Justin Tucker kicks six field goals while Zay Flowers scores a touchdown as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans 24-16 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; injured Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is replaced by Malik Willis in the fourth quarter
Sunday 15 October 2023 22:14, UK
The Baltimore Ravens closed the curtain on the 2023 NFL London games in style as they beat the Tennessee Titans 24-16 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Justin Tucker kicked six field goals, two shy of the NFL single-game record, while Zay Flowers scored a touchdown as the Ravens cruised to victory having led 18-3 at half-time.
Lamar Jackson finished 21 of 30 passing for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the centre-piece to Baltimore's revamped passing attack under Todd Monken, whose offense out-gained the Titans 360 yards to 233.
Derrick Henry was a rare bright spot for the Tennessee attack as he rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown from 12 carries while also making two catches for 16 yards.
Victory would arrive as a welcome response to last weekend's disappointment against the Pittsburgh Steelers as John Harbaugh's Ravens lifted their record on the year to 4-2, while the Titans fall to 2-4.
Ryan Tannehill was replaced by second-year quarterback Malik Willis in the second half after suffering an ankle injury, finishing eight of 16 passing for 76 yards and an interception.
Tucker split the posts from 36 yards with the last of his sixth field goals with four minutes remaining to ultimately put the game out of reach at the end of an 11-play 71-yard drive.
Tyjae Spears teased late points when he bypassed multiple tackle attempts to take a wide receiver screen pass 48 yards on third-and-seven with two minutes to play, epitomising the Titans' woes on offense by becoming his side's leader in receiving yards in the process. It would amount to a 38-yard field goal from Nick Folk in what proved nothing more than three consolation points in the closing stages.
Willis had entered the game at the start of the fourth quarter as Tannehill headed to the locker room for treatment on an apparent ankle injury he seemingly sustained under an earlier tackle from Justin Madubuike
By the time of Willis' arrival the Ravens had strengthened their grip on the game through the fifth of Tucker's field goals on the day to make it 21-13.
It had taken until five minutes into the third quarter for Henry to find open grass ahead of him as he kicked outside and burst away for 63 yards down the sideline, the Titans eventually having to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Folk to cut the lead to 18-6.
Jackson was then intercepted by Sean Murphy-Bunting on a pass intended for Rashod Bateman to set the Titans up on the Ravens' 25.
Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton was ejected from the game moments later for a bruising hit on receiver Chris Moore, who left with a concussion before Henry converted to resulting first down into a 15-yard touchdown to move Tennessee within five points.
Hopes of building were derailed when Tannehill was intercepted by Geno Stone on third-and-one with five minutes to play in the third, paving the way for a 13-play 54-yard Ravens drive lasting 6.38 and ending in Tucker's 20-yard field goal.
Baltimore Ravens
Tennessee Titans
Tucker kicked field goals of 41 and 28 yards either side of Folk's 26-yard effort to give Baltimore a 6-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Devin Duvernay then flipped the field with a 70-yard punt return to set the Ravens up at Tennessee's 17, before Jackson was stuffed by Harold Landry III from the one-yard line to bring out Tucker for a 23-yard field goal.
The Ravens found the end zone with 3.28 to play in the half when Jackson scrambled to his left before tossing a pass to Flowers, who had bought himself separation with a sharp whip route from the sideline to make the catch and scurry into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play 80-yard drive.
Baltimore thought they had converted the two-point attempt through Flowers' catch, only for pass interference against Odell Beckham Jr to bring the play back. Tucker's subsequent extra point was then blocked to keep it at 15-3.
Patrick Queen blunted the ensuing drive when he sacked Tannehill for a loss of nine, before the Ravens snatched a late 29-yard field goal as time expired in the half after Kyle Phillips had muffed the punt return deep in Titans territory.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson: "We just have to find a way, lock in more. We do a great job driving the ball down the field, but it's like every time we get there, it's like we're just kicking field goals, we don't need that. Protect the ball.
"The biggest emphasis was we caught the ball this week; we drove the ball down the field, we protected it except for that one interception. We got to punch it in. That's going to help our defense out a lot. They're doing a great job protecting us."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh: "I think Lamar Jackson played one of the most courageous games I've ever seen. Just continues to do that. So many areas that we can continue to improve. So many individual efforts that we could run a list here of guys. I just did in the locker room. If you get a chance to watch that, you'll have the list. Proud of our guys."
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on the injured Ryan Tannehill and whether he would consider going forward with Malik Willis: "I would consider anything that could help us win right now, and that's quarterback, you know, everything, you know what I mean. But I wouldn't say that that would be something that - let's find out what's going on with Ryan."
The Ravens are back in action next Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions, while the Titans head into a bye week before returning to face the Atlanta Falcons at Nissan Stadium.
