Chargers vs. Ravens: Full Game Grades for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens and San Diego Chargers faced off in Week 13 with both teams looking to boost their chances of making the playoffs.
Baltimore entered this one at 7-4 and just one half of a game behind the first-place Cincinnati Bengals. San Diego entered at 7-4 as well and tied with Baltimore, among other teams, for one of the two wild-card spots in the AFC.
Baltimore got off to a fast start after it took the opening kickoff and marched down the field before Joe Flacco hit Torrey Smith for a 16-yard score to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead.
The defense then made a big play after Daryl Smith intercepted Philip Rivers and returned the ball into the red zone. However, Baltimore's offense would eventually settle for a field goal, and this was a sign of things to come.
The Chargers responded with a touchdown of their own after Rivers hit Keenan Allen for a 12-yard score to cut Baltimore's lead to 10-7.
Baltimore would continue to click on offense but twice would settle for field goals in the second quarter to take a 16-7 lead.
The Chargers would get into position for Nick Novak to kick a 52-yard field goal as the first half ended, leaving the Ravens with a 16-10 lead at halftime.
Though Baltimore had the lead, it was dominating the game enough that it should have been up by more than six points. This would come back to haunt the Ravens.
After the Chargers opened the second half with a field goal, Baltimore responded with Flacco hitting Torrey Smith for a 10-yard score to put the Ravens up 23-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
San Diego answered with a 14-yard score by Ryan Mathews to cut the lead to 23-20. Baltimore would respond again with a touchdown, this one being a Flacco one-yard score at the goal line.
That gave Baltimore a 30-20 lead with 6:13 left in the game, and it felt as though Baltimore finally had pulled away. However, the Chargers got a quick score after Rivers hit Allen for a 23-yard score to cut the lead to 30-27.
After a long kickoff return by Jacoby Jones got Baltimore into the red zone, the team once again settled for field goal to extend its lead to 33-27.
Though the Ravens had thoroughly dominated this game, they managed to leave San Diego with a chance to win. Rivers led the Chargers down the field, and after a pass-interference penalty put them at the Ravens 1-yard line, Rivers hit Eddie Royal for the score to give the Chargers a 34-33 lead with 38 seconds left.
Baltimore had one last gasp on offense. But after Flacco hit Kamar Aiken at the Chargers 41-yard line, he was tackled in bounds with three seconds left, and Baltimore was unable to get another play off as it lost a heartbreaker, 34-33.
Here are my grades for each Ravens unit for this game.
Quarterback
1 of 9
Joe Flacco played well in this one, and though he only threw for 225 yards, he consistently guided the offense into scoring position enough so that Baltimore should have won this game.
He got off to a fast start after he hit Torrey Smith for a 16-yard score to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead on Baltimore's first possession.
He went on to get Baltimore into three more positions to score in the first half, but on each occasion, the Ravens were forced to settle for field goals.
After the Chargers cut the lead to 16-13 in the third quarter, Flacco responded by hitting Torrey Smith for a 10-yard score to put the Ravens up 23-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
Flacco would lead the offense down the field again before scoring on a quarterback sneak at the goal line to put Baltimore up 30-20 late in the fourth quarter.
However, San Diego would score twice in the final six minutes of the game to escape with a 34-33 win. In the end, Flacco accounted for all three of Baltimore's touchdowns.
While he could have done more to get at least one more touchdown, Flacco certainly wasn't why Baltimore lost this one.
Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 9
Like Joe Flacco, the running backs were good but not great in this one. Justin Forsett rushed for 106 yards on 24 carries to go with two catches for 17 yards, but he didn't score in this game.
Other than him, there was nothing to speak of. Bernard Pierce was the only other running back to get a carry, but his 16 yards on six carries didn't do much.
The Ravens had success on the ground when they went with Forsett, and maybe if they'd gave him more carries they could have gotten at least one more touchdown.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 9
Torrey Smith was on his way to having one of his best games in his career in this one before things went terribly wrong.
Smith got it started on the game's first drive, catching a 10-yard pass for the score to put Baltimore up 7-0. He finished the first half with three catches for 43 yards and a score while also drawing a key pass-interference penalty that set up a Ravens field goal.
Smith would then catch another 10-yard score in the third quarter that gave Baltimore a 23-13 lead. However, Torrey was forced from the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.
He finished the game with six catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-33 loss. Steve Smith was nonexistent, catching one pass for two yards.
Kamar Aiken chipped in three catches for 51 yards. Other than Torrey, no Ravens receiver managed to stand out. Had one more guy stepped up, the Ravens probably could have won this game.
Grade: C
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 9
The Ravens offensive line was fully in control of this game when the offense was between the 20-yard lines. When Baltimore got into the red zone was when the line was unable to get that final push on the ground.
The Ravens had seven trips to the red zone but only converted three of them into touchdowns. Two were passes by Joe Flacco, and another was a QB sneak by Flacco.
The line did a nice job of opening up holes for Justin Forsett to have a good day rushing, but when the Ravens got into the red zone, the line was unable to get that same push to open those holes.
Baltimore also did well in pass protection, as Flacco wasn't sacked, and San Diego's defense didn't even register a QB hit on him, per ESPN.
Though Baltimore lost this one, the offensive line was the MVP of this game.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
5 of 9
As a whole, the Baltimore defense let the team down Sunday afternoon. This unit has been dominant for much of this season, but that was not the case on this day.
It all started up front, as the defensive line wasn't holding its gaps, which allowed Chargers running backs to burst through the hole for big plays.
San Diego finished with just 64 yards rushing on 18 carries, but several big runs helped put the Chargers into scoring positions. The biggest of which came from Ryan Mathews, who gashed Baltimore for a 14-yard score in the fourth quarter.
The line also rarely touched Philip Rivers. Rookie Timmy Jernigan did sack Rivers, but Ravens defensive linemen combined for just 10 tackles and one QB hit.
Overall, the line just didn't do enough, but it's not why the Ravens ultimately lost either.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 9
Though the defense let Baltimore down, the linebackers once again came up big. Daryl Smith started it with a first-quarter interception that led to a Ravens field goal.
He and fellow inside linebacker C.J. Mosley combined for 14 tackles and two pass deflections. Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs recorded his sixth sack of the season to go with two tackles for loss.
As a whole, the Ravens linebackers flew around the field and kept the Chargers in check for three quarters. However, they didn't make the big play in the fourth quarter, allowing the Chargers to come back and steal this one.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 9
The Ravens secondary was badly exposed in this one, and it's the primary culprit responsible for this loss.
The front seven played well enough to keep the Chargers in check, but the secondary gave up too many big plays. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had a season-high 383 passing yards and tied his season high of three touchdowns.
Baltimore defensive backs simply could not keep up with Chargers receivers, and Rivers found the open man on almost every throw he made.
Even when Rivers didn't complete the pass, Baltimore defensive backs committed several crucial pass-interference penalties. The final came on San Diego's final drive in which Anthony Levine interfered with Eddie Royal.
That penalty put San Diego at the 1-yard line, and the Chargers would punch it in for the game-winning score. Though the entire Ravens team is at fault for this loss, the secondary deserves a large part of the blame.
Grade: D-
Special Teams
8 of 9
Justin Tucker had quite a day kicking the ball, and he scored the most points of any player in this game. He converted all four of his field-goal attempts in addition to three extra points, giving him 15 points in this game.
Punter Sam Koch did not do as well. Though he punted just once in this game, it was only a 39-yard punt that didn't do much in terms of giving Baltimore a field-position advantage.
Jacoby Jones had a good day returning the ball, and his 72-yard return in the fourth quarter almost iced the game for Baltimore.
Jones returned the ball to the San Diego 30-yard line with 3:40 left. That gave the Ravens a golden opportunity to put this game away while holding a 30-27 lead.
However, the offense went three-and-out before settling for a field goal. The specials did their part in this game, and they more than did enough to get Baltimore the win, which it squandered.
Grade: A
Cumulative Grade
9 of 9
Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
QB | B+ |
RB | B+ |
WR/TE | C |
OL | A |
DL | B |
LB | B+ |
Secondary | D- |
ST | A |
Cumulative Grade | C+ |
There's no one person, position or coach to blame for this loss. Each position played its part in giving this game away to San Diego.
The defense collapsed in the second half after playing great for the first three quarters while holding San Diego to just 13 points through the first three quarters.
The offense repeatedly settled for field goals and blew several opportunities to score more points and keep the Chargers from being able to rally.
The coaches for whatever reason can't seem to correct the frequent penalties that continue to plague this team. The Ravens committed an astounding 14 penalties for 98 yards.
This is a tough loss to take, and Baltimore cannot let this one linger into next week with a matchup with the Miami Dolphins on deck.
Just as was the case this week, Miami and Baltimore are two teams in the thick of the playoff picture.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
