The last time Tennessee and Baltimore met, there were pregame sparks because Titans players gathered at the Ravens’ midfield logo at M&T Bank Stadium in November.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh took offense, approaching the Tennessee players before giving coach Mike Vrabel an earful.
“It’s disrespectful,” Harbaugh yelled at the time. And Baltimore hadn’t forgotten.
After cornerback Marcus Peters intercepted quarterback Ryan Tannehill with 1:50 remaining in Sunday’s wild-card game, sealing the Ravens’ 20-13 win, Peters and his teammates ran to the Titans logo and danced around. Some waved toward the Tennessee bench.
The #Ravens REALLY like beating the #Titans
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 10, 2021
A bit of a revenge for that logo thing.pic.twitter.com/tqXHCJUArC
The display drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Defensive end Derek Wolfe said postgame the celebration wasn’t planned.
“Sometimes you act on emotion. And it felt like it was a good time to go ahead and do that,” Wolfe said (via the Baltimore Sun). “It wasn’t a disrespect thing. It was more like a team unity thing.”
Also Wolfe: “It wasn’t a disrespect thing. It was more like a team unity thing.”
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) January 10, 2021
Tannehill threw for 165 yards and a touchdown, but that late interception proved costly. Tennessee had a chance to drive down the field to score the game-winning touchdown. Instead, Baltimore sealed it with a pick.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson did it all for the Ravens, rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown while throwing for another 179 yards with one interception.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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