San Diego Chargers vs. Baltimore Ravens: Full Report Card Grades for San Diego
The San Diego Chargers have left fans on the edge of their seats in recent weeks, and Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens was no different.
Philip Rivers threw the game-winning touchdown to Eddie Royal with 38 seconds left as the Chargers overcame a pair of 10-point deficits in the second half to stun the Ravens 34-33 on the road. Just last week, San Diego escaped on a last-minute interception to preserve a 27-24 win over the St. Louis Rams.
With the victory, San Diego moves to 8-4 and maintains its grip on the final wild-card seed in the AFC while also keeping pace with the Denver Broncos in the West, but Sunday's outing against Baltimore was far from perfect.
Read on for San Diego's report card grades.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Rivers notched his first 300-yard passing game since Week 6, finishing with 383 yards and three touchdowns against a weak Ravens secondary. On top of completing 75.5 percent of his passes, Rivers threw for 20 of San Diego's 31 first downs and was a big reason for the team's overly successful conversion rate on third down.
It was clear from the get-go that the offensive line wouldn't be able to hold up against Baltimore's aggressive front seven, but Rivers hung in there and made big throws under duress. Even when his starting center went out of the game with an injury, Rivers maintained his cool and led the Chargers 80 yards down the field for the game-winning score.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
Heading into the game, we knew it would be difficult for the Chargers to run the ball against the league's sixth-ranked rushing defense, but Ryan Mathews punished Baltimore without racking up big yardage. San Diego had only 64 yards on the ground with 38 coming from Mathews, but a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter was all the team needed from its rushing attack to be productive.
I applaud offensive coordinator Frank Reich for realizing he wasn't going to to win that battle and opting for the run to set up the pass. The Chargers had 45 pass plays compared to 18 runs.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The Keenan Allen from 2013 made an appearance in Baltimore with 11 catches for a game-high 121 yards and two highlight-worthy touchdown catches. After he was critiqued for three turnovers last week against St. Louis, Allen stepped up his game for the Chargers, which should keep Rivers off his back for at least a little while.
Antonio Gates also chipped in with quite the performance, hauling in several third-down catches while also contributing 83 yards receiving. Jimmy Graham proved last week that the Ravens have problems with big, athletic tight ends, and Gates just furthered that notion with a strong day. Malcom Floyd peppered in three grabs for 85 yards, including a career long of 59 yards.
Then, of course, there was Royal, the hero for San Diego. He finished with nine receptions for 81 yards in addition to his game-winner. The veteran wideout ranks second on the team with six receiving touchdowns this season.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
San Diego was forced to insert a fifth different center on the offensive line after Chris Watt left the game with a calf injury. A position that has been plagued by three season-ending injuries became most vulnerable when Trevor Robinson, who has been with the team since Oct. 6, stepped in to replace Watt in the second half.
But play-calling from Reich and head coach Mike McCoy worked in Robinson's favor as the Chargers went toward quick, short passes late.
The O-line had its moments protecting Rivers on deep passes and on the 14-yard score by Mathews, but Baltimore's front seven dominated up front most of the afternoon, sacking Rivers twice and hitting him five times.
D.J. Fluker had an especially rough day keeping Elvis Dumervil out of the backfield, and things got much worse for the second-year offensive tackle when he appeared to strip the ball from Royal on accident. Fluker was also the culprit who let Dumervil hit Rivers on the arm, forcing an interception.
Grade: D+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Getting pressure on Joe Flacco was a complete fail, and at times, he looked to have more than five good seconds to find his receivers downfield. The Chargers went without a sack and had zero hits on Flacco, per ESPN.com.
Stopping the run was also a struggle, as Justin Forsett managed his third consecutive game of more than 100 yards rushing, but Corey Liuget and Sean Lissemore were active in preventing Forsett from reaching the end zone down near the goal line. Baltimore was forced to settle for four field goals in seven red-zone trips. Liuget and Lissemore had six tackles apiece, and Liuget added three tackles for loss.
Grade: C+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The linebacking corps played a man down with Andrew Gachkar nursing a knee injury, but defensive coordinator John Pagano went forward with Reggie Walker in his place. Melvin Ingram and Dwight Freeney fought hard to get after Flacco, but credit goes to the Baltimore O-line for staying strong. Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele mauled San Diego's linebackers to make space for Forsett in the running game.
Much like the D-line, however, the linebackers stepped it up late to limit Forsett and keep Baltimore to field goals. Kavell Conner, who continues to play well in run support, had a six-tackle effort, and Manti Te'o had four stops.
Grade: C-
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary saved the Chargers a week ago with Marcus Gilchrist's game-sealing interception, but a handful of penalties and blown coverages nearly cost San Diego the win against Baltimore. Shareece Wright and Gilchrist were outplayed by Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, and the both of them gave the Ravens free yardage on several coverage penalties.
Even the savvy veteran Eric Weddle was cited for a costly penalty when he shoved Flacco toward the end of a play for a roughing-the-passer call that helped set up Smith's second touchdown. Brandon Flowers, who was matched on Steve Smith most of the afternoon, had the best game, limiting Smith to one catch for two yards while tallying six tackles and a pass defensed.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Chargers made it known early on that they wouldn't kick to Jones because they knew what he was capable of as a returner, but when the Ravens showed that the squib kicks were actually setting them up with good field position, San Diego instructed Nick Novak to start kicking for the end zone. Jones got a hold of one and returned it 72 yards as part of the 133 yards he notched in returns alone.
San Diego is known for having one of the least gifted coverage teams on kick returns, and Jones showed why. On a lighter note, Novak made both of his field-goal attempts, one from 26 yards and the other from 52 yards (one yard short of his career long). The Chargers kicker is now one field goal away from 100 for his career.
Grade: D+
Coaching
9 of 10
The Chargers have rallied for McCoy to win three straight after their three-game skid before the bye week. Whatever he said at halftime must have worked because it was enough to spark a 21-point fourth quarter after the measly 10 points San Diego put up in the first half.
Pagano's defense continues to weather the storm late in games and overcome mistakes. His front seven stopped Forsett on Baltimore's second-to-last drive for a field goal, and the secondary kept Kamar Aiken from making it out of bounds with the game on the line.
Reich's offense finally awoke from its slumber, posting 30 points for the first time since Week 6. The continued use of screen passes to wideouts has been paying off as of late, and he didn't force the run game when Baltimore had it locked down.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | A |
| Running Back | B |
| WR and TE | A |
| Offensive Line | D+ |
| Defensive Line | C+ |
| Linebacker | C- |
| Secondary | C- |
| Special Teams | D+ |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | C+ |
It's a big win for San Diego considering how hard it was to come by and who it was against, but the Chargers need to prepare for a huge test next Sunday night with the mighty New England Patriots paying a visit to Qualcomm Stadium.
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