The Titans were losing 10-3 heading into the 4th quarter last Sunday before the offense woke up and put 10 points on the board.  Through the first three quarters the offense was sleepwalking for the Titans.  They woke up in the 4th quarter scoring on two long TD drives.  The first one was a 13 play, 81 yard drive resulting in a 26-yard field goal by Rob Bironas.  The final drive of the game for the Titans was a beauty as they drove 80 yards on 11 plays scoring the game winning TD on a 11-yard pass from Kerry Collins to Alge Crumpler with only 1:56 left in the game.  The Titans finished this game with a amazing 210 yards of offense in 54 offensive plays.  The defense was outstanding for the Titans in this game giving Kerry Collins and the offense the chance to win it.  The Ravens had 285 yards of offense and they held onto the ball for 34:28 of this game which makes the win even more amazing.  The Titans are the NFL’s only 5-0 team right now.

This should be a street fight of a football game as both of these teams have great defenses and limited offenses.  The Titans are only allowing 11.5 points and 263.6 total yards per game while the Ravens are allowing 14.3 points and 186.7 yards per game.  The Titans will still come out trying to run against a Ravens’ defense that is allowing 69.7 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry.  Rookie Charles Johnson and LenDale White will likely have to fight for every yard they get on the ground.  The Titans have only allowed 2 sacks this season and if Kerry Collins gets time to throw the football he can still be effective.  Look for the Titans to target CB Fabian Washington who has given up some big plays this season.

The Ravens will likely be without Willis McGahee but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be running the football to attempt to take pressure off of rookie QB Joe Flacco.  Le’Ron McClain and Ray Rice will likely have to carry the load against a Titans’ defense that is allowing 86.8 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry.  Look for the Titans to cover Ravens’ top WR Derrick Mason (16 rec, 223 yards) with CB Cortland Finnegan (4 interceptions).  With that in mind look for TE Todd Heap to have a bigger role on the offense in this game.  When Flacco drops back to pass he will have to get rid of the ball quick against a Titans’ defense with 15 sacks already this season.

PREDICTION:  TENNESSEE TITANS 17, BALTIMORE RAVENS 13

Don’t be fooled by the scoreboard as the Titans’ offense did not look too good in this game.  But, they were set up with a lot of short fields and they made the Vikings pay for that last Sunday.  Kerry Collins was efficient as usual completing 18 of 35 passes for 199 yards.  Chris Johnson was busy in this game rushing for 61 yards on 17 carries (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD carries (1, 6 yards).  He also pitched in with 3 catches for 14 yards (4.7 avg).  LenDale White only rushed for 13 yards on 11 carries (1.2 ypc) in this game but he did score on a 1-yard TD run.  WR Justin Gage had a very solid game for the Titans against the Vikings with 5 catches for 92 yards (18.4 avg).  The Titans finished up with 76 yards rushing on 34 carries (2.2 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 35 passes for 199 yards.

The defense was pretty solid as usual despite giving up more yards than they are used to.  S Vincent Fuller (8 tackles) and CB Cortland Finnegan (7 tackles) led the way for the Titans.  But DT Albert Haynesworth (6 tackles, 2 sacks) and CB Nick Harper (6 tackles, interceptions) made the big plays in this game.  The Vikings finished up with 80 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 44 passes for 253 yards.  The Titans are now 4-0 on the season for the first time in franchise history.