Sunday night’s live updates between the Ravens and Chargers: score, highlights, and major plays
The Baltimore Ravens (8-3) have assumed the role of No. 1 seed in the conference by winning five of their past six games.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has seven touchdowns and only one interception in those five victories, and he has helped the Ravens offense score at least 31 points in five games in a row.
The Los Angeles Chargers have dropped consecutive games, both by three points, to fall into the basement of the AFC West.
Their defense has sputtered most of the season, ranking second to last in total D and dead last against the pass.
Head coach Brandon Staley badly needs to get things on the right track as his hot seat gets warmer.
L.A. took an early lead by driving down the field on its opening drive of the night, but the possession stalled deep in Ravens territory after an obvious late hit out of bounds against Justin Herbert went uncalled, and tight end Gerald Everett was instead flagged for retaliating against a Baltimore defender.
Following Cameron Dicker’s field goal, the Chargers managed only 38 yards of offense on 14 plays.
Baltimore piled up a decent amount of yardage in the first half and Lamar Jackson was relatively efficient throwing the ball (12 of 18 for 115 yards and a touchdown), but the Ravens also only managed to score once on their first three possessions.
At the tail end of a strong drive, Jackson found rookie wideout Zay Flowers in the back of the end zone from 3 yards out to give the team its first lead of the night.
Then, after a late second-quarter fumble by Keenan Allen, the Ravens got back on the board. The fumble set them up with great field position, and even though the drive didn’t go very far, Justin Tucker was able to add to Baltimore’s tally from 42 yards out.
The Chargers had another chance to drive for a trying score, but Austin Ekeler fumbled on a checkdown.
Will the Ravens hang onto their lead, or will the Chargers stage a comeback? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, keep it locked to our live blog throughout the rest of the evening as we update you with stats, scores, and highlights.
Two teams at opposite ends of their respective divisions are set to face off at the end of the holiday weekend.
The Ravens, who lead the AFC North, travel out west Sunday to visit the Chargers, who are last in AFC West standings.
Ravens tight end Mark Andrews will undergo surgery on his ankle following a hip-drop tackle from the Bengals.
Unless Baltimore makes a deep playoff run, Andrews is out for the season. He leads receiving touchdowns with six and is the second-leading receiver.
Joey Bosa was carted off against the Packers, suffering a foot sprain. He was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four games; coach Brandon Staley said it is “to be determined” if the pass-rusher will return to the field this season.
Averaging 3.4 sacks per game as a team, Bosa’s injury is a massive loss for the Chargers, who could use all the help they can get when trying to reach Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Los Angeles defense is already last in the league in passing yards per game; it’ll need to get Jackson out of the pocket if it has any hope of pulling off an upset.
Forget the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, the Baltimore Ravens might suddenly be the best team in the AFC.
The Ravens already hold the top seed in the AFC, and are looking to keep hold of that position when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12.
The Chargers, on the other hand, are fighting to stay relevant. At 4-6, the team needs to reel off multiple wins to be considered a serious playoff contender. That’s not impossible with Justin Herbert under center, but it’s going to be tough.