Watch Lamar Jackson break the Titans with a 49-yard touchdown run

Lamar Jackson is still looking for his first playoff win, but his 49-yard touchdown run will go a long way towards helping the Ravens eliminate the Titans. 

The Titans’ entire defensive gameplan is predicated on stopping the Ravens’ run game. A big chunk of that hinges on keeping Lamar Jackson in check. Tennessee failed miserably to achieve that goal late in the second quarter of their Wild Card matchup against Baltimore.

It looked for a moment like Jackson might go down behind the line of scrimmage before he broke loose through the middle and sprinted past the Titans’ defensive line. Stopping Jackson in the open field is nearly impossible. He made one cut to angle his turn down the near sideline and blew past the rest of Tennessee’s defense en route to a 48-yard touchdown.

The scramble helped Baltimore tie the score at 10, but it’s a play that is going to stick in the minds of every Titans defender for the rest of the game. It’s one thing to watch Jackson break off a long run on film. It’s quite another to see his blazing speed up in person.

Now every time the Ravens execute the read option the Titans are going to pay even more attention to the possibility of Jackson keeping the ball and breaking out on the perimeter. Tennessee’s pash rushers are going to exercise even more caution to maintain their lanes when they try to sack Jackson behind the line of scrimmage. That kind of hesitation will play into the Ravens’ hands.

Jackson’s long run may not win his team the game, but it will open up the Ravens’ offense during the second half. That’s bad news for a Tennessee team trying to avoid the upset.