Ravens – Chargers: Interior pass rush poised to dominate among critical matchups

This AFC clash features key battles between specific players, units, and coaches.

The Baltimore Ravens will stay on the road in Week 12 where they will travel to the West Coast to play the Los Angeles Chargers in the third edition of the Harbaugh Bowl in primetime on Monday Night Football. For the tenth straight week, the Ravens are favored to come out on top in this clash of AFC contenders with so many ties to each other from the coaching staff, front office and players on both the active and practice squad roster.

However, games aren’t won on paper or decided by betting odds. There are some pivotal matchups between individual players, units, and coaches that will go a long way in determining the outcome of this contest.

Below are a handful of those key battles that could be deciding factors in Week 12.

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Ravens interior defensive line v. Chargers interior offensive line

Baltimore’s edge defenders are facing the daunting task of taking on arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the league with Pro Bowl blindside protector Rashawn Slater and first-round rookie Joe Alt. However, the Chargers aren’t nearly as stout between the tackles where the Ravens defensive tackle trio of Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones and Broderick Washington can be consistently disruptive as pocket pushers and interior pass rushers. They have seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits between them and the group is primed to add to that total going up against former Ravens center Bradley Bozeman and third-year pro Zion Johnson who Jones treated like nothing more than a rag doll in last year’s meeting between these two teams.

Ravens run defense v. Chargers rush offense

Even though the Chargers have a run-based offense, their rushing attack is far from the most potent and efficient. They rank 20th in EPA per rush with a mark of -0.06, 26th in rushing success rate, tied for 10th in yards per rush with 4.2 and 18th in overall rushing yards with 1,216 which is only 31 yards than Derrick Henry’s league-leading total of 1,185 yards through 11 games. Former Ravens running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards will have their work cut out for them on Monday given how stout their former defensive compatriots are against the run. The Ravens have given up the second-fewest rushing yards this season and are only allowing an average of 77.5 yards on the ground per game—second-best—and a league-low 3.4 yards per attempt.

CB Marlon Humphrey v. WR Ladd McConkey

Seemingly anytime the Chargers need a key conversion in the passing game, the second-rookie is who quarterback Justin Herbert looks to and relies upon the most often and has delivered spectacularly at times. McConkey is a crisp route-runner with explosive short-area quickness and dangerous run-after-the-catch ability. He leads Los Angeles and ranks fourth among all rookie pass catchers with 615 receiving yards with 43 catches and four touchdowns. Since he operates from the slot and outwide, he’ll likely match up with the Ravens’ three-time Pro Bowl corner in this game which could make for some exciting one-on-ones on third and long or any other obvious passing situations.

WR Zay Flowers v. Chargers cornerbacks

The second-year pro has been key to the Ravens’ fast starts this season on offense and is the team’s leading receiver in targets (79), receptions (52) and receiving yards (727). Flowers has four games of 100-plus receiving yards with most of his damage taking place in the first half while the team establishes an early lead but against a well-balanced and formidable Los Angeles team, he might be needed to from start to finish. Like McConkey, he can operate inside and out which means he could find himself lined up against any of the Chargers’ corners but the two who will likely match up with him the best and most competitively are Kristian Fulton and nickel Elijah Molden.

DB Kyle Hamilton v. QB Justin Herbert

Whether Ravens’ All Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith is healthy enough to play in this game or not, Hamilton and Herbert will be seeing a lot of each other in this game whether it comes to passing plays or quarterback scrambles. If Smith can’t go, Hamilton will be wearing the green dot and relaying the play calls from defensive coordinator Zach Orr and likely won’t spend as much time playing deep safety as he did last week against the Steelers because he’ll be needed as part of the committee effort to fill the void of the unit’s veteran leader. In the event Smith does play despite not practicing since suffering a hamstring injury, it would free up Hamilton to roam and play deeper where he’d be able to contest or dissuade Herbert from trying to attack the Ravens’ defense vertically and down the seams where they have been susceptible before last week.

OC Todd Monken v. DC Jesse Minter

This matchup will pit two of the top playcallers in the league against each other for the first time. It should make for some entertaining schematic warfare given how the Ravens are the hardest offense to stop when they’re not getting in their own way and how the Chargers are one of the best and most structurally sound defensive units in the league. Under Monken, Baltimore has recorded the second-most points (334) in the league, is averaging the second-most points per game (30.4) and is the best at converting in the red zone with a rate of 77.8% through 11 games. Meanwhile, the Chargers are the best scoring defense in the league with an average of just 14.5 points per game and are only allowing opponents to convert just 40.9% of their red zone trips into touchdowns—second-best in the NFL.

Although they sprung a few leaks last week in the second half against a desperate yet still talented Cincinnati Bengals offense, the Chargers defense has been great when it comes to not allowing big plays through the air and being stout against the run despite deploying lighter boxes at the highest at in the league. However, they have yet to encounter an offense with so many dangerous playmaking threats as the Ravens have led and highlighted by quarterback Lamar Jackson and Henry who will make mince meat of any defensive front with their dominant rushing attack.