The Chargers are not on the Ravens’ level yet

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Los Angeles Chargers played back-to-back primetime games. Their opponents: the high-flying Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens, both AFC North powers. After nearly blowing a 21-point lead, the Chargers eventually prevailed with a 34-27 win against the Bengals at SoFi Stadium.

The following week in another high-end NFL game, the Chargers were faced to test their mettle against two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson and a Ravens team that added the power of Derrick Henry to its offense. The Chargers got off to a fast start again, climbing on top of Baltimore with a 10-0 lead.

That didn’t seem to faze Jackson and the Ravens one iota as Baltimore roared back to claim a 30-23 road win. Jackson accounted for three touchdowns and Henry was his usual dominant self, rushing for 140 yards in the victory.

“We’re trying to win, regardless,” Jackson said after the game. “Every game is a playoff game for us. It’s been that way, but when we took that loss, I felt like everyone just died then. It can go either way for us, and we started off winning games in consecutive weeks, back to back. We lost to Cleveland, came back and won, won a couple, then we lose to the Steelers. We just have to keep our foot on the gas. We can’t come up for air. We have to stay down and just stay locked in.” 

The Baltimore win shows that the Chargers are not quite there when it comes to consistently competing and defeating the upper echelon of NFL teams. But they’re getting there, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said.

“What we’re building, what we’re capable of, what that means going forward is it bodes well for us,” Harbaugh remarked. “So back to work, regroup, refit and get ready for the Atlanta Falcons.”

Harbaugh’s brother, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, has already laid the foundation for his football team. Jim Harbaugh is working on building that foundation for his ballclub. 

That difference came into play when the Chargers entertained the Ravens at SoFi Stadium during a Monday Night Football game. 

After going scoreless in the first quarter, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens put 30 points on the scoreboard over the next three periods to put down the Chargers, 30-23. The Ravens made the plays they needed to make and that was the real difference in the ballgame. 

“We’ll regroup,” Jim Harbaugh said after the game. “They played better football than we did tonight but, more importantly, we know what kind of team we are and what we’re capable of and regroup.”

Without much of a ground game, especially in the second half, the Chargers had one offensive possession stall after another. That carried over into third-down efficiency. For the game, the Chargers converted just 5 of 14 attempts on third down, a paltry 35 percent. 

On the other hand, the Ravens made 8 of 15 tries on third down (53 percent) and converted all three fourth plays they attempted. 

“I thought they did a great job in third down and fourth downs,” Jim Harbaugh remarked. “Without a doubt, I mean, three for three on fourth down. They did a great job on third down as well. Over 55 percent.”  

The Ravens did a good job of running the football as well. Led by Henry’s big night, the Ravens rushed for 212 yards. The Chargers started the game off right by giving the football to J.K. Dobbins, who was playing against his former team. 

Dobbins rushed six times for 40 yards before exiting the game in the second quarter due to a knee injury. He would not return and that may have impacted the Chargers’ rushing attack after that.  

“I thought we did a good job running the ball in the first half obviously,” Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said.”Obviously, I’m hoping [RB] J.K. [Dobbins] is okay. [RB] Gus [Edwards] has been an awesome addition, being able to run and go and get some yards.” 

“We just got to stay with it. I think that offensive line has done a great job all year. It didn’t go our way today, but we’re going to keep pounding the ball and keep getting after it,” Herbert added. 

They may not have a choice. The Chargers accumulated a total of 83 yards on the ground. Dobbins’ 40 yards accounted for nearly half of that total. Jim Harbaugh said he was not sure how much of an impact Dobbins leaving the game had on the team’s running attack.    

“I don’t know what degree, what amount,” Jim Harbaugh said about the extent of Dobbins’ injury.  

Dobbins did not practice with the team on Wednesday days ahead of the Chargers game against the Atlanta Falcons. It was later determined that Dobbins is expected to miss some time.