Street Talk

Behind The Numbers: Breaking down the Ravens and the Titans

by Scot Kleinfeld

January 8, 2009
4:00 am

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Ravens and Titans have had their fair share of closely fought brawls dating back to the days of the AFC Central Division. The games almost always boiled down to a pivotal play or two to separate the former rivals on the scoreboard. Judging from what we witnessed back in October when these two physical teams clashed, there’s little reason to think that Saturday’s Divisional Playoff Game will be any different.

Don’t think so?

Then take a close look at the numbers below. You’d be hard pressed to find two teams that are more similar. BTN predicts déjà vu all over again – another low scoring, hard hitting game decided by less than a touchdown.

Statistic	Ravens	Titans
Offense (team)
Points per game	24.1	23.4
Total yards per game	324.0	313.6
Pass yards per game	175.5	176.2
Rush yards per game	148.5	137.4
3^rd down conversion %	40.9%	36.1%
4^th down conversion %	63.6%	45.5%
Time of possession	33:22	29:18
Red Zone TD %	47.1%	62.2%
Turnover ratio	+13	+14
Sacks allowed	33	12
Field goals	28/35	29/33
Touchdowns	42	41
Offense (player)
QB rating	Flacco: 80.3	Collins: 80.2
Comp. %	60.0	58.3
Total passing yards	2971	2676
Pass yards per game	185.7	167.3
Touchdowns	14	12
Interceptions	12	7
Rush yards / TD	McClain: 902 / 10	Johnson: 1228 / 9
Rush yards / TD	McGahee: 671 / 7	White: 773 / 15
Rec. / yards / TD	Mason: 80 / 1037 / 5	Gage: 34 / 651 / 6
Rec. / yards / TD	Clayton: 41 / 695 / 3	Scaife: 58 / 561 / 2
Rec. / yards / TD	Heap: 35 / 405 / 3	Jones: 41 / 449 / 1
Special Teams
Field Goals	Stover: 28/35	Bironas: 29/33
Punt Avg.	Koch: 45.0	Hentrich: 42.8
Inside 20	34	27
Blocked	0	0
Punt return avg. (team) / TD	8.6 / 0	9.7 / 0
Kick return avg. (team) / TD	20.1 / 0	25.4 / 0
Defense (team)
Points per game	15.3	14.6
Total yards per game	261.1	293.6
Pass yards per game	179.7	199.8
Rush yards per game	81.4	93.9
Interceptions	26	20
Forced fumbles	13	23
Sacks	34	44
3^rd down conversion %	33.5%	35.0%

Scot Kleinfeld

Scot is a Baltimore native, a Towson University graduate, and has followed sports since the early 1980's. Scot likes to go inside the numbers and get the real "411" on the wins and losses, hence his Behind The Numbers column. Besides being an avid sports fan, Scot has been involved with televison sports production as an Associate Producer since 1993 for WMAR, ESPN, ESPNU,ESPN2, and the former Home Team Sports network. In addition to his television work Scot has written articles for Baltimore Magazine, Lacrosse Magazine and Patuxent Publishing. These experiences make him a natural as the creator of the Media Watchdog, another of SK's fine contributions.