Ravens Get the Job Done on Sunday Night Football
The NFL’s Week 12 Sunday Night Football matchup was a big one for both teams. For the Los Angeles Chargers, they came into this matchup with a record of 4-6, they vitally needed a win if they wanted to have any remote chance of being in the AFC’s playoff hunt. While the Baltimore Ravens, came into this game as one of the best teams in the league, they desperately want to hold onto that first-place spot in the AFC North. The Ravens would take this game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California defeating the Chargers 20-10. Let’s check out how Baltimore won this important matchup.
With nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, Los Angeles would get on the board first as Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker knocked down a 39-yard field goal. During the second quarter, Baltimore would take a lead after Lamar Jackson gave the ball to Zay Flowers who rushed three yards into the end zone for the touchdown. A few possessions later, Justin Herbert would fumble the ball with less than four minutes in the half. This fumble would be the first of many for the Chargers. Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker hit a 42-yard field goal with a minute and nineteen seconds left. On the next possession, Austin Ekeler would fumble the ball, although the Ravens got the ball back, they would turn it over on downs with eight seconds on the clock. Herbert would throw a meaningless Hail Mary that would get caught by Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet. The Baltimore Ravens had a 10-3 lead after two quarters of play.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Justin Tucker kicked in a 48-yard field goal to make it a ten-point lead for Baltimore. On the Chargers' second drive of the second half, they held the ball for close to nine minutes and got 19 plays out of it. All that hard work down the field meant nothing when Justin Herbert got sacked and fumbled the ball. Herbert made up for it on Los Angeles’ next possession when he threw a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gerald Everett to make it a 13-10 ballgame. Baltimore had an opportunity to extend their lead in the late stages of the game, but Justin Tucker missed the field goal with three minutes left in the game. Now, the Chargers had a lot of game clock to make something happen, unfortunately for Los Angeles, that didn’t happen as they turned the ball over on downs. Zay Flowers would seize the opportunity to end this Week 12 matchup, he ran 37 yards for a touchdown. Tucker would nail in the extra point, and the Baltimore Ravens would walk away in this one with a 20-10 win. This win pushes the Ravens to 9-3, they currently hold the number one playoff spot in the AFC, while the Chargers go to a poor 4-8 record.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson went 18-32 with 177 passing yards and a touchdown. Jackson also ran the ball 11 times for 39 rushing yards. Baltimore’s running back Keaton Mitchell ran the ball nine times for 64 yards, while the Ravens' top receiver was Isaiah Likely who had four receptions for 40 yards. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went 29-44 hauling 217 passing yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception. Herbert ran four times for 47 rushing yards. Los Angeles’ wide receiver Keenan Allen had 14 catches for 106 yards. During Week 13, the Ravens will be enjoying their Bye Week, while the Chargers will face the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
