Vrabel: Lamar Jackson 'Poses a Lot of Problems'

The Titans have defeated the Baltimore Ravens and their dual-threat quarterback twice in the last 12 months.

The first thing on Mike Vrabel’s mind this week is how to slow down the NFL’s number-one rushing attack.

The upcoming wild card round marks the second straight season the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens will play in the NFL’s postseason. In between they matched up in a regular-season contest roughly a month and a half ago.

And for the Titans, dealing with a Ravens offense that mustered at least 30 points in four of its last five games starts with limiting the dynamic backfield led by quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“It’ll be big a challenge,” Vrabel said Monday. “The threat of the quarterback running the ball will be an issue.

“… (Jackson) is clearly a threat. He’s clearly an unbelievably dynamic player. Poses a lot of problems.”

Tennessee beat Baltimore 28-12 in last season’s divisional round. The Ravens came into that game on a 12-game win streak and were the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Titans forced Jackson to throw the ball 59 times and limited the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player to just one touchdown with two interceptions.

To go along with the passes, Jackson rushed for 143 yards on 20 carries. Running backs Gus Edwards and Mark Ingram II combined for nine carries and 42 yards.

This season the Titans played the Ravens in Week 11 and came out with a 30-24 overtime victory. Jackson finished with 186 passing yards and 51 rushing yards, his second fewest in his last 10 games, with two total touchdowns. Rookie running back J.K Dobbins led the way with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee leads the all-time series between the teams at 13-12. In both of the recent meetings, Vrabel’s noted similar trends, that if kept in mind, result in favorable outcomes.

“Not every play is a read or an option-type play,” Vrabel said. “When it is, you’re going to have to be sound. There are going to be responsibilities that everyone will have to take care of. If not, that is when they take advantage of your missed assignment.

“… (Baltimore’s) running backs are talented. They have backs that play with great

vision, run behind their pads and they run hard.”

During their current five-game win streak, the Ravens took advantage of three of the NFL’s five worst rushing defenses in 2020 (Jacksonville, Dallas and Cincinnati). Dobbins, in particular, found his groove of late, scoring six touchdowns in the last five games.

“He’s playing with confidence,” Vrabel said. “Sometimes the more carries you get the more

confidence you get. You get a better feel for how things are going to be blocked, and how runs

will break and where the cut may be. He just has a greater confidence level.”

Limiting the effectiveness of Jackson (1,005 yards), Dobbins (805 yards) or both is imperative. But Baltimore also has Gus Edwards (723 yards) and Mark Ingram (299 yards) when they need them.

“They just attack in a lot of different ways,” Vrabel said. “They get you thinking. They make everyone think and execute. And they force you to play 11 on 11.

“… We have a lot of respect for them, but we know it will be a difficult task. We are going to have to be sound.”