As the clock hit triple zeros in Lamar Jackson’s first career playoff win, the quarterback and many of his Baltimore Ravens teammates made a beeline for the locker room.
After what the Tennessee Titans had pulled in the teams’ previous meeting, Jackson said, he had no interest in participating in the customary postgame handshakes.
“I feel it was just disrespect,” Jackson told reporters in a video conference after the Ravens scored a 20-13 road win over the Titans in the wild-card round of the 2020 NFL playoffs. “We didn’t (initially) see what went on before the game the last time we played those guys. They were standing on our logo and we saw them getting into it with our coach.
“That was just disrespectful. We treat all our opponents with respect, and there was no reason for us to shake hands.”
When the Ravens and Titans squared off in Week 11, Tennessee players sparked a pregame scrap by congregating on Baltimore’s midfield logo. The Titans went on to win that game in overtime.
The Ravens, who also lost to Tennessee as heavy favorites in last year’s divisional round, returned the favor Sunday, celebrating on the Titans’ logo after a late Marcus Peters interception all but clinched a Baltimore victory.
Jackson powered the Ravens’ offense in the win. Last year’s NFL MVP finished with 136 rushing yards on 16 carries, including a 48-yard touchdown run before halftime.
