Game Recap - Ravens at Titans

In suffering a 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Ravens failed to continue their momentum after a dominant Week 1 performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Ravens looked like world-beaters last Sunday, dismantling their AFC North rival 35-7 and shooting to the top of several national power rankings and the regional cover of Sports Illustrated.

At LP Field, the Ravens weren't nearly as dominant.

Facing a Ravens pass rush that landed home much less than it did in the opener and a secondary missing Jimmy Smith (ankle) and Chris Carr (thigh), Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck used a pinpoint timing attack to complete 30 of 42 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown.

The Ravens flew out to a plus-seven turnover ratio in the Steelers game, but two Joe Flacco interceptions and a lost fumble by Ricky Williams did them no favors Sunday.

And even though one of the NFL's best run defenses held former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson to only 51 yards on 23 carries, third-year wideout Kenny Britt was a monster, hauling in nine balls for 138 yards.

"They beat us by winning in every way you can beat a football team," said Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh. "The crowd was into it, I thought their players were into it. I thought they had something to prove and they proved it today."

Perhaps the outcome would have been different had the Ravens capitalized in the first quarter, when the veteran Hasselbeck hadn't yet warmed up.

Midway through the period, Hasselbeck threw a short dart that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and intercepted by linebacker Terrell Suggs.

But just as the Ravens crept into Titans territory, Flacco lost his first pick of the day on a pass to wideout Lee Evans.

The Ravens had another excellent opportunity to turn the tables on Tennessee when Pro Bowl kicker Rob Bironas shanked a 34-yard field goal wide right on the first play of the second quarter, but Williams coughed up the football when he was stopped in the backfield at Baltimore's 34.

After a defensive stand in the red zone, Bironas atoned for his miss by splitting the uprights from 25 yards out.

The Ravens took a brief 7-3 lead when running back Ray Rice followed downfield blocks from guard Marshal Yanda and center Matt Birk to rumble 31 yards to the end zone on a screen pass, but even that was erased with a 4-yard Titans touchdown strike to wideout Kenny Britt.

Baltimore's second-quarter touchdown march was Flacco's best series.  On the drive, he went 4-of-5 for 72 yards, hitting four different receivers.

Flacco finished the game completing 15 of 32 attempts for 197 yards and a 51.2 passer rating.

"Collectively as an offense, we never really got in a rhythm," said wideout Lee Evans.  "We didn't make enough plays, so that's what happens.

"We know we have to come out and play a lot better offensively if we want to be a good football team."

The score was knotted at 10 by halftime, but the Titans came out of their locker room on fire, something that typically doesn't happen to the Ravens' defense.

Baltimore had not allowed a third-quarter touchdown in an NFL-record 26 games, but a 42-yard Hasselbeck bomb to wideout Nate Washington led to a 10-yard touchdown run right out of the break.

Bironas added three more field goals to continue to pull away, including a game-sealer with thirty-one seconds remaining, whereas the Ravens could only muster a fourth-quarter field goal by Billy Cundiff in the second half.

In fact, the Titans were in control so much during the second half, they held the ball for nearly eight minutes more than Baltimore and posted 223 total yards compared to the Ravens' 116.

"We definitely have to execute on third down," said Suggs.  "We've got to get off on third down.  In Week 1, we were perfect on third down.  Week 2, it seemed like they got everything they wanted.  Hasselbeck did a good job getting the ball out.  He didn't want to hold it too much.  You've got to commend him for that. 

"They executed and did a good job."

The 1-1 Ravens now look to bounce back with a contest against the St. Louis Rams.

"One thing I've always liked about our team is we always bounce back," said linebacker Ray Lewis.  "We go through what we go through and we go back and run our corrections.  None of us came out and said, 'Oh, let's go 16-0.' 

"You let everybody else put you where they put you and rate you where they want to rate you, but the bottom line is that if you're OK with the journey, then you're OK with the ups and downs."