BALTIMORE - For three quarters Sunday afternoon, the undermanned Baltimore Ravens put the clamps on Derrick Henry and his teammates.
By the time if was all over, the Tennessee Titans and their star running back headed out of town with an upset victory to savor. Again.
Henry ran for a 29-yard touchdown with 5:21 left in overtime to cap another memorable performance against the Ravens and lift Tennessee to a 30-24 win.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Henry had 44 yards on 18 carries and the Titans trailed 21-13. He finished with 133 yards on 28 carries - his sixth 100-yard game of the season - putting him over 1,000 rushing yards for the third consecutive season.
"You could just kind of tell as the game wore on to the fourth quarter that we were wearing on them offensively," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said.
It was reminiscent of Henry's outing this past January, when he rambled for 195 yards to carry the Titans to a 28-12 upset of the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
"I try to do anything I can when the ball's in my hand to help our team win," Henry said.
This one didn't have the same win-or-go-home significance, but it was close with positioning in the postseason hunt at stake and both teams trying to steer out of bumpy stretches after impressive starts. The Titans had lost three of their past four games heading to Baltimore, which now has lost three of its past four.
"It's a violent game, a physical game, an emotional game," Vrabel said.
The harsh stares and trash talking began before kickoff and carried well into the extra period.
"We kind of knew there was going to be some extra stuff coming into this game because of last year," said Titans wide receiver Corey Davis, who made five catches for 113 yards in the rematch. "We tried to keep our poise and go out there and handle business."
AP photo by Nick Wass / Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry heads to the end zone for the winning touchdown in a 34-21 overtime victory Sunday against the host Baltimore Ravens.After forcing a punt to begin overtime, Tennessee (7-3) moved 73 yards in six plays. Henry turned a seemingly routine run into the winning score, weaving through some heavy traffic at the line of scrimmage before finding his angle to sprint away.
"I had a ton of confidence that as soon as we got the ball, we were going to march it down and get in the end zone," said Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was 22-of-31 passing for 259 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Baltimore (6-4), coming off a 23-17 loss to the New England Patriots in sloppy conditions one week earlier, dropped into third place in the AFC North Division, four games behind the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers and in back of the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens already have twice as many losses as they did in the 2019 regular season.
Until the fourth quarter Sunday, they did a decent job of controlling Henry despite not having injured defensive linemen Calais Campbell (calf) and Brandon Williams (ankle). Now they have precious little time to get ready to play at Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving night.
"We just can't put 60 minutes together as a football team," defensive lineman Derek Wolfe said. "We'll put a half together. This week, we finally put three quarters together. And we have to play better in the fourth quarter. I don't know if it's because guys are getting worn down; I don't know what it is. We've got a lot of young guys on the field, though."
Tennessee trailed 21-10 early in the third quarter and 21-16 late in regulation before launching a 90-yard drive featuring the running of Henry and some precise throws by Tannehill. On third down from the Baltimore 14, A. J. Brown caught a short pass on the right side and broke four tackles before scoring while standing up with 2:18 left. Tannehill's 2-point run made it 24-21.
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL MVP, then drove the Ravens to the Tennessee 10 before Justin Tucker kicked a 29-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to force overtime.
"We've got to finish drives," Jackson lamented. "We've got to stop putting Tuck out there. We've got to punch it in."
Jackson was 17-for-29 passing for 186 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he had 13 carries for 51 yards. Baltimore rookie J.K. Dobbins, in his busiest game yet, ran for 70 yards on 15 carries and scored a second-quarter touchdown.
Baltimore went up 21-10 early in the second half on Jackson's 31-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, who finished with five catches for 96 yards. The Titans used a pair of field goals by Stephen Gostkowski to close to 21-16, setting the stage for a thrilling fourth quarter.
"First half, we were a little iffy." Davis said. "That last stretch was who we are."
Tennessee, which went to OT for the second time this season - the Titans beat the Houston Texans 42-36 on Oct. 18 - has six wins by seven or fewer points, with a 42-16 rout of the Buffalo Bills the exception. Those six wins came by a combined 25 points.
Baltimore allowed the Titans to march 79 yards for a touchdown on their opening possession, but the hosts bounced back to take a 14-10 halftime lead. Henry had only 37 rushing yards on 13 carries in the first two quarters, but his big second half provided Tennessee with a feel-good feeling heading down the stretch - of the game and the regular season.
Another big road trip is ahead, this time to AFC South co-leader Indianapolis as the division rivals meet next Sunday for the second time in three games and 18 days. The Colts, who beat the Green Bay Packers 34-31 in overtime a few hours after the Titans triumphed, hold the head-to-head edge after topping Tennessee 34-17 on Nov. 12 in Nashville.
"We've got to start doing things that will break us away from the pack," said Vrabel, whose team made an impressive run last season - his second with the Titans - to reach the AFC title game as a wild card. "Today was a great step."