Some playoff games are simply that: games. This is a blood feud.
The Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans, whose antipathy is traced to the old AFC Central and includes rancor befitting a much older rivalry, begin the AFC playoffs Saturday with a meeting that includes enough star power to give it the feel of a championship game.
Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis is the AFC’s offensive player of the year, linebacker Ray Lewis is again the conference’s defensive player of the year and linebacker/end Terrell Suggs is the defensive rookie of the year.
Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, who despite nagging injuries threw 24 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions, was named Friday the Associated Press co-MVP with Peyton Manning. For all the defensive glitter in Baltimore, it’s the Titans who boast the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense, allowing barely 80 yards per game.
This, however, is about more than statistics and honors. It is about honor.
Baltimore (10-6) won the AFC North and has beaten Tennessee five straight times. Ravens coach Brian Billick is 6-2 against the Titans (12-4) and became part of rivalry lore when a tape of him extolling the beauty of beating the Titans was played on the stadium big screen at a Baltimore-Tennessee game.
It was Baltimore that stepped over and on Tennessee three years ago in the playoffs, the wild-card Ravens upsetting the division champion Titans 24-10. More to the point, Ray Lewis punctuated the day by ripping a ball from the arms of Eddie George and returning the interception 50 yards for a touchdown. That indignity was perpetrated in Tennessee’s Adelphia Coliseum.
Coach Jeff Fisher and the physical Titans wanted to define smash-mouth football. Instead, they were the ones left trampled and they haven’t beaten the Ravens since.
“You beat yourself up over time [saying], `What if? What if?'” McNair said. “But that’s over. It’s all said and done. You don’t want to go out and think about that game too much.”
Fast-forwarding to Saturday, the Titans are in the same situation. They are the NFL’s best against the run, yet all year they have had to hear about and watch tapes of Jamal Lewis amassing 2,066 yards, second most for a single season in league history. They have the unenviable psychological burden of knowing that once before they stopped Lewis and still were demolished.
That was in the 2001 playoff game when Lewis, then a rookie, managed only 47 yards in the Ravens’ victory. Their goal then was to shackle Lewis and force Trent Dilfer to beat them, which he did with help from the defense and special teams and by not making mistakes.
Their goal Saturday is the same: to stop Lewis and force journeyman quarterback Anthony Wright to beat them. Wright is one of six playoff quarterbacks with no previous postseason experience.
If championships are decided by quarterback play, then the Titans rate a clear edge. Yet they’re only a one-point favorite. The Titans might believe they can stop Lewis, but not everyone else does.
“We’re looking forward to that [matchup]–it’s going to be fun,” Billick said. “They’re playing good, solid defense and their size is something you have to account for. Tough sledding up the middle.”
Lewis had 16 runs of 20 yards or longer in 2003. The Titans, anchored by massive defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, allowed only two runs of 20 or more all season. They have recent history of stopping top backs. Tennessee held New Orleans’ Deuce McAllister to 8 yards on 11 carries and Miami’s Ricky Williams to 37 on 13 runs.
The Titans, despite winning two more games than the Ravens, were forced to hit the road by virtue of a lost tiebreaker with the Colts in the AFC South.
“There’s no way you can relive the past,” George said. “You just look forward to the future, and we meet up again.”
