Ravens-Chargers on ‘Monday Night Football’: What We Learned from Baltimore’s 30-23 win Nov 25, 2024

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REWATCH: Ravens-Chargers on NFL+READ: Ravens, Chargers flip-flop in AFC playoff picture after MondayREAD: Bolts’ Dobbins exits game vs. former team with knee injuryREAD: John Harbaugh’s gutsy fourth-down call is ‘turning point’ in Ravens’ winRavens ride running game 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.Dobbins’ revenge bid ends early — and dooms Chargers. J.K. Dobbins left an injury-plagued tenure in Baltimore for a fresh start in Los Angeles this offseason and entered Monday night with a chance to be a thorn in his former employer’s side. He got off to a positive start, gaining 40 yards on six carries, but his night ended after just 19 offensive snaps due to a knee injury, and with it went Los Angeles’ offensive balance. With Dobbins sidelined, the Chargers ran the ball just five more times in the final two quarters, placing almost the entirety of their offensive responsibility on Justin Herbert ‘s shoulders in what was a one-point game at the break. Without the threat of the run, the Chargers’ offense entered a rut just as the Ravens’ offense was peaking, flipping the time of possession advantage — which the Chargers owned by 7:20 at halftime — in the Ravens’ favor. At just about the worst time possible, Los Angeles’ offense reverted to the low-ceiling form that plagued it early in the season. When they needed explosive plays late, the Chargers had no answer for the Ravens’ riddle. At minimum, Monday should serve as a lesson for offensive coordinator Greg Roman: Balance is the best route to victory.Los Angeles has a clear offseason need: receiver. With the offense leaning heavily on the pass in the second half, Justin Herbert let it rip without fear. But one fact became painfully obvious in this portion of the game: The Chargers lack a true deep threat. Multiple long attempts to Josh Palmer proved fruitless, and 2023 first-rounder Quentin Johnston reverted to his rookie season form, dropping an open pass on a drag route on a key third down in a one-score game and allowing that mistake to haunt him on his next two targets (which he also dropped). The only reliable target in their receiving corps was rookie Ladd McConkey, severely limiting the Chargers’ chances of stretching the field as the deficit grew. With the disappearance of the running game and the game situation demanding the Chargers pass, Ravens pass rushers pinned their ears back and hunted Herbert, who was forced to resort to firing prayers to receivers who simply aren’t skilled enough to make game-changing plays. Their final two drives were painful viewing experiences, proving this Chargers team isn’t built to come from behind and calling into question its legitimacy as an AFC contender. Chargers’ strength collapses against AFC titan. Defense has been the name of these Chargers’ game in 2024. They own a physical unit that has played above expectation all season, but when Derrick Henry got going in the first half, cracks started to show in their foundation. Los Angeles struggled mightily when it came to limiting Henry, so much that Lamar Jackson only had to attempt 22 passes on the night in order to lead the offense to a 30-point outing. Jackson’s clear targeting of Kristian Fulton on their second touchdown drive also exposed at least one weakness in their secondary, putting the Chargers on their heels defensively in a game in which they desperately needed stops in the fourth quarter. There are plenty of lessons to learn from this game for these Chargers, and the football world already gained one Monday night. The skepticism regarding the upstart Chargers wasn’t unfounded. Los Angeles failed its first real test of 2024 on both sides of the ball.Ravens add two feathers to their caps. On paper, this should have been a colossal matchup between two AFC contenders with nearly identical records and points to prove on a prime-time stage. In the end, only one team (the Ravens) was cut out for the bright lights. Baltimore won by playing its game, leaning on the ground game and the playmaking abilities of Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews. The Ravens’ somewhat embattled defense enjoyed a strong second half, limiting Los Angeles to three points and sacking Justin Herbert three times in the final two quarters. They still committed nine penalties accepted against them, but unlike their loss to Pittsburgh in Week 11, those errors didn’t doom them. By the end of it, the Ravens had delivered a large helping of humble pie to the Chargers — just three days before Thanksgiving, no less — by erasing a 10-point deficit with a 30-6 run, exploding on the scoreboard in emphatic fashion. Oh, and Justin Tucker converted a 45-yard field goal, assuaging concerns he might have lost his touch after missing two lengthy attempts in Pittsburgh a week ago. These Ravens certainly haven’t been perfect in 2024, but they scored an important win by sticking to their brand and executing, setting up for an important final stretch that begins with a home date against the red-hot Eagles on Sunday.Next Gen Stats insight from Ravens-Chargers (via NFL Pro): Lamar Jackson’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman traveled 57.4 yards in the air, making for Jackson’s second-longest completion of the season and his second of over 50 yards of air distance. All four of Jackson’s longest completions this season have targeted Bateman.

NFL Research: Derrick Henry’s 140-yard night marked his sixth game with 100-plus rushing yards in 2024, tied for the second-most such games in the NFL this season, and was his 20th career game with 140-plus rushing yards, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson for the seventh-most such games all time.