The Titans are “Taken Back to London” to face down some haunting demons against their eternal blood rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams desperately need a win and an offensive spark as they are coming off deflating losses to division rivals. These two teams couldn’t be more philosophically different in their approach to the trip. Baltimore chose to make the journey to the Old World early in the week while Tennessee plans to leave after Thursday. Which path will prove to be the best one to take? Who will visit “The City” and get back on the right note? These two teams could not be more evenly split in terms of series record and organizational philosophy.
Music City Musings – Week 6: Baltimore Ravens vs Tennessee Titans
Ravens Offense vs. Titans Defense
The Ravens offense is under a new steward this season as former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken was hired to replace the enigmatic Greg Roman. Lamar has returned to full health and is better than ever so that presents a problem to opposing defenses. Tennessee will have a handful trying to defend Baltimore’s fleet of receivers.
OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch
Baltimore features a veteran and talent-laden offensive line similar to what the Titans faced last week against the Colts. According to PFF, the left side has been underwhelming compared to the right side of the line. Veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley has slipped significantly when looking at his 2023 grade thus far compared to the 2022 grade. He’s gone from a robust 69.4 to a woeful 54.9 this season. Left guard John Simpson is the clear weakness of the group as he’s been in the low to high 50s in his career to date. It could be obvious where the Titans line up their best pass rushers this week.
Where the Ravens can exploit their advantage is on the right side against a weakened Harold Landry III, who sports an awful 47.3 grade from PFF. Landry has been poor on tape as well. Something isn’t right with him since returning from an ACL injury. Young center Tyler Linderbaum has lived up to his draft hype and is one of the best centers in the league. Veteran warhorse Kevin Zeitler is still one of the best guards as well. Morgan Moses is a steady rock at right tackle and has consistently graded high in the 70s during the past four seasons. Moses is on track to return after missing last week due to injury.
Tennessee will have to step up their trench play after being pushed around by a talented Colts front five last week. Jeffery Simmons should be good to go after suffering a shoulder injury last Sunday. Teair Tart proved to be a critical piece as he missed last week’s poor showing. Hopefully, he’s good to go but the signs aren’t promising just yet. Denico Autry will likely once again have to shoulder the load on the line.
Prediction
Baltimore repeatedly goes to their strong suit and attacks the weaker left side of the Titans’ front for huge gains in the running game. Tennessee will have to counter with more pressure, opening up their heavily scrutinized secondary for Lamar to exploit. It will be interesting to see if the Titans counter by moving pieces around to match strength on strength or play straight up.
Skill-on-Skill Matchups to Watch
The Ravens have invested significant resources into its receiver room over the past several years to limited effect it seems. Odell Beckham is the latest free agent signee trying to make an impact. Rashod Bateman has had a muted impact thus far in his young career. Devin Duvernay is the speedster of the group and could be a glaring threat against a weakened Tennessee secondary. Nelson Agholor was brought on during the offseason and is the third leading receiver on the team. Where the Ravens have seemingly succeeded is drafting first-round rookie Zay Flowers. He’s off to a flying start, leading the team in receptions and yards.
Tight end Mark Andrews is once more the safety valve and biggest threat for Lamar Jackson. He’s the second-leading receiver and leads the team in touchdowns. Gus Edwards is the leading rusher in terms of attempts after injuries have wiped out the running back depth chart once again.
It will be interesting to see how the Titans decide to mark Flowers. Sean Murphy-Bunting would be the ideal assignment for the ascendant star while Roger McCreary could draw either Agholor or Bateman. Kristian Fulton has become a massive liability for Tennessee to attempt to hide. He’s been repeatedly targeted and opposing receivers have beaten him nearly every time. Perhaps Tennessee doubles Andrews with Amani Hooker and Azeez Al-Shaair.
Prediction
The Titans’ defense can only hold on for so long against a dynamic rushing attack led by one of the most talented mobile passers in the league. If the Ravens can isolate Fulton and attack him relentlessly like every other opponent, it will be a long day. Provided that Baltimore’s receivers can hold onto the ball, that is. Drops were a giant issue last week against the Steelers. Game-altering drops were the key to the loss last Sunday. Tennessee’s secondary might be the antidote for the Ravens receivers to get right.
[metabet_core_odds_board query=”535969″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]
Titans Offense vs. Ravens Defense
Well, here we are again, waiting for the Titans’ offense to score more than 30 points. An impressive streak of offensive ineptitude and futility. In comes a tough and battle-hardened Ravens defense to face a much-maligned scoring unit.
Baltimore has a fearsome front seven that the Titans’ beleaguered offensive line has to take into account. Their defensive ends haven’t graded out well according to PFF metrics but still have a reputation nonetheless. Justin Madubuike is the more accomplished of the pair of starters in their system. Michael Pierce is an effective nose tackle who has been in the Ravens’ defensive tackle factory for years. Travis Jones is a sophomore who has played at an above-average clip when called upon.
On the perimeter is where the Ravens are hurting with multiple key pieces like David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh battling injuries. Key contributor Tyus Bowser is on the NFI list. Former Titans EDGE rusher Jadaveon Clowney will be licking his chops to face a very familiar foe. To make up for key losses at EDGE, the team has signed veteran free agent Kyle Van Noy. Tavius Robinson is a rookie trying to crack a stacked depth chart.
Andre Dillard has played like one of the worst left tackles in some time. He gets somewhat of a respite against the injured Ravens’ EDGE depth but not much of one. Tennessee also welcomed back left guard Peter Skoronski last week so that should help Dillard. Much like their Baltimore colleagues, the Titans’ right side has been far more effective than the left. Right tackle Chris Hubbard is in no danger of losing his place to recently reinstated Nicholas Petit-Frere. If the Ravens were smart, they’d stack the left side with their best EDGE rushers like Clowney and KVN to attack Dillard.
Prediction
The Ravens’ defensive line battles the Titans’ offensive line to a standstill and limits the effectiveness of Tennessee’s rushing attack. Ryan Tannehill will need to get rid of the ball quickly.
Skill-on Skill Matchups to Watch
Tennessee will once again miss the services of Treylon Burks due to a knee injury, which means the Titans will force-feed superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins countless targets. Play action has been an effective tool for the Titans in past games. Running back Tyjae Spears continues to be an intriguing option serving his apprenticeship under Derrick Henry. He’s a significant threat out of the backfield and also in the rushing attack. Tight end Chig Okonkwo has been wholly inconsistent and has several drops on his resume for whatever reason. NWI and Chris Moore are the other receiver options left to the Titans. Kyle Philips has returned to duty as the primary punt returner and will need reps to get back in form again.
Baltimore has a veteran-laden secondary that surprisingly has Marlon Humphrey as the second-lowest-graded defender in it with a 60.5. The ultra-talented big nickel Kyle Hamilton has been all over the place for the Ravens. Safety Marcus Williams has been largely ineffective. Geno Stone has been injured but returned to practice this week. The Ravens linebacker duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen might be the best in the league. Smith has been a revelation since he was traded from the Bears.
Prediction
Tennessee will have a devil of a time trying to escape the clutches of a dominant linebacker and secondary group. OC Tim Kelly will have to be at his level best scheming his receivers open.
Weather Report
The weather in London will be a typically drab English affair for this time of year with a high of 51 degrees and a humidity of 61%. There is little chance of rain at just six percent with the wind projected to blow in a northwesterly direction at nine miles per hour. Three consecutive days of projected rain will dampen the temperatures somewhat over the weekend. Weather conditions will have little effect on either team. Hopefully, there is no foggy weather that renowned musical artist Michael Buble can croon about.
Odds and Ends
The all-time series is deadlocked at 13 apiece, which is quite surprising at first glance. Mike Vrabel is 2-2 against the Ravens, including a 1-1 record in the playoffs. Since the rebranding from the Oilers to the Titans, Tennessee is 9-11 against Baltimore. During Vrabel’s tenure, Baltimore has outscored the Titans by a margin of 77 to 71. Veteran head coach John Harbaugh is 5-4 against Tennessee since his 2008 debut HC season. He is a lifetime 21-16 against the AFC South.
Uniform
The Titans are 1-0 this season in the all-navy blue uniforms. They are 13-7 in that setup since the 2018 rebrand. It’s likely that the Ravens will go with white tops and black bottoms as per their traditional away outfits.
Data courtesy of Titans Uni Tracker
Titans
🚨Wardrobe check:🚨 The #Titans will be decked out in all navy blue — jerseys, britches and socks — in Sunday’s game vs the @Ravens in London. 👖 #BritchesReport pic.twitter.com/WvuMK1oR7r
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 11, 2023
Ravens
London fit @Invisalign | @Patrickqueen_ pic.twitter.com/ZalXbZmg9P
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 12, 2023
Betting
The Ravens are 3-2 against the spread while the Titans have the same record. Baltimore has gone UNDER in four of the five games thus far, much like their counterparts from Nashville so bet heavily on the under. In the four prior matchups, the average margin of victory has been 19.25 to 17.75 in Baltimore’s favor.
Baltimore is favored by FOUR points with a -198 money line, the fifth time in six games they are the favorites. The Titans are 4.5-point dogs with a money line of +170. They have been underdogs in every game but one.
The OVER/UNDER has been listed at 41 even at the time of press. It should be a chore for both sides to get there as they are defensively stout in the run game and vary wildly in the passing game. The Ravens have given up an average of 15 points per game while scoring 21.8 per game.
It will be a fascinating watch for gamblers as both sides take remarkably different approaches to traveling to the game. Baltimore is certainly more capable than Tennessee to explode offensively.
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Main Photo: Andrew Nelles – USA Today Sports
