Ravens and Chargers both start games fast (2024)

The Baltimore Ravens defense forced four turnovers against the Los Angeles Chargers en route to a 20-10 victory on “Sunday Night Football.” The Ravens defense limited the Chargers offense to 279 yards of offense. Los Angeles had three fumbles lost and quarterback Justin Herbert threw an interception to end the first half.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson went 18-of-32 passing for 177 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 39 yards — becoming the fastest QB in NFL history to notch 5,000 rushing yards.

Baltimore rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers caught his second career touchdown and rushed for his first, sealing the victory for his team.

Baltimore improves to 9-3, winning six of its last seven games. Los Angeles falls to 4-7.

Read the full recap here.

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No team has started games faster than the Ravens this season... but the Chargers aren’t far behind.

Entering tonight’s matchup, Baltimore has an NFL-best plus-67 scoring margin in the first quarter and Los Angeles is plus-34, fourth best in the NFL.

The Ravens have allowed a league-low 19 first-quarter points and the Chargers have allowed 34, tied for fourth fewest.

Baltimore has scored 86 first-quarter points, second most in the NFL. Los Angeles has scored 68, tied for fifth most.

For those considering placing a wager on tonight’s Ravens-Chargers game, here are some betting odds trends courtesy TruMedia:

• Los Angeles is 0-3 against the spread as an underdog in 2023. The Chargers are listed at +3 points for this contest, per BetMGM.
• The Chargers games have hit the under in total points in seven of the past eight games. The over/under for this game is currently listed at 48.5 points, per BetMGM.
• Los Angeles is 1-4 against the spread versus teams with winning records in 2023.
• Los Angeles is 7-13 against the spread as a home underdog since 2014.

The NFL emerged from the Thanksgiving holiday with 11 games on the Week 12 Sunday lineup, including a key AFC South battle between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

The Jaguars emerged victorious in a thriller that truly was a game of inches: Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard field-goal attempt with 34 seconds remaining bounced off the crossbar, allowing Jacksonville to escape Houston with a 24-21 win.

Quarterbacks were also a talking point in the early afternoon action. The New England Patriots benched Mac Jones (again) in another loss, this time to the New York Giants. Kenny Pickett made his first start since the firing of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada and outdueled the Cincinnati Bengals’ Jake Browning, who was making his first career start following Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury. Desmond Ridder halted the Falcons’ three-game losing streak in his return as Atlanta’s starter, beating the New Orleans Saints 24-15.

The late-afternoon game window included the Buffalo Bills at the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs at the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cleveland Browns at the Denver Broncos.

The Athletic NFL writers Mike Jones, Ted Nguyen and Dan Pompei share their thoughts on the top headlines from Sunday.

The Chargers host the Ravens in the final game of the day on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and the game can be streamed on NFL+ and Peaco*ck.

You can find live stats and other game information here.

Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Chargers are feeling the pressure ahead of their “Sunday Night Football” games against the Baltimore Ravens after another bitter, one-score loss that dropped the Chargers to 4-6. The Ravens have won five of their previous six games and with some extra rest coming off a “mini-bye,” having last played a game on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday at SoFii Stadium. The game will be televised on NBC.

Read the picks and updated odds here.

Chargers inactives:

• TE Nick Vannett (concussion)
• OL Zack Bailey
• DL Scott Matlock
• RB Elijah Dotson
• RB Isaiah Spiller
• S A.J. Finley
• WR Simi Fehoko

Receiver Jalen Guyton (groin) and TE Gerald Everett (chest) are officially active tonight. Guyton and Everett both missed the Chargers’ loss at the Packers last week. They will provide a sizable lift for a Chargers offense that will likely need to go toe-to-toe with the Ravens in a high-scoring game tonight. Amid rookie Quentin Johnston’s struggles, Guyton will slide in as the Chargers’ No. 2 option at receiver. At this stage, quarterback Justin Herbert trusts Guyton more than Johnston, who had a horrific drop in Green Bay. Everett suffered his injury in a violent collision with Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson in Week 10. Everett was blocking a run play on the goal line. Something to monitor considering the nature of Everett’s injury. It was initially listed as a back issue but changed to a chest issue after further medical evaluation. Guyton, meanwhile, injured his groin in practice ahead of the Packers game. He had made his season debut in Week 9 win over the Jets. Prior to that, Guyton had not played since Week 3 of 2021, when he tore his ACL.

The Chargers will be going with two active running backs for the fourth straight game. Feels like they are tempting fate. They have not dealt with a running back injury during this stretch of games. Tight end Hunter Kampmoyer was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday. He will be playing in his first regular season game since 2021. The Chargers have not gotten consistent run blocking from their tight ends this season. We will see if Kampmoyer can give them a lift in that area, especially given Everett’s injury.

Four of the five Ravens who were listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, a group that includes wide receivers Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr., left tackle Ronnie Stanley and tight end Charlie Kolar, are active and will play in "Sunday Night Football."

However, the one exception, Marlon Humphrey, is a big one for the Ravens as they will have to face Justin Herbert and the Chargers without their most accomplished cornerback. Humphrey will miss his second consecutive game with a calf injury.

The Ravens will likely rely heavily on veteran Ronald Darby to replace Humphrey on the outside. Rock Ya-Sin and Jalyn Armour-Davis could mix in as well.

Also inactive for the Ravens are third quarterback Josh Johnson, offensive linemen Sala Aumavae-Laulu and Sam Mustipher; and linebackers Malik Harrison (groin) and Trenton Simpson (concussion).

Chargers WR Keenan Allen entered Week 11 leading the NFL with 83 receptions this season. Allen has posted back-to-back games with at least 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown grab, the longest active streak in the NFL.

There have only been two instances in league history that a player had three straight games with at least 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown and Allen has one of them (Weeks 11-13 of 2017).

The Saints’ Michael Thomas had the other (Weeks 14-16 of 2019).

Some pregame thoughts on Chargers-Ravens…

It is hard to envision a scenario in which the Chargers are able to slow down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense. The Chargers have one of the worst pass defenses in football. They are giving up the second-highest rate of explosive completions per dropbacks, according to TruMedia. They are often disconnected in coverage, especially in off-script situations. The Ravens rank fifth in explosive pass rate, according to TruMedia. And Jackson is perhaps the most elusive quarterback in the league. The Chargers are potentially making some personnel changes to their secondary after another poor showing in a loss to the Packers last week. Look out for Deane Leonard possibly replacing Michael Davis on the outside. But one substitution is not going to correct for the deep-seated issues the Chargers’ pass defense is facing. Even with Mark Andrew landing on IR, the Ravens still have a dynamic group of skill players, from Odell Beckham Jr. to rookie Zay Flowers to Nelson Agholor to Rashod Bateman. Jackson is going to make plays, both with his legs and through the air. This a terrible matchup for the Chargers defense on paper.

This means the Chargers offense — and most importantly quarterback Justin Herbert — will likely have to lead the team in a high-scoring game. Keenan Allen will be targeted heavily. He entered Week 12 with the second-most targets in the league, trailing only Tyreek Hill. The Herbert-Allen connection has accounted for almost 30 percent of the Chargers’ total offense this season. The key on this side of the ball: Can the Chargers protect well enough to allow Herbert to operate? The Ravens entered Week 12 leading the NFL in sacks. They ranked eighth in pressure rate, according to TruMedia. They are also second in the league in defensive expected points added per dropback. The Chargers’ run game is still hit or miss. They will likely again have to try to move the ball in air — this time against one of the best pass defenses in football. It feels like it will take a special performance from Herbert to keep the Chargers in this one.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert ranks fourth among all players with 113 touchdown passes since entering the NFL in 2020

With two touchdown passes against the Ravens tonight, Herbert would surpass Patrick Mahomes (114) for the second-most TD passes by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino has more (142).

Lamar Jackson knew right away. He and tight end Mark Andrews arrived in Baltimore via the same 2018 NFL Draft class. Since then, they’ve developed a special chemistry and bond. They know what each other is thinking and how each other is feeling.

Countless times over the past six seasons, Jackson has seen Andrews take a big hit and jump right back up to his feet, culminating the catch by extending his right arm and signaling a first down. Jackson kept his eyes trained on Andrews and waited for a similar response. He hoped for a similar response.

Instead, Andrews rolled over onto his back and extended both arms behind his head. Ravens right tackle Morgan Moses reached down to take Andrews’ hand and help him up. Andrews grabbed it momentarily and then dropped his arm back to the ground.

“I was hoping he was going to get up,” Jackson said. “But when he went down, he was just laying there with that confused look on his face. I don’t want to see that happen to anybody, not just him. That’s my boy.”

Andrews finally got to his feet and walked gingerly to the sideline with his arm draped around the shoulder of an athletic training staff member. He put very little weight on his left ankle.

The Ravens’ 34-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, which improved their record to 8-3, keeps them in first place in the AFC North and secures a series sweep over their rival, was marred by the news coach John Harbaugh delivered after the game.

Read more here.

A lot has gone wrong for the Chargers’ pass defense this season, but one glaring issue in their Week 11 loss to the Packers came on throws short of the sticks.

Los Angeles allowed 8.9 yards after the catch per reception on throws to targets short of the line to gain against Green Bay, the second most of any team in Week 11. In all, the Packers converted 32.0% of those throws into first downs, the second-highest rate by any team in Week 11 and the Chargers’ highest allowed in any game this season.

Last week, Jordan Love became the latest quarterback to throw for 300 yards on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Love set a career high with 322 passing yards. It was his first time eclipsing 300 yards in his NFL career. The Chargers have now played 10 games. They have allowed a 300-yard passer in half of those. They have allowed the most passing yards in the league through 11 weeks, including the eight teams that have played one more game than the Chargers. They are allowing the most passing yards per game at 291.6. No other team is above 271 per game. They are 30th in defensive EPA per dropback, according to TruMedia.

Something must change for the Chargers in pass defense. That much is evident.

The change will not be at play caller, which head coach Brandon Staley made abundantly clear Sunday night after a 23-20 loss at Lambeau Field. Staley added that he has “full confidence in our way of playing,” as well as “the way that we teach and the way that we scheme.”

“I know we give ourselves a chance to win every single week with the game plans that we have,” Staley said Sunday night. And he expanded on that Monday, saying, “I don’t think structurally there needs to be a change.”

What is left, then, is personnel. And Staley said Monday that the “adjustments” to his pass defense moving forward will be targeted there — who is playing on the back end and where those players are playing.

Read more here.

There are a number of NFL rules players must abide by. And, if they were given the opportunity to express themselves, many players would push back on some of those rules. So, we opened that door and allowed them to vent their frustrations to The Athletic as part of our anonymous NFL player poll.

Our writers spoke to 85 players for the poll and 78 weighed in on which rule they would most like to see changed. The results? Well, the players listed 19 different things.

The one that received the most votes (19.2 percent) was roughing the passer — a controversial one among fans, too. While the league has tried to create some consistency with the call, it’s one that seems subjective to the referees assigned to each respective game. At least, that’s how the players feel.

How will the Ravens adjust without TE Mark Andrews on the field? QB Lamar Jackson has targeted Andrews 176 more times than any other teammate since they both entered the league in 2018 and the disparity is even more striking in the red zone.

Jackson’s 71 red-zone targets to Andrews since 2018 are more than twice as many as any other Baltimore player (Marquise Brown is second with 31) and Andrews’ 26 red-zone TD grabs are more than the next four Ravens combined.

The mighty have faltered, and in some cases, they’ve outright fallen with two-thirds of the NFL season in the books.

When the 2023 campaign kicked off, the balance of power seemed to lean greatly in the direction of the American Football Conference. Boasting powerhouse teams (at least on paper) led by accomplished and well-respected head coaches and the majority of the league’s premier quarterbacks, AFC teams made their counterparts in the NFC look rather inferior.

When the preseason Super Bowl odds came out, six of the top 10 teams and eight of the top 12 (the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars) hailed from the AFC.

But there’s a reason why they play the games.

Read more here.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley has vocalized his stance in direct terms over the past two weeks.

He does not believe his defense’s issues are related to scheme. He does not believe they are related to structure. He does not believe they are related to his play calling. He does not believe they are related to his game plans. He does not believe they are related to his messaging to the players.

Instead, “execution” is the word Staley has used on multiple occasions to diagnose the problem. It is a buzzword thrown around all the time by NFL coaches. In Staley’s case, what it really means is this: The players are not doing what they are being coached to do.

Using that premise, let’s do a small thought experiment. Let’s say Staley is correct in his assessment. It is not scheme, or structure, or play calling, or messaging, or game planning. It is execution. It is the players. And thus, it is how this Chargers roster has been constructed.

A problem persists: Staley was directly involved in building the roster. This is not Year 1 of his coaching tenure when he was coaching a defense full of holdovers from a previous regime. This is Year 3. And over three seasons, Staley has worked in concert with general manager Tom Telesco to hand-pick players who were supposed to fit into his defensive system.

That has not materialized. Statistically, the Chargers defense is as bad now as it has been at any point in Staley’s time as head coach. If the players are the problem — and even that is up for debate depending on who you ask in the building — then another question must be asked: Who acquired the players?

Telesco is running the team’s personnel department day to day. Staley’s fingerprints, too, are all over this roster.

Read more here.

Asked following Thursday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals whether he’s experiencing an uptick in speed, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. quipped, “You might have to ask the other teams and see.”

Through 11 games, the Beckham experience has been as advertised for the Ravens. He’s become a locker room leader and helped mentor some of the team’s younger players, including first-round rookie wideout Zay Flowers. He’s made a handful of big plays and drawn some big penalties. He’s battled some nagging injuries, already missing two games and parts of two more. He’s also shown his emotion and frustration when things aren’t going well.

When the Ravens signed him to a one-year, $15 million deal, they were confident Beckham’s route-running ability and savviness would help him get open. They knew he was going to catch the passes that were thrown to him. What they didn’t know is how well Beckham could still run after dealing with significant knee injuries and sitting out the entire 2022 season.

The 31-year-old may not be running as well as he did when he was selected to three straight Pro Bowls during his time with the New York Giants, but he’s shown a nice burst in recent weeks. He ran past the Cleveland Browns secondary for a 40-yard touchdown in Week 10. In catching four passes for 116 yards against the Bengals, Beckham not only got behind the Cincinnati defense for a 51-yard reception, but he also ran past or around quite a few defenders after catches.

Read more here.

The Ravens and Chargers are underway on Sunday Night Football. The game is airing on NBC and can be streamed on NFL+ and Peaco*ck.

Helpful links

• Ravens at Chargers: Live stats and game information
• | Updated playoff standings
• Latest odds and expert picks/projections

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