(Photo: Clutchpoints)
AFC Game Of The Week
Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
Ravens: It’s one thing to lose football games. I understand you won’t be perfect and you can run into a roadblock or two here and there. But to lose a game to a rival who didn’t even score a single touchdown in the game is a different type of feeling. Sunday in Pittsburgh may have been the best I’ve seen them look all year long, but the effort was wasted because of inconsistent offense. Every time I read or hear someone say this is a legit contender, they always fall back 1,000 steps and show why people continue to question if they are for real or not. All season long, I’ve been saying for the Baltimore Ravens to succeed and win football games, the key is Derrick Henry and feeding him the ball at least 20 times for him to have an impact. Let’s look back at everything that went wrong against the Steelers. First, Justin Tucker missed two field goals which was six points left on the table, Derrick Henry had only 13 carries and lastly, Lamar Jackson completed less than 50 percent of his passes and this ended up being the worst game of the season for the reigning MVP. I want to believe this team can be mentioned in the bracket with the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, but they are far too inconsistent for my liking. Everything I listed is the blueprint to beating this football team which is bottling up the run forcing Lamar to beat you. This isn’t any shade or disrespect to Lamar, but it’s denying the best weapon from having his way on your defense (Derrick). This Monday night, the Ravens will battle the Los Angeles Chargers.
Chargers: I remember when I recorded a phone call for Monday Evening Quarterback and was asked who was one team I’d keep my eye on. I said it was this team in the AFC because of the coach. I can’t say enough about Jim Harbaugh and the job he’s done this year. This always appears to be the result with him wherever he goes which is a turnaround and winning football games. He finished his tenure with the Stanford Cardinal with a 29-21 record, next, it’s San Francisco, and in each of his first three seasons, he led them to the NFC Championship and one Super Bowl appearance, then, he went back to Ann Arbor to become the Head Coach of the Michigan Wolverines and he left as a National Champion before returning to the NFL. In a conference with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers have all been successful this year, the Los Angeles Chargers are 7-3 and quietly going about business. Again, you can hit me with the “who have they played” talk, but at the end of the day, you play who’s on your schedule and beat who you beat. Brandon Staley was hands down the problem and relieving him of his duties was the best thing to happen to this organization. L.A. has truly taken on the identity of Jim which is being a hard-nosed team and playing strong defense. Also, he is the best thing to happen to Justin Herbert because he doesn’t have to be that hero I often describe. This isn’t a flashy team. It’s been timely offense and opportunistic defense. All they were missing was stability at Head Coach and this is exactly what Jim has provided. It’s another primetime game for the Chargers this Monday night and they host Baltimore.
Ravens X-Factor: Isaiah Likely– He’s become such a key part of the Ravens offense and this year, I’ve seen Lamar look his way a lot more. When Mark Andrews got hurt last year, Isaiah stepped it up and earned the trust of the Quarterback. When he catches the ball, he moves so quickly up the field and thrives on those yards after the catch. This is a versatile Tight End that catches screen passes, runs the seam routes, and catches the ball in the flat. He reminds me a lot of Julius Thomas who played for the Denver Broncos.
Chargers X-Factor: Quentin Johnston– I enjoyed watching him at TCU as he was a key piece of their run to the National Championship in 2022. In his rookie year, he had a rocky start to his NFL career. With Mike Williams and Keenan Allen each gone, I had a feeling Quentin’s name and number would be called upon more. He’s your typical possession receiver standing tall at 6’5 and Justin has looked his way a lot more this season. I remember back during his college days, Quentin would always catch with his chest and now, it’s all hands which he has improved on.
Final Thoughts: I had a feeling back in May that I would get my hands on this game. It’s just the third edition of the “Harbowl” and both Jim and John will be squaring off for the first time since Super Bowl XLVII when the Ravens faced the San Francisco 49ers. Now, the brothers will square on Monday night at SoFi. I expect the Ravens to come out aggressive and will look to send a message early on after many self-inflicted wounds last weekend in Pittsburgh. I know the Chargers won on Sunday night, but they should still be ashamed of themselves for allowing the Bengals to climb back into that football game. One matchup I’ll be watching is this Baltimore run defense against former Raven and now Charger, J.K. Dobbins. Baltimore has one of the elite run defenses in the league, but even the best units can buckle as the Steelers ran the ball a total of 34 times, so getting off the field will be key for the Ravens. Justin Herbert has started to heat up after a slow start and he will take advantage of a secondary that has allowed 22 scores through the air. For as good as the Chargers have been defensively this year, the Bengals were able to get through and show that they can be had. L.A. is more than capable of hanging around with this Baltimore offense. As I mentioned, the Chargers can be had on defense which will play into Baltimore’s hands. I like the Ravens to bounce back and win a big-time road game. Big Brother will defeat Little Brother again.
Prediction: Ravens 31, Chargers 27
