Baltimore Ravens hope to be rested against late-arriving Titans in London
BALTIMORE (3-2) vs. TENNESSEE (2-3) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EDT, NFL Network.
OPENING LINE: Ravens by 4, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Ravens 3-2-0; Titans 3-2-0.
SERIES RECORD: Tied 13-13.
LAST MEETING: Ravens beat Titans 20-13 on Jan. 10, 2021, in AFC wild-card game in Nashville.
LAST WEEK: Ravens lost at Steelers 17-10; Titans lost at Colts 23-16.
RAVENS OFFENSE: OVERALL (13), RUSH (4), PASS (26), SCORING (T-17).
RAVENS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (7), PASS (3), SCORING (T-2).
TITANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (18), PASS (28), SCORING (26).
TITANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (9), PASS (23), SCORING (9).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Ravens minus-2; Titans minus-1.
RAVENS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Nelson Agholor. Injuries have limited Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr., but Agholor — a somewhat unheralded offseason addition — has contributed 14 catches for 170 yards and a TD. He had four receptions for 64 yards against the Steelers.
TITANS PLAYER TO WATCH: Three-time All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins had his best game this season last week with eight catches for 140 yards. He became the fourth player in NFL history with a catch in each of his first 150 games. That also was the 40th career 100-yard receiving game of Hopkins' career, tying him with Davante Adams for the NFL lead among players since Hopkins' rookie season in 2013.
KEY MATCHUP: The Ravens defense against a struggling Titans offense. Not only is Baltimore tied for second in points allowed, giving up just 15 points a game, the Ravens are the NFL's stingiest when backed up inside their 20. Tennessee has scored only seven touchdowns this season. The Titans are settling for too many field goals inside the red zone.
KEY INJURIES: Ravens OLB Jadeveon Clowney has been dealing with an illness, and OLB Odafe Oweh (ankle) has missed practice time as well this week. Oweh hasn't played since Week 2. Beckham (ankle) was limited in practice but is expected to play. ... The Titans declared WR Treylon Burks (left knee) out for a third straight game. DB Elijah Molden (hamstring) and LB Luke Gifford (hamstring) also were ruled out and didn't travel Thursday with the Titans. ... DL Teair Tart (toe) traveled, but still could miss a second straight game. Two-time Pro Bowl DL Jeffery Simmons hurt a shoulder last week. Starting LB Azeez Al-Shaair and C Aaron Brewer both are dealing with neck issues. The Titans added DL Denico Autry (finger) and S Amani Hooker (thumb) to the injury report Thursday.
SERIES NOTES: This series between these former AFC Central rivals is tied at 13 apiece. They played six seasons as division rivals after the Ravens moved to Baltimore before realignment in 2002. Since realignment, the Titans lead 7-6. The Ravens gave the Titans their lone shutout at Nissan Stadium in Nashville 21-0 on Oct. 14, 2018. The Titans have played the Ravens more than any other team in the playoffs even with the first postseason game coming Jan. 7, 2001. The Ravens are 3-0 in the postseason in Nashville, while the Titans are 2-0 in playoff games in Baltimore.
STATS AND STUFF: The Ravens lost to Jacksonville 44-7 in 2017 in their only other London game. The Titans lost their lone London game in 2018 to the Chargers 20-19 on a failed 2-point conversion with 31 seconds left. … Baltimore WR Zay Flowers is second among NFL rookies in receptions and third in yards receiving. … The Ravens have rushed for at least 100 yards in 21 straight games. Nobody else has an active streak longer than 11. … Baltimore has outscored opponents 35-3 in the first quarter. … The Ravens have at least one sack in 26 consecutive games, a franchise record and the league’s longest active streak. ... Titans QB Ryan Tannehill threw for a season-high 264 yards last week. He has thrown for two TD passes in two starts in London. ... RB Derrick Henry has had at least 60 yards from scrimmage in four of five games this season. He now has 10,008 career scrimmage yards, joining Eddie George (12,153) as the only players in franchise history with at least 10,000 yards from scrimmage. ... Titans rookie RB Tyjae Spears had a season-high 69 yards from scrimmage last week and scored his first career TD. That also was the Titans' first TD on the road in three games this season. ... Titans S Kevin Byard has four interceptions in five games against the Ravens. ... CB Roger McCreary had eight tackles, a sack and his first career forced fumble last week. ... LB Azeez Al-Shaair tied his career high with 15 tackles last week. ... Titans K Nick Folk has made 67 consecutive field goals from less than 40 yards, three off the NFL record of 70 straight made by Justin Tucker.
FANTASY TIP: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. He ran for 45 yards and 236 yards last week and leads all quarterbacks with 265 yards rushing this season. He's tied for the lead at that position with four rushing TDs and also matches the Titans' rushing total for the season.
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