RSR Predictions for Ravens-Chargers: A Bolt of Optimism?

Winning five of their past six games, the Baltimore Ravens (8-3) travel to the West Coast for a battle with the Los Angeles Chargers (4-6) on NBC’s Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET kickoff). At 8-3, the Ravens currently own the AFC’s top record and No. 1 playoff seed. This marks the fourth time in Ravens history that they are 8-3 after 11 games of a season, also reaching that record in 2010, 2011 and 2021.

Baltimore stands atop the AFC North standings, while Cleveland is in second at 7-3. (The tight AFC North is the NFL’s only division with each team sporting a .500-or-better mark, as Pittsburgh is 6-4 and Cincinnati is 5-5.)

Baltimore leads the regular season series vs. the Chargers, 8-5. Under head coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens are 5-2 vs. San Diego/Los Angeles, winning three straight, including a 22-10 contest in 2018 (when Baltimore last played at the Chargers).

The visiting Ravens are currently a 3½ point favorite, the over/under number sits at 48.

Tony Lombardi

Logic suggests that the Ravens should do their best to get off to a fast start. There’s a lot of drama surrounding the Bolts and head coach Brandon Staley. A coach with a lengthy history of defense has guided a team that has an offensive defense. In other words, they suck! Despite the healthy investments on the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers field the NFL’s 31st-rank unit, yielding 393.6 YPG and 23.8 points/game. Both averages will bump up a bit after this game.

That said, history makes me worry about games like this for the Ravens. Following a big win at home on a national stage, getting a few extra days off and then traveling across the country, have all proven to be challenges for John Harbaugh’s Ravens. I don’t expect this one to be any different.

• Lamar will find success through the air against the league’s 32nd-ranked pass defense, but he won’t reach the average YPG that sieve of a secondary allows (291.6 YPG). Jackson chucks it for 275 yards, going 22 for 30 and two scores. He’ll also run one in from 15+ yards out. Rashod Bateman and Keaton Mitchell will be on the receiving end of Lamar’s scoring strikes.

• LJ, Gus Edwards, Mitchell, Justice Hill and Devin Duvernay combine for 135 yards on the ground. The Bus adds to his TD total, finding pay dirt once.

• The Chargers are 4th best in the NFL with a +7-turnover ratio. They will make that +8 on Sunday night and that turnover, another Jackson fumble courtesy of a Khalil Mack strip sack, will help to keep the Chargers close – too close for comfort.

• Justin Herbert will be a problem. He’ll carry a hot hand throughout and rally LA in the fourth quarter. He’ll outduel Lamar, throwing for 310 yards and 3 scores, one each to Keenan Allen, Josh Palmer and Austin Ekeler. Ekeler will add another score by ground.

• The difference in the game will be a 52-yard field goal by Justin Tucker that takes place midway through the 4th quarter to put the Ravens up 34-24. The Chargers will close the gap to 3 points, but the Ravens hold on to remain the top dogs in the conference.

The next time the Ravens take the field will be on December 10 against the other LA team. And they’ll do so with a guy named Suh. Oh and by the way, despite that atrocious stadium in San Diego, I still wish they were there.

Ravens 34 Chargers 31

[Preview: Battle in The Trenches v. Chargers]

Rob Shields

This game and the Rams game are “must wins” in terms of getting the AFC’s top seed. Also, given the Steelers’ schedule and the change at OC, they could be a problem for the division because of the tough schedule the Ravens close with.

The Chargers are in some turmoil because of their awful head coach and their defense is terrible, especially on the back end.

They can be scary offensively and Herbert has a lot of arm talent but I wouldn’t expect much resistance in this game.

And this is about as comfortable a road game as you can get in the NFL.

Ravens 30 Chargers 17

Darin McCann

This looked like a tasty prime time match-up before the season, and while the Ravens have largely done their part in playing the role of championship contender, the Chargers have largely fallen flat to this point — particularly on the defensive side.

Both teams have produced efficiently on offense — with the Ravens ranking fourth in offensive DVOA, and the Chargers at eight. However, the difference between the two teams this season has definitively been with their respective defenses. The Ravens have trotted out the second-best defense, per DVOA, while the Chargers are at 29th. That’s where this game will tilt — one should be able to do more against the other defense than the other team could. Here are some bold predictions:

• Rashod Bateman will be the main beneficiary of targets with the absence of Mark Andrews, and the on-the-rise receiver will show his stuff to the nation with five catches for more than 100 yards and a touchdown.
• Lamar Jackson generates four total touchdowns.
• Odafe Oweh continues his rise, with two sacks and a forced fumble.
• Kyle Hamilton will show out, with a pick, a sack and three passes broken up.

Ravens 38 Chargers 26

Kevin McNelis

The last time these two teams met, it was a highly-anticipated matchup of 4-1 squads at The Bank. What many, including myself, thought was going to be a slugfest ended up going VERY poorly for the Chargers, who were held to just six points in a rout.

Of course, a past success from two seasons ago isn’t indicative of future performance, but the Chargers have struggled mightily at times this year, to the point that HC Brandon Staley is on the hot seat. This Ravens squad is also markedly better than the last one LA saw. In their last meeting, Baltimore’s leading rusher was Devonta Freeman. Their leading tacklers were Anthony Averett and Josh Bynes. This one has the making of a long day for the Bolts.

— Priority number one for Baltimore’s defense has to be locking down Keenan Allen. A heavy presence his direction keeps him mostly quiet in the first half but benefits Austin Ekeler, who records 40+ receiving yards in the first half. Allen reels in a late second-half touchdown, but the offensive success is largely limited by the Ravens bringing pressure. Despite getting the ball out early, Justin Herbert is sacked five times.

— Baltimore’s coaches can’t get cute with this matchup; LA ranks 31st in pass defense and yards allowed. Baltimore doesn’t get cute and gravitate away from the air attack until the second half when the priority becomes killing the clock. OBJ and Isaiah Likely each register receiving TDs.

— Similarly to the Lions game, Baltimore takes advantage of early success to keep their opponent reeling. Their score touchdowns on each of their first three drives.

Here’s hoping Brandon Staley’s seat gets that much hotter after Sunday night.

Ravens 31 Chargers 17

Jared Pinder

The Chargers are on the verge of disaster and a disappointing loss could cost Staley his job. The Chargers defense is not good and they have an issue of giving up explosive plays. That is not a good combination with the Ravens offense. On the flip side Herbert is playing awesome these last couple of weeks and this game will come down to the Ravens defense.

— Lamar throws for 150 plus yards and has multiple touchdowns.

— The Ravens rushing game gets going and Mitchell and Gus finds the end zone.

— Herbert tries his best to keep the Chargers in this game with a great performance, but it isn’t enough to avoid the loss.

Ravens 32 Chargers 20

Derek Arnold

The Chargers were my Super Bowl pick in the preseason. Herbert was my MVP. I underestimated just how Chargery the Chargers would be. Incredible.

So, since precedent is that I pick the Chargers and they disappoint, I’m going to pick them again here. Let me down again, LA!

Chargers 24 Ravens 23

Chad Racine

On paper, this should be a game easily won by the Ravens. All three of the Ravens’ losses this season have been that way. For as dominant as the Ravens have been at times, it’s still hard to feel very confident. The Chargers have been struggling coming off of two straight losses and are last in their division. Their defense has struggled mightily and is now without Joey Bosa. It appears Derwin James will be moved to the slot for this game which could be a problem or possibly can be exploited with match-ups.

— Zay Flowers will have six catches for over 100 yards.

— Isaiah Likely will have four catches for over 50 yards and a touchdown.

– Rashod Bateman will have three catches for 35 yards.

— Keaton Mitchell will find the end zone again on a pass out of the backfield for 30 yards.

— Gus Edwards again will have another touchdown in a short-yardage red zone situation.

— Lamar will have a day passing efficiently for 250 yards while Todd Monken keeps the calls balanced.

— Brandon Stephens has another day showing why he’s the Ravens’ best cornerback shutting down whoever he lines across from.

— Odafe Oweh has a sack/forced fumble.

— Keenan Allen will have a touchdown just not against Stephens.

— Herbert will be confused and struggle most of the day until garbage time.

Ravens 27 Chargers 13

Nick Polinsky

The Ravens are once again put under the spotlight as they play their final matchup before the bye. The Chargers are hanging from the edge of the cliff, and another loss on Sunday Night would push them almost completely out of the wild card race. The Justin Herbert to Keenan Allen connection is alive as ever, but outside of Allen The Chargers have lacked pass catching production. Quentin Johnston has been a disaster of a pick especially considering Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison were the two picks directly after him. Zay should see an increase in production with Lamar now without his career-long #1 option. Baltimore rolls in as the new one seed in the AFC, and this is their first challenge in holding on to it, even though the bye week may cause it to slip away anyways.

Here’s what I’m thinking…

• Odell Beckham shows out under the brightest of lights. It doesn’t get much brighter than Sunday Night Football in LA. OBJ goes for 80+ yards and a touchdown.
• With the absence of Mark Andrews, Iowa St.’s former Red Zone threat Charlie Kolar gets his first NFL touchdown.
• After starting the year 1 for 5 from 50+ yards, Justin Tucker sinks two field goals of that nature.
• Baltimore extends their 30+ points streak to six consecutive games.
• This is more of a postgame thing, but I think this is the game that gets Brandon Staley fired. Kellen Moore will be the head coach of the LA Chargers next week.

Ravens 30 Chargers 17

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