• WHERE: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
• WHEN: 8:15 PM ET | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, NFL+

Conditions for the Harbowl couldn’t be better.

John Harbaugh’s Ravens and Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers enter Monday night as certified contenders, having made equal contributions in the win column for their combined record of 14-7.

Baltimore has played an extra game, a loss, leaving it just behind Los Angeles for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs that start Sunday. For now, there’s some room to breathe between the two teams and the teams that are in the bubble – the Ravens and Chargers are both sitting pretty with their chances of making the postseason currently at 95% and 92% respectively. However, a loss for either club would still be a stark reminder that objects in the rear-view mirror are closer than they appear.

Should the Ravens bounce back from last week’s divisional loss to the Steelers and win, their playoff chances increase to 99%. The Chargers would jump to 98% with their fifth straight win.

That’s the stakes for the Week 12 finale, which fittingly seems to be the best of the entire slate: One team will take another step toward a playoff berth, and one brother will also get bragging rights until they meet again .

Here are four things to watch for when the Ravens visit the Chargers Monday night on ESPN and NFL+:

1) Jim vs. John. Jim Harbaugh may have downplayed the showdown with his older brother this week, but that hasn’t stopped everyone else from hyping it up. The two played against each other twice before, when Jim was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Those matchups, another Week 12 game in 2011 and Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013, both went to John and the Ravens. It’s been nearly 12 years since that 34-31 Super Bowl classic, and yet the Harbaughs remain the only pair of brothers in NFL history to ever face each other as head coaches. It also just so happens that the game falls on the 63rd wedding anniversary of Jim and John’s parents, Jack and Jackie, who won’t be in attendance but will be watching as Harbowl III takes place.

2) Lamar Jackson wants to get back to MVP form. After what was by far his worst performance of the year against the league’s second-best scoring defense, Jackson now faces the unenviable task of trying to rebound against the league’s top-scoring D. He set season lows with a 48.5 completion percentage and 66.1 passer rating. rating against Pittsburgh, as Baltimore failed to score 20 points for the first time this season. The good news, at least looking straight ahead, is that such underperformance is par for the course for Jackson versus the rival Steelers. It does not necessarily indicate a downward trend. More good news? Jackson has typically beaten No. 1 defenses during his career. He has gone 3-0 against these units while averaging 29.3 points per game with a passer rating of 111.0, a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4-0 and four rushing scores. It won’t be easy, but Jackson has proven his ability to humble powerful opponents in the past.

3) Will the chargers continue to vent? There was never any doubt about Jim Harbaugh’s vision for the Chargers entering the season. They wanted to run away from the rock, and they did, especially out of the gate. In LA’s first two games, the team gained 176 and then 219 rushing yards. Justin Herbert’s most pass attempts through his first four weeks was 27, and he eclipsed 150 yards just once. But then Harbaugh, who has also left no doubt about how in love he is with his quarterback, seemingly gave Herbert the green light. Over the Chargers’ last six games, Herbert has been under 27 pass attempts just once. He has yet to pass under 150 and has eclipsed 250 four times, the highest of this kind coming just a yard shy of 350. Against the Ravens, who not only light up the scoreboard with regularity but also have the nation’s worst passing defense the NFL have , the stage begs Herbert again to swing him. He will do this with the help of burgeoning receivers Quentin Johnston And Ladd McConkey and resurgent tight end Will Disslywho is having a career year.

4) “Ravens West” hosts Baltimore. The familiar feeling between these two clubs does not end with the sibling rivalry. There are countless Chargers players, coaches and staff who once called Baltimore home. General manager Joe Hortiz was with the Ravens organization from 1998 to 2023, rising to director of player personnel before taking the GM job with Los Angeles in January. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman served as Baltimore’s OC from 2019 to 2022 and led a top-three rushing attack each season. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter? He assisted Baltimore’s D from 2017-2020. Even Jim Harbaugh played QB for the team in 1998. Between the lines include current players who switched from purple to powder blue running backs J. K. Dobbins And Guus Edwardstight end Hayden Hurst and offensive linemen Bradley Bozeman And Sam Mustipher. AT Eric Tomlinson and safety Tony Jeffersonboth members of the LA practice squad, are also part of that group. There are a lot of crossovers and a lot of shared football philosophies. We’ll soon find out who benefits.