Here is who national experts are predicting will win Ravens-Titans playoff game
The Chiefs and their fans will be keeping a close eye on the other AFC Divisional playoff game.
If the top-seeded Ravens are beaten by the sixth-seeded Titans on Saturday, the Chiefs would play host to the AFC Championship Game if they beat Texans.
However, most NFL pundits see Baltimore taking care of business.
Forty-three experts from around the nation made predictions for Saturday’s game. Here are the picks and what they’re saying about the game, which kicks off at 7:15 p.m. will be broadcast on CBS (Ch. 5):
Seven of the eight CBS Sports experts went with Baltimore: Ryan Wilson, Jason La Canfora, Dave Richard, Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Jamey Eisenberg and Will Brinson. Picking the Titans is John Breech. Prisco predicted a 21-17 Ravens victory. Here is part of what wrote: “This should be an old-fashioned slugfest, featuring two teams that want to pound the football. The Titans do it with powerful Derrick Henry running the ball, while the Ravens do it with Lamar Jackson keying the run offense. Whichever defense can stop the run the best is the team that wins the game. I think that’s the Ravens.”
Each of the eight SB Nation writers is picking the Ravens: Adam Stites, James Brady, Christian D’Andrea, Sarah Hardy, Morgan Moriarty, Geoff Schwartz, Stephen White and Eric Thompson.
Nate Burleson of “Good Morning Football” picked a Titans upset:
The Ravens will win 30-17 is the call from Tadd Haislop of the Sporting News. This is a portion of what he wrote: “With all due respect to Ryan Tannehill, who led the NFL in passer rating this season, the key to this game is related to the other quarterback. Keep in mind Lamar Jackson, who easily broke Michael Vick’s single-season QB rushing record, also led the league with 36 touchdown passes. The soon-to-be MVP and the dangerous weapons around him form a nightmare matchup for any team, and while Tennessee’s defense is respectable, it won’t be up to the task in Baltimore.”
The Ravens were the choice for both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Smith called a 30-20 final score. This is part of what he wrote: “The Titans will likely prioritize the running game and try to control the ball with Derrick Henry, but I just can’t see them slowing the game down the way they did against the Patriots.” Florio predicted a 20-13 score and wrote in part: “The Titans are good enough to win this one. Much of it hinges on the ability of the offense to shorten the game and to keep the Ravens offense on the sideline.”
The Ravens will win 35-27 says Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is a snippet of what he wrote: “Tennessee has a strong coaching staff, but it doesn’t have the players to match up with the Ravens in the passing game. No team will completely stop this historic Ravens offense, but the best route during the regular season was employing a talented pass rush and secondary like the 49ers and Bills did, winning matchups through the air while using an extra defender to slow down the run, at least somewhat. The Titans were the No. 21 pass defense this year, according to DVOA, and their best pure pass rusher is Harold Landry, a solid enough defender who no one is game-planning for. Even if Mark Ingram can’t suit up Saturday, there’s little reason to think this Titans group will keep the Ravens far below their 33-point average.”
Each of the six Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback writers picked the Ravens: Andrew Brandt, Bette Marston, Connor Orr, Jenny Vrentas, Kayln Kahler and Mitch Goldich.
The seven writers from USA Today picked the Ravens: Jarrett Bell (27-20 final score), Nate Davis (27-23), Jori Epstein (31-25), Mike Jones (30-23), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (28-17), Lorenzo Reyes (31-20) and Tom Schad (27-17).
All of the nine experts at ESPN see the Ravens winning: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Mike Golic, Jason Reid, Mina Kimes, Seth Wickersham, Dan Graziano, Kevin Seifert and Trey Wingo.
All eight Pro Football Focus experts picked the Ravens: Neil Hornsby, Bruce Gradkowski, Jeff Ratcliffe, Solomon Wilcots, Sam Monson, Nathan Jahnke, Austin Gayle and Steve Palazzolo.
This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 7:51 AM.
