BALTIMORE – The Ravens didn't like seeing the Titans gathering on their midfield logo just before kickoff.
Imagine how they felt seeing the Titans celebrate on their field after the game.
The Titans, depleted with injuries and down double-digits in the second half, walked out of M&T Bank Stadium here on Sunday with an improbable 30-24 win.
A 29-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry won it in overtime.
"It was a great team win," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said afterward. "I am proud to be these guys' coach, and thankful as we approach Thanksgiving. Thankful to be their football coach."
The Titans outscored the Ravens 20-3 down the stretch after falling behind 21-10 in the third quarter.
The winning run by Henry came with 5:21 left in overtime. On the play, Henry initially went left before cutting back to his right, and when he got into the end zone he was swarmed by his teammates. Henry finished the game with 133 yards on 28 carries. He also ended the team's overtime win against the Texans in walk-off fashion with a touchdown run.
"I try to do anything I can with the ball in my hands," Henry said. "I was able to get in the end zone … The guys did a great job blocking, and it wouldn't have happened without the o-line, and receivers, tight ends, everyone blocking. I just had to go out there and do my job to help my team win, and I'm glad we got a W today against a great team."
The Titans showed a lot of spunk late.
Trailing 21-10 in the third quarter, the Titans cut the lead to 21-13 on a 40-yard field goal by kicker Stephen Gostkowski. Later in the third, Gostkowski made his third field goal of the day, a 22-yarder to cut the lead to 21-16 with 11:12 in the game.
In crunch time, receiver A.J. Brown stepped up, as he fought through several would-be tacklers to score on a 14-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Ryan Tannehill with 2:18 left. Following a successful two-point conversion, the Titans had a 24-21 lead. The score capped a 10-play, 90-yard drive in the closing minutes.
"My mindset was to get the first down, and I was trying to do whatever it took to get the first down," Brown said. "I looked up and I saw the end zone, and I was like: "Oh, I'm about to score."
But the Ravens then tied it at 24-24 on a 29-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker with 15 seconds left, and the game headed to overtime.
First, the Titans got a stop.
Then came a six-play, 73-yard drive, which ended with Henry's touchdown run.
The Titans, who knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs last season, improved to 7-3 with the win. The Titans face the Colts next Sunday in a key AFC South contest in Indianapolis.
"We don't have any front-runners," said Titans receiver Corey Davis, who had five catches for 113 yards in the contest. "We have a bunch of guys who have been down before and understand what it takes to come back and win a game like this. We have a great team, and I am really proud of them."
The Titans took a 7-0 lead early, scoring on a five-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to tight end Jonnu Smith, which capped a nine-play, 79-yard drive.
The Ravens cut the lead to 7-6 on a pair of field goals by Tucker, as the Titans defense rose up with some big early stops in the red zone.
But the Ravens broke through with 5:17 left in the second quarter, scoring on a two-yard touchdown run by running back J.K. Dobbins. After a successful two-point conversion play, the Ravens led the Titans 14-7.
The Titans cut the lead to 14-10 with 48 seconds left before halftime on a 40-yard field goal by Gostkowski, and that was the score at the half.
After the Ravens extended their lead to 21-10 in the third quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews, the Titans didn't quit.
"That team," Jackson said of the Titans afterward, "… It looked like that team wanted it more than us. They were playing physical. When we went up, I felt like we just took our foot off the gas. But we just have to keep it going for the team."
The dramatic finish was fun for the Titans, and the team's fans.
The win was huge.
"(The Ravens) came in here, thinking they were just going to run over us," defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. "But us coming in with that mindset: We won't be denied, and we won't take nothing. We wanted to come out here and play our ball. We wanted to come out here and play dominant, play fast, and play Titan ball, and that's what we did."
The Tennessee Titans take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10 at M&T Bank Stadium.