The Baltimore Ravens won their first playoff game in six seasons on Sunday afternoon in a 20-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans, marking the first time that quarterback Lamar Jackson has won in the postseason in his young career. However, it was the bad blood between these two teams that everyone was talking about at the end of the game.
After Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the closing minutes of the game on Sunday, he and the Ravens defense sprinted to midfield to celebrate and stomp on the Titans’ logo.
Earlier this season, the Titans stomped on the Ravens' logo before beating Baltimore.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 10, 2021
Marcus Peters and his teammates just got their revenge #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/CbZLoGqNzM
The Titans and Ravens have a recent history of beefing with each other that dates back to last season’s AFC Divisional Round game between the two teams in Baltimore. The Ravens were considered heavy favorites in the matchup, coming off of a 14-2 regular season and Jackson was coming off of an MVP campaign. However, a tone was set early by the Titans that they were not afraid of the challenge.
#Titans ran straight out of the tunnel and to midfield. pic.twitter.com/dbajGBMGGr
— Mickey Ryan (@MickeyRyan1045) January 12, 2020
The Titans would wind up pulling off a massive 28-12 upset over a Ravens team that had Super Bowl aspirations, which only fueled a growing hatred between the two teams.
Before the regular-season rematch in Baltimore during the regular season this year, the midfield logo was once again a point of conflict in one of the NFL’s budding rivalries. Tennessee once again took the field and headed straight for the Ravens’ logo, which prompted a confrontation between head coaches John Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel, as well as Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Here's what happened pre-game between the #Titans and #Ravens
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 22, 2020
Butler and Harbaugh were looking for a for a fight? pic.twitter.com/r90CNJ3Fw4
What followed was one of the best games of the 2020 regular season. The Ravens led by as many as 11 points, the Titans were able to storm back to force overtime and eventually grab the victory thanks to a touchdown run by Derrick Henry to win the game. At the time, the Titans’ victory knocked the Ravens out of the AFC playoff picture.
Baltimore won its final five regular-season games after being on the ropes for a few weeks to earn another chance at revenge against the Titans. This time they would go to Nashville and defensive lineman Calais Campbell made it known before the game that the Ravens were in for another fight.
Calais Campbell barking at the #Titans as he walks back to the locker room.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 10, 2021
( @tatumeverett)pic.twitter.com/XExJnuPbCi
Baltimore fell down early by a score of 10-0 but followed it up with one of their best defensive performances of the season and timely plays from Jackson to finally get the monkey off its back against a team that had been a nightmare to deal with recently.
And it was all sealed with a stomp.