The Baltimore Ravens have been starting fast all season. They also closed strong Sunday in London
There was a brief stretch in the third quarter when another lead started slipping away, but Jackson steadied his team quickly and the Ravens went on to a 24-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in London.
“The margin is very thin in this league. It’s razor thin,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said Monday after returning to the U.S. “Everybody is right around .500 or just above .500 or just below .500 — in terms of talent and ability and coaching and all that other kind of stuff — so the difference is week to week.
“It’s your ability to persist, overcome, come up with a good game plan, execute the game plan, and then really make plays.”
Baltimore (4-2) leads the AFC North, although the Ravens feel their start could have even better. Mistakes and late-game mismanagement led to losses to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, the latter of which came a week before the matchup with the Titans.
So when Baltimore allowed an 18-3 halftime lead to turn into an 18-13 advantage in the third quarter against Tennessee, the pressure was on. A three-and-out on the Ravens’ next possession didn’t help matters.
But Geno Stone intercepted a pass, and Jackson led Baltimore to two field goals on drives that took a total of 24 plays.
Perhaps fittingly for a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the kickers did most of the scoring. Justin Tucker had six field goals for Baltimore.
Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton received the American football version of a red card when he was ejected for a third-quarter hit on receiver Chris Moore.
“It was definitely a flag-able penalty,” Harbaugh said. “It was helmet to helmet. The one thing I do know is that Kyle certainly didn’t intend to do that. He was coming over trying to play the ball, and their helmets hit, and it was forceable. So it should have been flagged. Beyond that, it’s really a judgement call.”
Jackson had a sharp day passing aside from one interception in the third quarter, and he also led the team with 62 yards rushing, some of them in big situations. The Ravens went 8 of 16 on third down while Tennessee was 1 of 9. A few of those conversions came courtesy of Jackson’s legs.