Instant takeaways from Ravens' 30-24 overtime loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Titans, for a while, looked like they'd cost themselves Sunday's game at M&T Bank Stadium.
The Ravens played well early on and controlled the game and the clock and led by 11 midway through the third quarter. But led by a revitalized passing attack, the Titans came alive in the final 20 minutes of game time.
Tennessee scored 20 of the game's final 23 points and escaped Baltimore with a 30-24 win in overtime, courtesy of a long Derrick Henry run in overtime.
Here are four takeaways from the Ravens' heart-breaking loss that dropped them to 6-4.
Back-to-back losses
The Ravens are officially in some trouble.
In their second-straight loss, the Ravens slipped to 6-4 with the unbeaten Steelers upcoming, on the road, on a short week.
The Titans, who are now 7-3, have the tiebreaker over the Ravens in a playoff picture that the Ravens are quickly losing grip on.
The final five games are, on paper, games the Ravens should win. But those should wins are turning into must-wins really quickly.
Dobbins takes over backfield
The Ravens found their lead back for Sunday, but perhaps even longer.
J.K. Dobbins took over the starting running back role in the first half and didn’t give it up, as the rookie tallied 70 yards on 15 carries with a score. He out-carried Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards by 13 and 12, respectively.
Dobbins’ mix of speed and balance was a tough load for the Titans to account for out of the backfield.
New offensive line mix
The Ravens benched center Matt Skura after he struggled in back-to-back weeks with his snaps, and replaced him with do-it-all offensive lineman Patrick Mekari, who played center a year ago. Mekari started last game against the Patriots at right guard and played right tackle halfway through the game.
They started Ben Powers at right guard and kept D.J. Fluker at right tackle, though practice squad call-up Will Holden saw time in a rotation with Fluker. Skura wasn’t completely out of the lineup, however, as he reported as an eligible receiver on multiple plays and acted as a tight end.
The Ravens are still in a bind along the front five, after left tackle Ronnie Stanley was lost for the season. Starting right guard Tyre Phillips has been on injured reserve for the last few weeks with an ankle injury as well, but is slated to return to the lineup soon.
Henry corralled — for a while
The Ravens, for all the questions about their defensive front without Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams, hung in well against Henry. For regulation.
But Henry wore down the Ravens in overtime and broke free for the game-winning touchdown to seal things for Tennessee.
Baltimore's defense did an admirable job stopping Henry, as he had just 4.8 yards per carry even with his final touchdown run. But it wasn't enough.
