Getty Gallery: 6/6
No. 9 Baltimore Ravens
No. 10 Tennessee Titans
Ravens fans have to be disappointed after how Week 5 played out. They went into Cleveland to play a Browns team who is far better than in recent years, but it was widely expected they'd come out with a victory. Instead, Baltimore's offense was stopped in its tracks, scoring just nine points and losing on a field goal in overtime during Baker Mayfield's second NFL start.
There were a few concerning aspects here, including the fact that Joe Flacco hit on just 29-of-56 passes with an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. Beyond that, Mayfield throwing for 342 yards and one touchdown on 25 completions isn't a good look.
It was one game against a division rival who's still underrated, so we can't chalk this up as the worst loss in history. The Ravens sit at 3-2 currently and the other loss came against a top-five team in the Bengals. And for what it's worth, wide receiver Michael Crabtree even admitted that he dropped a game-winner which could have led to a very different result, as ESPN's Jamison Hensley detailed.
"I had a game-winner I could have caught. I put that on me," Crabtree said. "I'm going to have to get back in the lab and get back to the basics. You know what I'm saying? That's just what's going on."
Trouble in Titan Town, or One Misstep?
The Tennessee Titans are a tough team to figure out. But I will say that even after a 13-12 loss to the Buffalo Bills, they deserve to hold the No. 10 spot above the multiple other teams who were in consideration.
When looking beyond the ugly offensive performance against the Bills, this is a team who took down the Texans, Jaguars and Eagles prior to this. They're capable of getting it done on both sides of the ball, and while Marcus Mariota took a step back after a monster Week 4 showing, the young signal-caller didn't hold back his thoughts.
“We left one out there today,” Mariota said. “We can’t turn the ball over as an offense. The defense played great – they’ve played outstanding through the year. We have to do a better job of playing complimentary football.
“It is the nature of the beast, man. This is the business we play. If you are not ready to play, it doesn’t matter who you are playing, you are not going to be able to put forth your best effort and (you) ultimately lose the game.” he told the Titans' official website.
Mariota threw for 344 yards and two scores against the defending Super Bowl champions last week, but the Bills showcased an improved defense this week. He was held to just 129 passing yards against Buffalo, and the Titans as a whole totaled 221 yards of offense. Tennessee will right the ship, but they need to do it soon with matchups against the Ravens, Chargers, Cowboys and Patriots ahead.
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