Skip Bayless Picks Titans Upset Over Ravens, Credits Marcus Mariota

There are few figures in sports media as polarizing as FS1 studio host Skip Bayless, and his latest prediction is sure to get people talking. Skip predicted on the Friday morning edition of Undisputed that Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans would win outright on Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Tennessee 21, Baltimore 20

Surely, outside of some folks in Vegas and the entire city of Nashville, Skip’s prognosticating is unpopular. The Titans, after all, are a double-digit underdog against Baltimore, and they’ll be facing the league’s assumed MVP, Lamar Jackson, on his home field.

Skip’s reasoning is sound, though, especially his take on Tennessee’s preparation for Lamar Jackson. After speaking to the brilliance of Titans running back Derrick Henry and the poise of Ryan Tannehill late in their AFC Wild Card victory, it was Marcus Mariota who got name-dropped by Bayless.

“My final advantage for the Tennessee Titans is they now have a backup quarterback who somewhat resembles, athletically, Lamar Jackson — Marcus Mariota. So, they were using Marcus Mariota, now the No. 2, to run the scout plays, so at least they have the semblance of Lamar,” Bayless said on FS1’s Undisputed. “He’s not Lamar but he ran 4.5 at the combine.”

Even co-host Shannon Sharpe, who picked Baltimore to win 31-20 and loves arguing with Skip, gave credence to the Mariota point.

“Very similar skillset, very skilled sleight of hand with the zone-read-type stuff,” Sharpe agreed. “Very few teams have that,” he added, “especially when it’s Lamar Jackson.”

Skip also picked Tennessee to upset New England in their AFC Wild Card game last weekend.

Baltimore will host Tennessee on Saturday night (Jan. 11) at 8:15 P.M ET on CBS.