The Ravens at Titans game is the perfect example of handicapping football is exceptionally challenging. The Titans offense was FAR superior to the Ravens and they moved the ball down the field on long sustaining drives several times. Then they self destructed. This in addition to the self destruction in terms of penalty after penalty all game long. The Titans threw an INT inside the 20, had a fumble inside the 10 and another fumble at the 1 yard line!
Check out these numbers and tell me who the better team was in this game?
Total Yards: Tenn 391 Balt 211
Passing Yards: Tenn 116 Balt 50
Rushing Yards: Tenn 275 Balt 161
First Downs: Tenn 21 Balt 9
Punts: Tenn 4 Baltimore 8 punts!
Time of Possession: Tenn 34:07 Balt 25:53
All these stats dominated by the better team, the Tennessee Titans. But it is often said that are 3 things you can’t handicap for – officiating, penalties and turnovers.
Anybody else (or everyone else expect the ref) see the play clock clearly at ZERO on the huge 3rd down conversion in the final 3 minutes of the game by Baltimore?
Tennessee had 12 penalties for 89 yards!
Tennessee fumbled 5 times - losing 2 of them! And as already noted BOTH inside the 10 ready to score!
And 1 INT – also a drive killer!
There will be handicappers that are patting themselves on the back for picking Baltimore. Those with any self respect, the honest ones – they know they got very lucky tonight. There is no question that the Titans were the better team, yet Baltimore won. That’s why I have gray hair. And that’s the way the game goes.
