Ravens beat Titans, but lose Jackson to ankle injury as Henry scores against his old team
by Noah Trister · The Washington TimesBALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens could have used a quiet, boring victory as a heavy favorite at home.
They were halfway toward exactly that — before Lamar Jackson’s latest injury.
Jackson’s ankle appeared to roll under a Tennessee defender in the final seconds of the second quarter, and although the Ravens held on for a 24-18 win over the Titans on Sunday, they didn’t score after their star quarterback left the game. Tyler Huntley, no stranger to replacing Jackson when needed, took the snaps for Baltimore in the second half.
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“We obviously played maybe a little more bit more conservative in the second half with the weather and the lead,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “Proud of ‘Snoop’ coming in there when his number’s called.”
Jackson threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game, and Derrick Henry scored against his former team. Zay Flowers had eight catches for 118 yards and a TD for the Ravens, who snapped a four-game home losing streak but now have to deal with more health concerns about their two-time MVP quarterback.
Jackson took a sack at the end of first half. Baltimore kicked a field goal on the next play, and when the third quarter started, Huntley replaced Jackson.
By then, the Ravens (3-1) were already up 24-7. With something of a patchwork offensive line at the moment, they built the lead mostly through passing. Huntley went 8 of 9 for 63 yards, but Baltimore did little offensively after halftime on a drizzly day in Charm City.
“It was just take care of the ball,” Huntley said. “It was raining, weather, and you know we had the lead, so it was just take care of the ball and just do what I could do for the team.”
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Tennessee (0-4) is now 6-32 since Henry left the Titans to join the Ravens via free agency before the 2024 season. This was the teams’ first meeting since then.
Henry opened the scoring, powering through safety Kevin Winston Jr. for a 5-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1. That drive was set up when Tennessee’s Cam Ward tried to flip a desperation pass to Tony Pollard on the second play from scrimmage, and the ball went through Pollard’s arms and was picked off by Trenton Simpson.
The Titans, however, were more functional offensively than they’d been in previous first halves. They drove 70 yards for a tying touchdown, a 3-yard run by Pollard.
Jackson’s 19-yard scoring pass to Flowers put Baltimore back in front, and then the Titans were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 2 when they tried a direct snap to Pollard.
The Ravens drove 98 yards and went up 21-7 on Jackson’s 3-yard TD pass to Mark Andrews.
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Tyler Loop, fresh off his game-winning 56-yard kick against Dallas the previous weekend, connected from a career-long 64 yards on the last play of the half, but Jackson was hurt on the snap before.
“Offense I thought came out and played with a lot of juice,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said. “Obviously, we had the two turnovers that resulted into 10 points, and then the turnover on downs inside the 5. Was a goofy game in that it didn’t feel like 24-7 at halftime.”
Ward threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Wan’Dale Robinson with 1:12 to go in the fourth quarter, and a 2-point conversion pass to Gunnar Helm made it a six-point game, but Malaki Starks snatched the onside kick for Baltimore to seal the game.
Henry finished with 73 yards on 23 carries.
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The Titans committed the game’s only two turnovers, but the Ravens were sloppy in other ways, with 13 penalties for 131 yards.
Receiver battle: Tennessee rookie Carnell Tate had nine catches for 145 yards, but he lost a fumble at the end of a 33-yard reception in the second quarter.
Flowers did almost all of his damage in the first half, contributing catches of 52 and 23 yards in addition to his touchdown.
“Wide receiver one, man. He’s so good. He’s so versatile, and each and every game is so explosive,” Andrews said. “It’s really impressive to see, honestly, just how good he is.”
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Injuries: Baltimore was losing players all game. CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) went down in the first half. G Andrew Vorhees (foot) and TE Durham Smythe (Achilles tendon) were also injured. The Ravens did get T Ronnie Stanley (toe) back after he missed Week 3.
Tennessee S Amani Hooker was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter and cleared to return.
Up next: Titans: Host Houston next Sunday in a matchup of winless AFC South teams.
Ravens: At Atlanta next Sunday night.
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