Ravens Fall Short Against The Chargers 23-17

There’s no two ways about it. That sucked. The offense completely stalled for a good 3 quarters there and by the time they woke up, it was too little, too late. The Chargers found a way to bring the Lamar Jackson offense to a stop and that’s what lead them to a victory today.

Make no mistake. The Ravens’ defense did their part. They held the Chargers to 243 yards. It’s awfully difficult to win in today’s NFL if you’re held to 243 yards. But the Chargers did a good job of taking advantage of field position and playing conservatively to a lead once they got it. It was extremely key for whatever team who scored first to protect that lead today and the Chargers did that well. Credit to them.

So where does this leave the Ravens? Well, that’s an easier question than most think. Many angered folks in Baltimore are upset that Harbaugh didn’t pull the plug there on Lamar in the 2nd half, but they’re missing the bigger picture. As much as my heart would’ve loved for Joe to come in and try to be a hero there, it was just a wildly ambitious ask. The offense has been completely shifted the last 7 weeks to run out of zone reads and RPO’s. Yes, they could’ve tried to adjust back on the fly, but the incremental benefit would not have been worth it. On top of that, it’s really hard to stand behind a young QB and say it’s his franchise when you pulled the plug on him in the moments where he can learn the most. I hate to say that there’s an element here where we sacrificed a sliver of chance to resurrect our 2018 season, but I think that was the case today and it was the right move. Lamar will take today, along with his comeback effort in the 4th, and be able to apply it forward. You can’t replicate that artificially.

It does suck that the season has to end here. Any time a team has the league’s defense, they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. That was us this year, and most contenders eventually fall short. It sucks that we fell this far short at home. But the Chargers are a great football team who very well might win it all. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Credit it to them, and good luck to them in New England next weekend.

We’ll be better for it after this loss moving forward. AFC North Champions and they can’t take that away from us. Belee Dat.