chargers vs ravens:’Monday Night Football’ ENDS

Ravens ride running game of chargers vs ravens to emphatic win. At this point, we know who the Ravens can be when they’re firing on all cylinders. It begins with the ground attack, which opens up the passing game and gives Lamar Jackson all kinds of time to pick apart defenses. That was once again the case Monday night, with Derrick Henry running roughshod through the Chargers’ defense, which entered Week 12 as the 10th-ranked run defense in the NFL. That standing crumbled beneath the pounding feet of Henry, who powered Baltimore’s first touchdown drive of the day with gains of 19, 14 and 11 yards, making it look easy. He finished off the Chargers in the same fashion, stiff-arming two defenders on a key third down to win the edge and clear the line to gain, capping his day with 140 rushing yards on 24 carries. Jackson didn’t even have to do all that much through the air, thanks to Henry, who continues to thrive in a role that suits him perfectly.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Los Angeles Chargers box score

Why the Ravens won 

The Ravens did what they do best in this one: run the football to bully one of the league’s top scoring defenses. Baltimore rushed for 212 yards against a Chargers defense that had given up 110.5 rushing yards per game heading into the contest (11th in NFL). Derrick Henry accounted for 140 of those.

Baltimore had 194 rushing yards in the final three quarters, 127 of which came from Henry (21 carries, 6.0 yards per carry). Justice Hill also had a 51-yard touchdown run to cap off how strong the Ravens were on the ground, as Baltimore had the ball for 26:45 in the final three quarters. The Ravens controlled the line of scrimmage after the first quarter. 

Turning point for Ravens

With the Ravens trailing, 10-7, at the two-minute warning in the second quarter, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh decided to make the gutsiest call of the season by going for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 16-yard line. The Ravens have Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, so why not take the gamble? 

Instead, the Ravens called a direct snap to tight end Mark Andrews, who gained two yards for the first down to extend the drive. Five plays later, Lamar Jackson found Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard touchdown to give the Ravens the lead heading into halftime. 

Without the gutsy call by Harbaugh to go for it on his own 16, the Ravens don’t change the momentum of the game. A failed conversion could have turned the whole game around in favor of the Chargers. This was also the deepest in a team’s own territory a team has converted on fourth down this year.

Baltimore Ravens player stats

Passing

Rushing and receiving

Why the Chargers lost

The Chargers defense was one of the best in the NFL through the first 10 weeks. Playing two high-powered offenses in the Bengals and Ravens brought this unit back down to earth, however, as Cincinnati put up a season-high 27 points against Los Angeles — only for Baltimore to top it with 30 this week. 

Monday was the first game in which a Jim Harbaugh-coached team gave up 200-plus rushing yards in an NFL game, showcasing how much the Chargers were bullied by the Ravens offensive line. The Ravens also outgained the Chargers, 369-162, in the final three quarters, as the Chargers failed to get into the red zone on seven straight possessions — kicking three three field goals in the stretch. 

The defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense wasn’t efficient. Not a good combination for winning games.