Tennessee Titans: Another playoff upset in the cards?

The Tennessee Titans pulled off a huge Wild Card upset of New England but what do they need to do to make another happen against the Ravens?

After upsetting the New England Patriots in Saturday’s Wild Card Round matchup on the legs of Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans travel to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. And rest assured, Mike Vrabel‘s team has another upset in mind.

The Titans are not only the road team but they are facing a potential juggernaut in the Ravens. Baltimore won their final 12 games of the regular season to earn the top seed in the AFC. They, of course, did this behind the efforts of the likely NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson.

Thus, Tennessee will again be an underdog in the Divisional Round but, as we know, they’ve been in this position before just last week against the Patriots. So what do they need to accomplish if they’re going to upset the Ravens? These five things will be key.

Stick with the same recipe

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

The offense should again be concentrated around Henry. The NFL rushing champion totaled 182 yards on the ground against the Patriots defense, adding 22 receiving yards as well. Going up against the Ravens defense, it should more of the same until they prove they can stop him consistently.

Keep close tabs on Jackson

Jackson has dominated every defense he has played against in 2019, hence why he’s the MVP frontrunner. For the Titans to pull off another upset, they need to “ruffle his feathers” just a little bit. Although it’s easier said than done, make him uncomfortable enough with pressure and containment so that he makes a mistake the Titans can capitalize on.

Get on the board early

The biggest factor leaning the Titans way is most of Baltimore’s starters won’t have seen in-game action in three weeks by the time this game starts. The Ravens offense may come out just a little bit rusty as a result. If that does turn out to be the case, the Titans need to score early and have the opposition playing from behind.

Bend don’t break

Once Jackson and the offense eventually get going — something that feels inevitable with Jackson and this group — the Titans defense needs to be stingy in the red zone. Simply put, they need to see more Justin Tucker field goals than trips across the goal line.

Tannehill needs to make plays

With Henry’s success against the Patriots, Ryan Tannehill didn’t have to do much and, quite frankly, he didn’t. Now that his first postseason start is under his belt, he needs to make the kind of plays he was making throughout the regular season, pushing the ball downfield to the likes of A.J. Brown and his other talented weapons.

If the Titans can accomplish these five things, they have a very good shot of taking down the No. 1 seed in the AFC. And if they follow this recipe, my prediction: Titans 31, Ravens 24.