[ad_1]
As the clock expired for his first playoffs as an NFL quarterback, Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson ran to the locker room on Sunday afternoon and signaled his teammates to follow. The third-year flagman explained that he had no plans to shake hands with members of the Tennessee Titans.
Jackson ran for 136 yards and threw 179 more to lead his team over the Titans, 20-13, in the AFC playoff wildcard round.
The victory sends Baltimore into the divisional round and avenges a stunning loss to Tennessee 365 days earlier. But Jackson said his annoyance with Sunday’s opponent did not stem from a playoff loss, but rather from a pre-game altercation when the two teams met in November.
The Titans ran out of the locker room ahead of this game’s kick-off at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and paraded the midfielder’s logo before the Ravens players stepped onto the pitch. Coach John Harbaugh faced off against the Titans and traded yells with veteran defensive back Malcolm Butler before telling coach Mike Vrabel he found the act disrespectful.
Tennessee ended up winning the game in overtime, 30-24.
Ahead of Sunday’s rematch, Harbaugh and the Ravens played down the animosity between their team and the Titans. Jackson, however, recalled the November brawl when a reporter asked during his post-game press conference why he had rushed into the locker room so quickly.
“I think it was just a lack of respect,” Jackson said. “We didn’t see what happened before the game the last time we faced these guys and they were standing on our logo and they were going to do it with our coach. It was just disrespectful, because, you know, we treat all of our other opponents with respect, and that wasn’t a reason for us to shake hands and things like that. We could be the biggest, so we just walked off the pitch.
And they came off the field victoriously thanks to Jackson’s playing ability and a suffocating defense that kept running back Derrick Henry at 40 yards on 18 carries. After cornerback Marcus Peters managed an interception in the fourth quarter on Sunday that essentially sealed Baltimore’s victory, he ran to midfield, flanked by teammates and leaped into the center of the Titans logo.
The umpires penalized the Ravens 15 yards for provocation. It didn’t matter much, as Jackson ran for a big win two games later and slipped within limits to keep the clock running and deliver another dagger.
After the game, a reporter asked Vrabel if he had any thoughts on celebrating the Ravens or the players running through the tunnel before shaking hands.
“No,” he said. “I train the Titans, not the Ravens.”
Aaron Kasinitz covers the Baltimore Ravens for PennLive and can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter AaronKazreports. Follow PennLive’s Ravens coverage on Facebook and Youtube.
[ad_2]
Source link