Jim Harbaugh still hasn’t beaten his older brother.
The third HarBowl between John Harbaugh and his brother Jim went to John, again. The Baltimore Ravens fell behind 10 points early but then overwhelmed the Los Angeles Chargers the rest of the way. The Ravens went on to a 30-23 win with Lamar Jackson throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another.
The Harbaughs coached against each other twice when Jim was the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and John won both meetings, including Super Bowl XLVII. Monday’s result wasn’t due to John outcoaching Jim, though John had some strong decisions, including going for it on a key fourth down from his own 16-yard line. The mismatch was due more to John Harbaugh having a much better roster to work with. The Ravens have some flaws, especially on defense, but they’re still significantly ahead of the Chargers
Give Jim Harbaugh some time. He’s doing just fine in his first season back in the NFL. The Chargers are 7-4, even after the loss, and likely to get a wild-card playoff spot. And maybe sometime soon he can have another rematch against his brother, and perhaps get a win against him.
Big 4th down gamble pays off
One of the bolder coaching decisions of the NFL season paid off big for the Ravens late in the first half.
On their own 16-yard line, the Ravens acted like they were going to go for it just before the two-minute warning, trying to draw the Chargers offsides. That didn’t work, so it appeared they’d punt after the two-minute warning. But the offense came on the field, tight end Mark Andrews took a snap and sneaked it ahead for the first down. That gave the Ravens’ offense some life, and the drive ended with Rashod Bateman’s 40-yard touchdown catch. That gave the Ravens a 14-10 halftime lead after they fell behind 10-0 early in the game.
The Chargers executed a very nice 24-second drive to end the half, picking up 36 yards to set up a 52-yard field goal as the second quarter expired. The Chargers trailed 14-13 going into halftime.
The defenses kept each offense out of the end zone in the third quarter. The Ravens lead was 17-16 going into the fourth quarter. It was a well-coached game between two good teams. As expected.
Ravens pull away in 4th
The Ravens extended their lead early in the fourth quarter on a nice jumping touchdown catch in the end zone by tight end Mark Andrews.
The Chargers might have answered, but there was an egregious drop by 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston on a third-and-6. Johnston could have turned it up for a huge gain, but it went right through his hands and the Chargers punted.
It wasn’t a long Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry run that broke it open after that. It was Justice Hill who took a third-down handoff to the outside and found a seam for a 51-yard score. The Ravens led 30-16 after that big play and it was going to be very hard for the Chargers to come back from that. An LA touchdown in the final minute made the score look closer.
The Ravens have been a machine on offense in most games this season. The win gets the Ravens to 8-4, just behind the 8-3 Steelers for first place in the AFC North. At their best, the Ravens are a Super Bowl contender with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson leading the way. The Ravens are also superbly coached. So are the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh just needs a little more time to get his team to the same position John has his.
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