The question going into the game was how the Tennessee Titans would possibly be able to stop the NFL’s superman Lamar Jackson. It should have been how would the Baltimore Ravens stop the league’s Incredible Hulk.
It was another overpowering playoff performance Saturday night by the 6-foot-3-inch, nearly 250-pound Titans running back Derrick Henry, becoming the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 180 yards in three straight games.
The 28-12 victory means Tennessee is just one win away from going to the Super Bowl. But Henry says he’s doing his best to keep the team focused.
“I just try to make sure we all stay level, put our head down and just work,” he says. “Like I said at the end of camp, ‘Why not us?’ And we’re gonna keep that same mentality.”
In addition to his 195 yards on the ground, Henry also passed for a touchdown on a trick play. The Titans defense gave up more than 500 combined yards to likely NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, but they also forced him into three turnovers and stopped him on key fourth downs — the first time the Ravens didn’t convert fourth downs all season.
For the Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill was held under 100 yards passing for the second straight game but still scored three touchdowns. Tannehill says he hopes the win brought a “good feeling” to former Titans who suffered devastating playoff losses to the Ravens in the 2000 and 2008 seasons.
The Titans now face the winner of the divisional playoff game between Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, two teams they beat during the regular season.
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