Please refresh your page to get the latest updates to Mike Duffy's game blog.
3:50 p.m.: This one is going to come down to the wire, as Tennessee is driving with the two-minute warning hitting home.
It's going to take a touchdown, so this is a time when Baltimore can bend, but definitely can't break.
We're heading down to the locker room for post-game interviews. Thanks for reading along, and don't forget to check back for your exclusive Ravens coverage.
-------
3:34 p.m.: Haynesworth is back in. So is Willis McGahee, who was shaken up when he picked up a blitz and got Joe Flacco some time to complete his 12th straight pass. Flacco's putting together a nice little drive
-------
3:25 p.m.: What a huge stop by the Ravens' defense, as Baltimore holds Tennessee to only a field goal to cap a long, 81-yard drive. Now, it's going to take a touchdown to take the lead back.
When the Ravens get the ball back, star defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is injured and helped off the field.
-------
3:06 p.m.: This game is pretty big on the national radar, considering ESPN's John Clayton and Yahoo!Sports' Charles Robinson are both here. I actially saw Clayton changing from a shirt and tie for on-camera work to a more relaxed golf shirt in the parking lot.
-------
2:50 p.m.: Finnegan is melting down, and it seems some of the Titans are too. Finnegan gets called for an unnessessary roughness penalty after giving a little extra physicality to a tackle on Willis McGahee, and then teammate Keith Bulluck went over and shoved him.
Then, Albert Haynesworth gets an encroachment call when he goes over the line and tackles Joe Flacco late. That sparks a few words between both teams. And, after Le'Ron McClain scores a touchdown from 1 yard out, Haynesworth gets another penalty for unnesessary roughness. 15 yards enforced on the kickoff.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher would do well to get his boys in line.
-------
2:43 p.m.: Adam Terry has a sprained knee and is getting X-rays.
Also. Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan is really fired up. He takes his second swing at Derrick Mason of the day, and gets called for a personal foul penalty. Mason does, too, but I think he was simply trying to get away. Either way, it's getting chippy.
------
2:26 p.m.: Terry is being carted off the sideline through the tunnel, presumably to have X-rays. With 14 seconds left, the Ravens are forced to take their last timeout after Jared Gaither is flagged offsides, which requires a 10-second runoff. To avoid the runoff, the Ravens call the TO.
Matt Stover trots out for a 45-yarder that is wide right. Not like Stover, but he's also missed two others this year.
All tied up at M&T at the break. Three all.
-------
2:20 p.m.: This afternoon's attendance? 71,131. Packed to the brim.
Under the 2-minute warning, the Ravens are forced to burrn a timeout when Adam Terry lays on the turf and Baltimore's medical staff has to attend to him. Terry gets up, but it looks like his right ankle is messed up pretty bad. Willie Anderson comes in for him at right tackle. The Ravens have one timeout left.
-------
2:07 p.m.: In a big defensive stop, safety Chris Hope submarines Le'Ron McClain on third-and-2, The Ravens even went with their jumbo package, featuring Willie Anderson at right tackle and Adam Terry at tight end, but Hope still manages to make the play.
Chris Carr gets another big return to set the Titans up in Ravens territory.
-------
2:02 p.m.: Rob Bironas ties it up from 35 yards after Flacco's mistake. The drive went 0 yards in four plays and almost yielded an interception when Ed Reed tipped a pass in the end zone. Reed was going one way, and it was all he could do to turn around an get a hand on the ball.
-------
1:59 p.m.: Flacco isn't so lucky in the second quarter, as he throws an interception to safety Michael Griffin. Flacco is forced out of the pocket and looks for Mark Clayton, but Griffin is quick with the coverage. It was really only the second time Flacco has been hurried in the backfield.
Good work by the Ravens' offensive line against a front four that is regarded as one of the best in the league.
-------
1:50 p.m.: Credit Kerry Collins for stepping up in the face of danger, as Ray Lewis comes through the line untouched so what would have been a sack, but Collins somehow drops the ball off to Chris Johnson for a first down. Ray should have put his hands up for the tip, but he goes for the tackle. Lewis is all over the field. He sniffed out two screen passes to flatten Johnson twice.
Also, to show how sloppy the first quarter was there were 10 total penalties in the period. Five for each side.
-------
1:38 p.m.: After not challenging a touchdown last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers because he didn't have a good view of Derrick Mason's catch in the end zone, head coach John Harbaugh gets some help from the M&T Bank Stadium video board crew with a replay of David Thornton's would-be interception.
Harbaugh reviews the play, and it shows that Thornton doesn't have possession and Joe Flacco's third career pick is off the board.
Random jersey sighting: Inexplicably, there is a kid in front of the press box rocking a white Jimmy Smith jersey - the same Jimmy Smith that plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. ANd I see a Bengals No. 85 Chad Johnson jersey in the stands, too.
-------
1:30 p.m.: Pick!! The Ravens notch their second interception of the day when Chris McAlister jumps in front of wideout Brandon Jones. It's C-Mac's third pick of the season.
-------
1:27 p.m.: Titans running back Chris Johnson has incredible speed, and it shows every time he gets the ball. Johnson takes the handoff and accellerated with the best of them. He is helped by some solid blocking by the Tennessee offensive line at the second level.
-------
1:20 p.m.: Matt Stover is true from 38 yards to put the Ravens ahead 3-0. It's an 11-play, 46-yard drive that featured four defensive penalties. Sloppy on part of the Titans. Defensive tackle Tony Brown gets two of those.
On the ensuing kickoff, Titans returner Chris Carr, an offseason acquisition, notches a 49-yard return. Tack on a 15-yard horse-collar penalty on Corey Ivy - dumb play - and Tennessee is sitting pretty.
--------
1:13 p.m.: The Ravens kick off, but quickly get the football back when Haloti Ngata tipps a Kerry Collins pass at the line and Justin Bannan comes up with the pick. It's Bannan's first interception of his career. Here comes Joe Flacco and Baltimore's O.
As usual, the Ravens are committed to running the football, as evidenced by their first three runs. Le'Ron McClain notches the first down. Another one is notched when Tennessee is flagged for a 15-yard unnessessary roughness penalty when safety Chris Hope hits Mark Clayton in the face at the end of the play on third down. Thanks for continuing the drive.
---------
1:05 p.m.: The intros always get me. Serisouly, Ray Lewis' dance may be predictable, but this place really blows its top when "It's Hot in Here" plays. Love it.
It's interesting to note that Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher has his team warm up in the opposite end zone when the Ravens are being introduced. Guess it gets to him, too.
The Ravens and Titans' captains are joined at midfield by Michael Phelps, who is sporting a white Phelps Ravnes gersey and a white ball cap cocked to the side. He's also got a goatee, oddly enough.
---------
12:01 p.m.: Here we go! Welcome to the official Ravens in-game blog for Baltimore's bid to go undefeated at home agaisnt the Tennessee Titans. It's a beautiful day for football, and to be hones,t this is the type of physical game that true fans look forward to. The Ravens and Titans both have playmaking defenses and offenses that are based on running the football.
Here's some things I'm looking forward to:
- Titans running back Chris Johnson. He's got 4.24 speed and can really rack up the yards if he turns the corner.
- Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. First, he's going to be the last guy introduced for pre-game festivities, so I hope he dances. Second, he's playing some Pro Bowl football. Look for him to be all over the field.
- Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. I've never seen him live. In 2006, he was still on suspension after stomping on the head of Cowboys lineman Andre Gurode. He's a monster and will be a headache for Ben Grubbs and Jason Brown.
- Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. How's his development going to be into his fourth game.
- Baltimore swimmer Michael Phelps. He's going to be out on the field for the pre-game coin toss. No interviews, though. Bummer for BR.com.
The Ravens are wearing their white tops with black pants. I'm digging this look. Titans are in road Carolina-blues.
As the stands start to fill up, here's a list of the inactives:
Baltimore
Troy Smith - 3rd QB
Samari Rolle
Dawan Landry
Derrick Martin
Oniel Cousins
Kelly Gregg
Marcus Smith
David Hale
Tennessee
Josh Miller
Paul Williams
Justin Gage
Reynaldo Hill
Chris Henry
Mike Otto
Willilams Hayes
Kevin Vickerson
We're set to kick off at M&T BAnk Stadium. We'll be back after intros for in-game updates and random observations (including jersey sightings) throughout the game. Don't forget to check out the Us Against Them video spot I did with me and my Titans counterpart, Gary Glenn, on the Media Player. Keep it locked all day long.
Ravens DT Justin Bannan recorded the 1st INT of his career, halting Tennessee's opening drive. Today marked the 2nd pick by a Ravens' DT in as many weeks, with Haloti Ngata posting his last Monday at Pittsburgh.
CB Chris McAlister registered his 3rd INT of the season and the 26th of his career. With the pick, McAlister moved past LB Ray Lewis into 2nd on the Ravens' all-time INTs list. S Ed Reed ranks 1st with 35.
FB Le'Ron McClain posted his 4th TD of the season when he capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge in the 3rd quarter. With the TD, Baltimore became the 1st team to score on Tennessee in the 3rd quarter this season.
|
Ravens |
Titans |
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening Statement: “Obviously this is a very disappointing loss, one that we hurting about. We should have won the football game, but didn’t win the football game. We should have found a way to win the game but we didn’t."
QB Joe Flacco
On reading defenses: “I’m seeing things just fine. I made couple bad decisions today, and I gotta get better at that. I’ve got to realize these guys are going to make plays. Every now and then you have to just take what they give you, and if they don’t give you anything, you gotta just throw the ball away, live for the punt and live for the next down.”
|
Titans |
Ravens | |
|
Total Yards |
210 |
285 |
|
Passing Yards |
163 |
153 |
|
Rushing Yards |
47 |
132 |
|
First Downs |
14 |
22 |
|
Turnovers |
2 |
2 |
|
Sacks/Yards |
0/0 |
0/0 |
|
Punt Returns/Yards |
1/33 |
1/7 |
|
Kickoff Returns/Yards |
2/77 |
1/25 |
|
Time of Possession |
25:32 |
34:09 |
|
TDs: Rush-Pass-Other |
0-1-0 |
1-0-0 |
|
FG: Made-Attempt |
2-2 |
1-2 |
The Titans' offense started 3 drives in Ravens territory today (on the 37, 17 and 43). Amazingly, on those drives, Tennessee only gained 1 total yard and was held to just 3 points
The Ravens’ defense allowed just 47 rushing yards today, the fewest in a game this season. Baltimore extended it streak of games without allowing a 100-yard rusher to 23. Tennessee came into today’s game with the NFL’s No. 8 rush offense, averaging 137.0 yards per contest.
Baltimore did not allow a sack for the 2nd time this season (Week 1 vs. Cincy). The Ravens have given up just 6 sacks in 4 games this season.
Like they did today, it’s rare for the Ravens to lose a game at home when they post at least 2 INTs, hold an opponent to 14 points or fewer and allow less than 225 total yards, 70 rush yards and 200 pass yards. In home games dating back to 2000, the Ravens own the following records when…
· When totaling at least 2 INTs: 32-3
· When holding opponent to 14 pts or fewer: 33-4
· When allowing 225 total net yards or fewer: 20-2
· When allowing 70 net rush yards or fewer: 25-5
· When allowing 200 net passing yards or fewer: 31-7
Of the 18 meetings in the Ravens/Titans all-time series (16 regular season and 2 playoffs), 11 of the games have been decided by 4 points or fewer. Here is how those 11 contests break down by margin of victory:
|
Baltimore/Tennessee Games | ||||||||
| Decided by...................................................................... | ||||||||
|
4 Points |
3 Points |
2 Points |
1 Point | |||||
|
1 game |
4 games |
3 games |
3 games | |||||
INJURIES: T Adam Terry sustained a knee sprain and CB Fabian Washington suffered a shoulder sprain. Both will undergo MRIs on Monday. WR Derrick Mason (thumb) and TE Daniel Wilcox (hand) will be examined further on Monday.
Read All Post-Game Notes
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |