San Diego Chargers Get Late Victory At Baltimore Ravens 34-33
The Chargers came into Baltimore ready for a matchup of 7-4 teams. Both teams have equal strengths on offense and defense so it would come down to every play. The game would be a fight for a playoff spot and it felt like a playoff scenario the whole game.
First Half
The Ravens started the game on offense and had a quick 4 minutes drive that resulted in a Torrey Smith touchdown. Rivers on the next drive was pressured by Elvis Dumervil coming at DJ Fluker and Daryl Smith got the interception. The Chargers defense came in angry to hold the Ravens to a field goal.
The next Chargers drive had Rivers drive quick down field to get a touchdown to Keenan Allen. The Ravens drove down to the 3 yard line but the Chargers defense held them to a field goal again. The Chargers seemed to be driving for the lead but DJ Fluker knocked the football out of Eddie Royal’s hands for a Ravens recovery.
Once again, the Chargers defense came up big in the red zone to hold the Ravens to a field goal. The Chargers ran a quick 2 minute drill to get Nick Novak a 52 yard field goal to get the Chargers momentum. The score was 16-10 at the half.
Second Half
The Chargers came out on offense in the 2nd half yet they had to settle for a field goal. Ravens got great field position on the kickoff but the Chargers defense was playing stone wall. Eric Weddle was frustrated on 3rd down and had a roughing the passer penalty thrown his way which set up a 2nd touchdown to Torrey Smith.
Both teams would chew clock heading into the 4th quarter but the Chargers got the quarter started right. A deep pass to Malcolm Floyd set up Ryan Matthews for a 14 yard touchdown run. The Ravens came out with a 3 point lead so they knew a drive to chew clock would be important. They had an almost 7 minute drive that ended in a Joe Flacco quarterback sneak to push the lead to 30-20.
6 minutes left in the game and the Chargers needed to cut into the 10 point deficit. A couple key penalties bailed the Chargers out of trouble to set up a deep 23 yard shot to Keenan Allen for a touchdown. San Diego cut the lead to 3 points and needed the defense to bring the ball back.
Jacoby Jones blasted the Ravens into Chargers territory with a 77 yard kickoff return. The Chargers defense stopped the Ravens again and held them to a field goal on the 14 yard line. The score sits 33-27 and the Chargers have 2 minutes to tale the lead.
The Chargers came on moving right down the field but the key play was a deep shot to Malcolm Floyd that got called for pass interference. That set up a wide receiver screen touchdown for Eddie Royal to take the lead 34-33.
Ravens had 33 seconds to get into 60 yard range for Justin Tucker. They had the passes open but Brandon Flowers got a smart tackle inbounds to tick the last 5 seconds off the clock. Chargers get the win 34-33.
Final Thoughts
Chargers overcame key mistakes to get an important win to push to playoffs. The defense continued to shut down the Ravens in key situations to hold them to field goals. Rivers played a perfect 2nd half and was not forcing anything. That is a great win on all spectrums of the team. The tough schedule continues as New England Patriots come to San Diego on Sunday Night Football.