NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Baltimore Ravens celebrated one of the biggest sack parties in league history on Sunday.
In a 21-0 victory, the Ravens sacked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota 11 times, which set a franchise record and tied for the second-most in an NFL game.
Baltimore linebacker Za'Darius Smith didn't know how many sacks the defense had until the squad recorded its ninth early in the fourth quarter.
"They said if we get one more, we're going to break a record," Smith said, "So we went and got two more."
The game marked the first time that a quarterback had been harassed that many times since the Jets' Greg McElroy was sacked 11 times by the San Diego Chargers in 2012, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Baltimore defense finished with more sacks than completions allowed. Mariota was 10-of-15 passing for 117 yards.
The Ravens more than doubled the number of times Titans quarterbacks had been sacked this season. Tennessee allowed nine sacks in the first five games.
"When you're running in coverage and you hear screams of the sack, you're happy," cornerback Jimmy Smith said.
In the midst of knocking down Mariota, the Ravens set the team mark for fewest net passing yards allowed (51) and gave up the second-fewest yards in franchise history (106).
Baltimore also became the first team to shut out the Titans in Nashville. The last time the franchise was held without a point at home was 1976, when the Houston Oilers were shut out by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Astrodome.
It isn't a coincidence that one of the Ravens' best all-time defensive efforts came against Titans defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who retired as Ravens defensive coordinator at the end of last season before joining Tennessee less than a month later.
"It is special because he's over there on that sideline," coach John Harbaugh said, "and I'm pretty sure our guys wanted to show their best to someone they respect so much."
The Ravens blitzed Mariota on 18 dropbacks and sacked him 10 times (56 percent), the most such sacks by any team since ESPN began video tracking in 2006.
Asked whether he has ever been in a game like that, Mariota said, "No, that was a first."
Asked what his feeling was after the game, Mariota said, "Not very good."
The Ravens' official twitter changed its handle to "Ravensssssssssss," adding an S for each sack.
Baltimore fell one sack short of tying the NFL record, which is shared by four teams. The most recent to produce 12 sacks was the 1985 Dallas Cowboys against the Houston Oilers.
In total, eight Ravens players recorded sacks, including three by Smith and two by linebacker Patrick Onwuasor.
"We had fun out there," linebacker Matthew Judon said. "You see everybody going off, you want to be a part of it as well."