5 takeaways from the Ravens 20-10 Sunday Night Football win over Chargers

by | Nov 27, 2023 | Baltimore Ravens

It was ugly. It was disgusting. But it was the Baltimore Ravens in a 20-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Baltimore’s defense showed up in primetime, forcing four turnovers and two turnovers on downs in the game. The Chargers were held to 86 yards on the ground and had 279 total yards. The Ravens were up and down on offense, scoring just 20 points and finishing with 361 yards. Baltimore’s ground game was strong and ended with 197 yards.

Here are five takeaways from the Ravens 20-10 win over the Chargers.

Ravens flock to the football

It seemed like nothing got past Baltimore’s defense. The Ravens held the Chargers to 107 total yards in the first half, mainly due to the team forcing turnovers. 

Los Angeles’ first turnover came with 3:42 left with Justin Herbert tossing to Keenan Allen, before Roquan Smith and Jadeveon Clowney met Allen and forced a fumble. Brent Urban recovered the ball at the Chargers 34 yard line. Herbert went on to hit Austin Ekeler for a pass before the latter was promptly stripped by Patrick Queen and the ball was recovered by Michael Pierce with 36 seconds left. Then, Herbert was picked off by Arthur Maulet to end the first half.

With 12:40 remaining in the fourth quarter and Herbert marching his offense to the Baltimore 16 yard line, Clowney had a strip sack and recovered the ball at the Baltimore 23 yard line.

Lamarvelous in the first half…not so much in the second

It’s pretty fair to say that Lamar Jackson was crisp in the first half. He went 12-for-18 on passes for 115 yards and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers with 10-:46 remaining in the second quarter and added five carries for 25 yards on the ground. 

Jackson’s eyes scanned the field and it was evident by the different receivers that he hit – connecting with Isiah Likely four times for 40 yards, Odell Beckham had three catches for 34 yards, Rashod Bateman caught two passes for 21 yards, Keaton Mitchell added a reception for 14 yards, along with Zay Flowers’ two snags for six yards and a touchdown.

The only problem is that Jackson completed just six more passes in the game, going 6-for-14 with 62 yards passing. He slightly missed a deep ball that was intended for Flowers that would’ve put the game out of reach earlier for the Chargers. Though Jackson finished with 177 passing yards, his gravity was felt in the running game with nine carries for 41 yards. It still resulted in a win.

Zay Flowers called game and had two funny celebrations

Flowers had a bouquet toss celebration after his first touchdown.

He later scored after Baltimore forced a turnover on downs with time waning off of the clock in the fourth quarter. It was a 37-yard rush on a handoff from Jackson. Flowers promptly set the ball down in the endzone and Beckham pretended to be a goalie – Flowers kicked the ball past Beckham and did a Cristiano Ronaldo-esque celebration. The rookie wide receiver compiled 62 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-10 win.

Coaching mistakes rear its ugly head

Jackson seemingly picked up a first down with a 3-yard rush on third and three, escaping from a collapsed pocket and reaching the ball over the first down marker before getting out of bounds. The referees spotted the ball short of the first down mark and instead of challenging the call, Baltimore rushed to the line for a Gus Edwards direct snap that was stuffed for no gain and  a turnover on downs at the Chargers 27 with 4:18 left in the first half. 

Todd Monken’s offensive play calling was confusing in the second half too. After two big runs by Jackson (eight yards) and Keaton Mitchell (29 yards), Monken calls a passing play – leading to an intentional grounding penalty by Jackson. 

With Baltimore backed up 12 yards on its own 38 yard line, Jackson hit Nelson Agholor for a 22-yard gain with Agholor stretching the ball past the first down marker. Once again, Baltimore was spotted short and instead of challenging, the Ravens went quick and once again, Jackson threw an incomplete pass. After converting the first down, Baltimore went away from the running game again with screen passes and Jordan Stout punted.

Later on, Herbert threw a pass to Allen that was lateraled to Austin Ekeler for a first down. Harbaugh decided to toss the challenge flag – it was unsuccessful. Baltimore was left with one timeout for the fourth quarter due to the baffling decision.

Mike Macdonald is going to be a Head Coach

That’s it. His defense held Herbert to 217 yards, one touchdown pass and an interception. Ekeler was held to 3.2 yards per carry on 10 carries for 32 yards. The Chargers had 279 yards. Baltimore had three sacks, three forced fumbles, an interception and two back-to-back turnovers on downs to finish off the game. 

Macdonald deserves to be a head coach next season. It’s clear, but the question is, “For who?” The Washington Commanders play right down the Beltway from Baltimore – maybe they’d give him a look. Buffalo may have an opening and they have a ready-made team for Macdonald to compete. He could just start fresh with a younger team too, but the sky’s the limit for 36-year old Ravens defensive coordinator. 

Maybe he might be the Ravens head coach in the future. Who knows?

Kyle Andrews
Kyle Andrews

Kyle J. Andrews is a 2018 University of Baltimore and Mount Saint Joseph High School graduate, along with former sports reporter for the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., the Baltimore Sun Media Group, 105.7 The Fan, Baltimore Beatdown, and Fox Sports 1340 AM. He has covered the Orioles, Ravens, high school sports in the Baltimore area and Central Pennsylvania, minor league baseball, Penn State and Maryland athletics and more.

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