Ravens hang on to beat Titans, 24-18, after Lamar Jackson injury

Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun on Oct 4, 2026

Published in Football

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BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens ended a dismal four-game home losing streak on a dreary Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.

It came at a price. They also nearly blew another fourth-quarter lead.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson exited the game with an ankle injury at the end of the second quarter and did not return. Then, clinging to a six-point lead in the game’s final minute, the Ravens needed a recovery by Malaki Starks on an onside kick to seal the victory against the Tennessee Titans (0-4).

Despite 13 penalties for 131 yards and the Ravens (3-1) struggling to move the ball with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley after Jackson’s departure, Baltimore held on for a 24-18 victory.

Before Jackson was injured, he compiled a near-perfect passer rating, completing 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns to help stake Baltimore to a 24-7 halftime lead. That was more than enough against a Titans offense ranked near the bottom of the NFL in points and yards per game.

That trend continued Sunday.

Tennessee managed just 297 total yards and converted only 2 of 10 third downs.

Baltimore, despite a string of miscues, a reshuffled interior offensive line, and losing a handful of players to injuries in the game, including cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), tight end Durham Smythe (Achilles tendon) and right guard Andrew Vorhees (foot), had no such trouble. At least for the first 30 minutes.

The Ravens rolled up 268 yards on 33 plays in the first two quarters and hit on several big plays.

Baltimore’s defense also delivered early, intercepting Cam Ward on the second play of the game to give the Ravens the ball at Tennessee’s 37-yard line. Five plays later, Derrick Henry (73 yards on 23 carries) bullied his way into the end zone from 5 yards out and let former Titans teammate Jeffery Simmons hear about it afterward.

The Titans bounced back with a touchdown on their next possession, but that was as close as it would be the rest of the way.

Early in the second quarter, the Ravens’ offense got the chunk plays it had been seeking.

First, Henry gobbled up 14 yards on a toss left. One play later, Jackson rolled right, Mark Andrews threw his hand up to call for the ball to sell the play, and the quarterback pivoted and threw back to a wide-open Matt Hibner on the left for 25 more yards.

Henry then churned for 11 more yards, and Jackson followed with a dart to Zay Flowers coming across the field for a 19-yard touchdown.

Still, the Titans had their chances, mostly thanks to the Ravens’ miscues.

Trailing Baltimore 14-7 in the second, the Titans benefited from plenty of free yards. A horse collar by Trenton Simpson for 15 yards. Unnecessary roughness on Kyle Hamilton, who blasted Ward, not realizing the play had been whistled dead for a timeout, for another 15. And an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on Tavius Robinson for 5 yards and an automatic first down.

But with three cracks from the 5-yard line, the Titans couldn’t punch it in, including on fourth-and-goal from the 2 as Nnamdi Madubuike blew up a bungled run up the middle.

From there, the Ravens kept rolling.

After converting on a third-and-4 from their own 8, Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for 28 yards. Then, he aired it out up the right sideline for Flowers for 52 more yards. Two plays later, with Henry lined up in the backfield to take a direct shotgun snap, Jackson instead ran under center, took the snap and found a wide-open Andrews in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score.

Instead of the game being tied at 14 and perhaps that uncomfortable feeling of blowing another lead, Baltimore went up 21-7.

A 64-yard field goal by Tyler Loop — the longest in stadium history — at the end of the first half extended the lead.

But even Loop, a week after his game-winner against the Cowboys in Brazil, wasn’t immune. He missed a 40-yarder late in the fourth quarter that would have pushed the lead to three scores.

In the end, it didn’t matter.

Ward’s touchdown toss with 1:16 remaining, plus a 2-point conversion, cut the deficit to six points. But Starks recovered the onside kick, ending any drama.

The Ravens survived. For now.

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