Chargers (12-4) at Ravens (10-6)
Sunday 1:05 p.m. ET, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore TV: CBS
Danny Sheridan’s line: Ravens by 3
Chargers’ keys to victory: The Chargers need to get the ball to RB Melvin Gordon more often than the 15 touches he had during the teams’ Week 16 meeting. The Chargers also must better protect QB Philip Rivers, who was sacked four times in that game, helping lead to one of his two interceptions. Defensively, they need to shut down Ravens RB Gus Edwards early and force the Ravens into third-and-long situations.
Ravens’ keys to victory: Running the ball effectively will keep a potent Chargers’ offense off the field. It will also allow QB Lamar Jackson to keep the defense guessing and open up big passing plays. They need to be better finishing drives after they missed two field goal attempts in Week 16 and scored only one offensive touchdown. They should hit Rivers all game again to frustrate him and force him into bad decisions.
Matchup to watch: Chargers RB Melvin Gordon vs. Ravens’ defense. Gordon, who left Week 17 as a precaution, is the biggest part of the Chargers’ offense: on the ground, as a receiver and as a blocker. The Ravens limited him on the stat sheet last time out, which disrupted the Chargers’ game plan. But his biggest faults were in missed blocks that either put pressure in Rivers’ face or caused drive-killing sacks.
Who wins? The Ravens beat up on the Chargers 22-10 in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, and this matchup will be harder for the Chargers because it’s in Baltimore. The Ravens will lean on their running game and harass Rivers for another sound victory.
Ravens, 24-10