Ravens hold off Titans 24-18 but lose Lamar Jackson to ankle injury

Ravens grind out a 24-18 win

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans 24-18 on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, snapping a four-game home losing streak. Baltimore built a 24-7 lead by halftime and coasted the rest of the way, even though the offense went quiet after the break.

Tennessee opened with a theft. Cam Ward tried a flip pass to Tony Pollard on the second play from scrimmage, the ball squirted through Pollard's hands, and Trenton Simpson picked it off for Baltimore. Derrick Henry turned that gift into points, scoring on a 5-yard run on fourth-and-1 to make it 7-0.

The Titans answered. Pollard capped a 70-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to tie it at 7. From there Baltimore took over, with Lamar Jackson throwing a 19-yard touchdown to Zay Flowers and a 3-yard score to Mark Andrews, then Tyler Loop hitting a 64-yard field goal as the second quarter expired to make it 24-7 at the break.

Jackson's ankle injury overshadows the result

The lead came at a cost. Jackson's ankle rolled under a Tennessee defender in the final seconds of the first half, right after he took a sack. Baltimore kicked the Loop field goal on the next play, and when the third quarter started, Tyler Huntley was running the offense instead of Jackson.

Jackson finished 15 of 20 for 222 yards and two touchdowns before he left. Huntley came in and went 8 of 9 for 63 yards, managing the game rather than pushing it. "It was just take care of the ball," Huntley said of his approach in the rain. Ravens coach Jesse Minter credited the backup afterward: "Proud of 'Snoop' coming in there when his number's called."

Baltimore did not score again after Jackson left. The Ravens leaned on a 13-131 penalty day and a shaky offensive line, and still had enough of a cushion to hang on.

Henry's revenge game against his old team

Henry's touchdown came against the team that drafted him and watched him leave for Baltimore in free agency before the 2024 season. This was the first meeting between the two sides since he made that move. Henry carried 23 times for 73 yards and the one score.

Tennessee is now 6-32 since Henry departed. The Titans dropped to 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in the division, and the offense that showed signs of life Sunday still was not enough. Pollard ran 16 times for 48 yards and a touchdown, and Carnell Tate caught 9 passes for 145 yards, the lone bright spot.

Tennessee tried to crawl back late. Joey Slye kicked a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 24-10, and in the fourth, Cam Ward found Wan'Dale Robinson for a 3-yard touchdown, then hit Gunnar Helm for a two-point conversion to cut it to 24-18. That is as close as the Titans got. Ward finished 20 of 31 for 222 yards, a touchdown and the first-quarter interception.

Numbers that mattered

Baltimore out-gained Tennessee 384 yards to 297 and did not turn the ball over, while the Titans gave it away twice. The Ravens also out-rushed Tennessee 112 to 85 yards. Zay Flowers led all receivers with 8 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Both teams dealt with injuries beyond Jackson's ankle. Baltimore was already without Chris Moore (ankle) and Durham Smythe (Achilles), and listed Ronnie Stanley as questionable with a toe injury. Tennessee's inactives, Michael Carter, Jaylon Jones, Jackie Marshall and Drew Moss, were all coach's decisions.

Baltimore moved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the division. The health of its two-time MVP quarterback is now the story coming out of a game the Ravens otherwise controlled.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.