The Baltimore Ravens (7-4) visit Los Angeles to play the Chargers (7-3) on Monday Night Football in the first matchup in 12 years between head coaching brothers Jim and John Harbaugh. Our Ravens vs Chargers prediction is for underdog Los Angeles to cover the light 2.5-point spread. Also, the teams will combine to score less than 50.5 points.
The brothers have met twice as head coaches with John winning both. The first was in 2011 when Jim was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Baltimore won 16-6. The second was somewhat more important in Super Bowl XLVII the next year. Baltimore won 34-31.
Three years later, Jim was in Ann Arbor coaching his alma mater, the University of Michigan. In 2023, he won the CFP National Championship and fled, returning to the NFL just as a Bill Belichick-esque sign-stealing scandal engulfed his program.
Offshore Odds: Baltimore Slightly Favored on the Road
| Team | Spread | Money Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravens | -2.5 (-115) | -145 | O 50.5 (-110) |
| Chargers | +2.5 (-105) | +125 | U 50.5 (-110) |
Baltimore Needs a Win for Playoff Positioning
Baltimore sits in second place in the AFC North behind Pittsburgh. Cleveland did them a huge favor by upsetting the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. A Ravens win puts them one-half game out of first place.
Los Angeles is 7-3. A win over Baltimore gives them a head-to-head tiebreaker for the playoffs.
This is a key game.
Pittsburgh’s hard-hitting defense and ball-control offense slowed Baltimore’s scoring machine in Week 11. In Weeks 10 and 11, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh held running back Derrick Henry to 68 and 65 yards. The Steelers largely contained Lamar Jackson.
For Baltimore to win, they must reverse this trend and limit how much damage Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert inflicts on their secondary.
Justin Herbert Will Come Out Firing
Jim Harbaugh’s teams are known for their aggressiveness and all-for-one style of play. For obvious reasons, John Harbaugh is initmately acquainted with this. The Chargers are not dominating in any area, but they are solid enough in all areas to eke out victories.
Herbert has played in a conservative West Coast offense and it’s worked. He’s thrown 13 touchdown passes and only one interception and his passer rating is 102.1 using that safe strategy.
However, in this game, he’ll light up the sky, trying to take advantage of Baltimore’s secondary, which is among the league’s worst.
The Chargers’ defense leads the league in fewest points allowed per game. Los Angeles will mimic the Steelers’ strategy of keeping the ball out of Jackson’s hands with Herbert being more aggressive downfield than Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson.
Ravens vs Chargers Prediction: LA Wins a Low-Scoring Affair
If the score is kept below 40 points, Baltimore will lose. The Ravens’ secondary is a big problem that gets worse when they, as a team, face an opponent that does not make mistakes and contains their key offensive weapons. That’s what happened in Pittsburgh and that’s what will happen in LA.
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