Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans post-game thoughts, part I

By halftime of Saturday's Ravens-Titans game, the sense of Deja Vu was too strong to ignore. Was it 2009 or 2001?  Either way, the result was the same: a divisional round upset of a 13-3 Titans squad that completely dominated us on paper yet couldn't translate its offensive output into points. On Saturday, Tennessee passed for over 100 more yards, ran for over 60 more yards, racked up twice as many 1st downs, held the ball for nearly 10 more minutes ... and lost by 3 points. And that's not even the crazy game: In 2001, Tennessee held nearly identical advantages in passing and rushing yards, gained nearly four times as many 1st downs, held the ball for over 20 more minutes ... and lost by 14 points.

Of course, if this truly is 2001 redux, and the Ravens are Tampa-bound once more, that makes this year's Pittsburgh Steelers the 2001 Oakland Raiders. Those Raiders had the league's number 6 offense (including the top rushing attack) but a merely average defense. Those Ravens were simply too fast and too physical for Oakland, a comparison that hardly applies to this year's Steelers. The 2009 AFC title game will be as hard-hitting as any game all year---not exactly welcome news for a Ravens team that will be playing its 18th consecutive week of football.

Still, I am confident, despite our two previous losses to Pittsburgh this year (by a grand total of 7 points). Strangely, I am most confident because of those losses. To beat a team three times in one year seems to me to suggest a level of dominance that the Steelers simply do not possess. Nobody who watched the earlier games can tell me Pittsburgh is that much better than we are. Indeed, it seems like a case of two evenly matched teams. Play a dozen times, and the result will be a 50-50 split; I can't see either side reeling off 3 consecutive victories. The third time around, the breaks are bound to even out.

Is any of that reasoning scientific? Is it even logical? Maybe not, but it seems to me to make sense. Talk to me Sunday night, and if we do indeed lose a 3rd straight time, I'll be the first to tip my hat to a clearly superior Pittsburgh squad. I just don't think my hat's in much danger of tipping.