Chargers vs. Ravens: Breaking Down Baltimore's Game Plan

The Baltimore Ravens have a tough stretch of games to end the regular season, and it starts this week with the San Diego Chargers coming to town. Both teams enter the week with 7-4 records and firmly in the playoff discussion.

As it turns out though, it's the Chargers who currently hold the AFC's No. 6 seed and final wild-card spot, while the Ravens sit at No. 7 and currently out of the playoff picture, per ESPN's playoff standings. 

Needless to say, if Baltimore wants to make it to the playoffs, it needs to win this game at home. With only five games left, three of which are at home, if the Ravens can just defend their turf and win out at home, they'll get to 10 wins and probably make it to the playoffs. 

That starts this week with San Diego, who enters this game with a team that relies more on its defense than it does its offense. The Chargers currently rank 20th in total offense and ninth in total defense. 

Beating the Chargers involves a pretty simply formula, and it begins with winning the turnover battle. The Chargers offense is easy to stop if you don't turn the ball over and give them a short field to work with.

In fact, San Diego is 0-3 this year when it loses the turnover battle. The only game in which San Diego won the turnover battle and still lost came in Week 1. That was an 18-17 loss at Arizona, who currently is tied for the NFL's best record at 9-2. 

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

As it stands, the Chargers are 5-1 when they win the turnover battle and 2-0 when they tie it. If Baltimore can just avoid turning the ball over while forcing the Chargers into a few, that will greatly increase its odds of winning this one. 

The next key to winning is to run the ball effectively. The Ravens have done that very well this year, ranking sixth in rushing offense. That's how they won at New Orleans in Week 12. 

That game saw Baltimore run for 215 yards and escape with a 34-27 win. That kept the Saints offense off the field while also allowing Baltimore's defense to stay rested and energized to stop the Saints. 

It just so happens that the Chargers defense, while ranking ninth in total defense, ranks 22nd in yards per rush (4.4). When teams run the ball on San Diego, they often have success, and Baltimore should do the same Sunday to beat the Chargers.

It doesn't help that the Chargers run defense has struggled more as the season has wore on. Per ESPN's Eric D. Williams and Jamison Hensley, the Chargers are giving up an average of 120.6 yards per game. So long as Baltimore is running the ball, it should be moving the ball effectively on San Diego. 

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The final key to beating the Chargers is to pressure quarterback Philip Rivers. When Rivers is given time in the pocket, he's as deadly of a QB as there is in the NFL.

However, when you get pressure in his face enough, he makes bad decisions. In San Diego's three losses this year, Rivers has been sacked seven times, fumbled three times and thrown seven interceptions. 

Baltimore has done a great job of pressuring QBs, as evidenced by its 29 sacks, the eighth most in the NFL. In its Week 12 win at New Orleans, Baltimore sacked Drew Brees four times and forced him to throw a key pick-six in the third quarter that gave Baltimore the lead for good. 

In summary, the game plan for Baltimore is pretty cut-and-dried: pressure the passer, run the ball and don't turn the ball over. Do those three things, and the Ravens will beat the Chargers and pass them in the playoff standings. 

Statistics in this article not otherwise cited are courtesy of ESPN