is expected to be ready against Baltimore. He has completed 110 of 176 passes and has been sacked just five times, tied for the league low with Minnesota’s Case Keenum. Mariota is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt and is playing to a passer rating of 83.1. In his last eight home games, Mariota has played to a 106.7 rating (14 TD, 2 INT).
—The Titans have a running back-by-committee approach, with former Dallas Cowboy DeMarco Murray leading the team with 372 yards and a 4.3 per-carry average. Murray gained 93 yards against the Ravens five years ago as a Dallas Cowboy. Veteran Derrick Henry (331, 4.4) is another RB. Both backs have had touchdown runs of 70 or more yards this year, and they have two rushing touchdowns each. Mariota has scrambled for three scores and 5.4 yards per carry.
—Ex-Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews leads Tennessee with a 14.6-yard-per-catch average and a 55-yard touchdown. Former New York Jets and Denver Broncos receiver Eric Decker has been a steady possession receiver, hauling in 23 catches for a 9.8-yard rate. The team’s leading receiver is TE Delanie Walker, who played against the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII with the 49ers. Walker has a team-high 32 receptions at a 10.1-yard pace. Murray has caught 17 balls out of the backfield.
—The Titans can boast one of the league’s youngest and best offensive lines, with former Houston Texans center Ben Jones at the pivot. Jones is the graybeard of the bunch and is in his sixth season. Second-year right tackle Jack Conklin from Michigan State was the No. 8 overall pick in 2016, and left tackle Taylor Lewan, out of Michigan, was the Titans’ 2014 first-round selection.
—Tennessee’s 3-4 defense held Cleveland out of the end zone in a 12-9 pre-bye win–the first time since a 37-3 win at Miami in 2012 that they did not allow a touchdown. The Titans have permitted just two touchdowns in their last three games against the Browns, Miami, and Indianapolis. Former Denver first-round pick Sylvester Williams mans the nose, flanked by two-time Pro Bowl pick Jurrell Casey (29.5 sacks since 2013, fourth among defensive tackles) and Penn State product DaQuan Jones.
—At the second level, Tennessee has two good edge-rushing linebackers in Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo. Morgan’s 32.5 sacks from 2012-16 led the Titans. His 4.5 quarterback takedowns lead the team this year. He also has 30 pocket pressures. Orakpo (team-high 31 pressures) has made four Pro Bowls, three with Washington, and has 10.5 sacks in 2016. The inside linebackers are Avery Williamson (whose 149 tackles last year were the most by any Titan since 2010) and ex-Bronco Wesley Woodyard (team-high 82 tackles, seven tackles for losses), named a team captain this year.
—On the corners, the Titans trot out first-round pick Adoree Jackson, a Jim Thorpe Award winner at Southern California, and ex-New England Patriot standout Logan Ryan, who picked off two passes against the Ravens in a 2013 game in Baltimore. Strong safety Johnathan Cyprien led all safeties in tackles last year. Free safety Kevin Byard picked off three passes against Cleveland, tying the franchise single-game regular-season record and winning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Byard has five takeaways over the team’s last four games.
—Kicker Ryan Succop, in his fourth year in Tennessee after five years with the Kansas City Chiefs, has quietly become one of the league’s better kickers, hitting 20 of 22 field-goal tries and scoring 74 points. Former Denver punter Brett Kern has just three touchbacks in 33 punts and he leads the league in both gross average (51.5) and net (46.5).
—Rookie corner Adoree Jackson has also assumed the team’s return duties, but ten-year veteran Eric Weems will occasionally field kicks and punts. Jackson is returning kicks at a rather average 22-yard pace but is averaging nearly 11 per punt runback. The Titans’ kick coverage team has been poor, allowing over 28 yards per return, but punt coverage has been quite good (5.8), helping Kern’s league-leading net average.
Prediction
There’s no question the Ravens are getting healthier and the mini-bye helped. But Tennessee is coming off its full bye week and it’s a healthier, younger, hungrier and faster–especially along the offensive line. If the Ravens are truly reverting to form, that means they’ll struggle on the road. They’ve done that even during the most prosperous parts of their history.
Titans 27, Ravens 16
