2. The Ravens are the more complete team:
The Ravens defense folded against the Titans last time. I get it. They’ve actually folded in both the playoff and regular-season loss. The fact that nobody wanted anything to do with bringing down Derrick Henry (besides DeShon Elliott) and A.J. Brown is troubling. There is a reason to worry about this matchup.
Again, this team has rallied through adversity, is red hot and, they seem hungry. You don’t go into this game with the concerns balled up in a trash can, yet the Ravens have earned trust the way they’ve played since that last game.
With that in mind, what defense do you really trust more in this game? The Titans’ defense has been downright awful at times this season. Tennessee just beat the Houston Texans 41-38. They had to put up 41 points to barely beat a 4-12 Texans team in week 17? The week before this the Titans got steamrolled by the Green Bay Packers 40-14. Early in December the Cleveland Browns put up 41 points on the board to beat the Titans.
The Titans have had some very suspect moments this season. They faced a Ravens team that beat themselves last time. When both teams have played their best over the course of the season the Ravens have looked like the more complete team. Baltimore certainly comes into the game as the hotter team.
The Ravens rank seventh in yards allowed per game. The Titans give up the fifth-most yards per game. On average the Titans give up over 120 rushing yards per game. The Ravens have built their average rushing yards output to a whopping 191.9 yards per contest.
The Ravens have the more complete team. If they show up for a full 60-minute ball game, and they play well on both sides of the ball, Tennessee could be in trouble.