Lamar Jackson rushes Ravens past Titans

[January 11, 2021]  Lamar Jackson rushed for a touchdown en route to recording his first NFL playoff win in the Baltimore Ravens' 20-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

Jackson completed 17 of 24 passes for 179 yards and rushed 16 times for 136 yards, including a 48-yard score with 2:32 left in the second quarter. His performance helped fifth-seeded Baltimore outgain fourth-seeded Tennessee in total yards (401-209).

The victory propels the Ravens into the AFC semifinals next weekend, when they'll visit the second-seeded Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

"It feels good, all three phases played good. We finished," Jackson said. "We stayed focused, we didn't get rattled. We had to get points on the board. We just kept fighting and made it happen.

"We got to go score. It's not going to be the same results after last year. It was about us winning the game, it wasn't about me and Derrick Henry. (The players on defense) were tired of hearing the noise. They've been doing all season, we came together and got it done."

The Titans failed to build on a 10-0 first-quarter lead as their high-powered offense couldn't crank up the running game. Henry, who authored the eighth 2,000-yard rushing season in league history, was held to 40 yards on 18 carries by a defense that used run blitzes liberally.

Tennessee initiated scoring with 5:39 left in the first quarter on Ryan Tannehill's 10-yard pass to A.J. Brown. It upped the lead to 10-0 just under four minutes later, turning Malcolm Butler's interception of Jackson into Stephen Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball while defended by Tennessee Titans strong safety Kenny Vaccaro (24) during a AFC Wild Card playoff game at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore got on the board with 9:59 remaining in the first half on Justin Tucker's 33-yard field goal, then tied the score on Jackson's electrifying third-down touchdown scamper.

"He made a good play and we didn't do a good job of making him go laterally," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said.

Rookie J.K. Dobbins gave the Ravens the lead for good on a 4-yard scoring run with 9:01 left in the third quarter, finishing off a 77-yard drive.

Gostkowski pulled the Titans within 17-13 by nailing a 25-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, but Tucker increased the lead to seven on a 51-yard boot with 4:19 remaining.

Tennessee's last chance to tie the game ended when Tannehill was intercepted by Marcus Peters on the first play after the two-minute warning.

Tannehill finished the game 18 of 26 for 165 yards. The Titans managed only 83 total yards after the first quarter.

--Field Level Media
 

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