After a heartbreaking road loss to a division rival last week, the Baltimore Ravens helped their head coach continue to dominate his sibling rivalry with an impressive 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football to close out Week 12 close. Offensively, the Ravens didn’t give up the run game after falling into an early 10-0 hole and instead cruised to the win. Defensively, Baltimore held on after giving up a touchdown on the opening drive and did not allow Los Angeles to reach the end zone again until victory was well within reach in garbage time.

The win is the Ravens’ third in their last four games and keeps them within a half-game of first place in the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who fell to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. This result also marked the first time the Ravens finished third in a row in the all-time series and the second year in a row, and improved head coach John Harbaugh’s record against his younger brother Jim to 3–0 in their first head-to-head matchup. matchup since Super Bowl 47.

There were several encouraging performances from players and units on both sides of the ball that were critical in securing this victory and improving the Ravens’ overall record to 8-4.

Here are five takeaways from Monday night’s win at SoFi Stadium.

John Harbaugh’s courage leads to Raven’s glory

After a week of hearing and reading about how he was outmatched by Mike Tomlin in the Ravens’ last loss to the Steelers, Harbaugh proved why he’s still one of the best in the league with a masterclass in courage, aggression and strategy that he exhibited. this match while outsmarting his younger brother on a nationally televised stage. While he wasn’t the one who initiated the Ravens’ play calls on their successful fourth-down conversions, his decision to leave the downfield offense behind and go for them deserves plenty of recognition.

All three of the Ravens’ fourth-down conversion attempts were on occasions where the offense needed just one yard to extend the drive, with Harbaugh’s first being the boldest and setting the tone for the rest of the game. Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 16-yard line, he sent the offense back down the field, coming out of the two-minute warning and the tight end. Mark Andrews lined up under center, where he then drove his legs and took a hit. pushed from behind for a two-yard gain and a new set of downs.

The risky gamble paid off big time five plays later when Lamar Jackson connected with Rashod Bateman on a 40-yard touchdown bomb to give the Ravens their first lead of the game, and they never relinquished it. Harbaugh’s next two fourth-and-short gambles came on the Ravens’ second offensive possession after halftime, resulting in first down runs of 27 and two yards from Derrick Henry to extend the unit’s fourth consecutive scoring drive.

The winning formula for offense remains simple

After the first quarter in which they were outscored 123-20 and racked up more penalty yards than yards gained from scrimmage, it seemed like the same struggles that had plagued the Ravens against the Steelers had carried over and seeped into this game. However, they were able to rally from an early two-score deficit early in the second quarter by not panicking, as has been the case in many of these instances in the past, and stuck with the run game.

Led by Henry, whose 24 carries were double the combined 12 of Jackson and Justice Hill, the Ravens rushed for more than 200 yards for the fourth time this season and the first since Week 7. Their 212 yards on the ground were the most ever given up by The Jim Harbaugh-coached NFL team and Henry accounted for more than 66% of that total at 140. The Ravens are now 5-0 in games where the four-time Pro Bowl carries the ball more than 20 times and rushes of more than 100 yards. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken took advantage of the light boxes the Chargers were playing with and got Henry going early and it helped set up the play-action passing game and tee off Justice Hill to essentially knock off the 51-yard kill shot to deliver.

Lamar Jackson continues to shine in primetime

In addition to MV3, the league’s reigning MVP would be Mr. Need to add Monday Night to his growing list of appropriate nicknames after another incredible performance in this game. After playing a role in the offense’s slow start by knocking down a number of wide-open goals that would have kept them on the field, Jackson sat down and began playing his game by using his legs to buy himself more time to push the ball across the field. field.

Although his passing totals were gaudy with 177 yards on 22 attempts and 16 completions, he threw a pair of pinpoint-accurate touchdowns and finished with a passer rating over 100 for the ninth time this season with a grade of 126.5. With the win, Jackson is now 7-2 as a Monday night starter with 22 passing touchdowns and no interceptions.

As a runner, runner and scrambler, he had more minimum and negative runs than positive ones, but that’s because he did his best work with his legs behind the line of scrimmage, avoiding pressure and extending passing plays. However, when the Ravens called his number in the red zone after a Henry touchdown was negated by a procedural penalty, Jackson busted one of his classic moves before crossing the goal line. He stopped on a dime to let a defender zoom past him and then ran into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown cap on the first of five consecutive scoring drives for the Ravens.

Defense continues to make positive progress

Against the Steelers last week, defensive coordinator Zach Orr’s unit seemed to have finally turned a corner, not giving up a single touchdown and forcing six field goals while bending but not breaking. That streak of consecutive quarters in which an opponent was not allowed into the end zone was snapped on the opening drive of the game when the Chargers methodically marched 70 yards down the field in nine plays without looking a third down and capped it off with a five-yard scramble touchdown from Justin Herbert.

While their start to the game, in which they were without All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who was out with a hamstring injury, was ominous, the Ravens defense then put the clamps on a surging Chargers offense. They didn’t let them cross the goal line again until the literal final minute of the game, when former Ravens running back Gus Edwards scored from one yard out after their offense had built a 14-point lead. Between that time, they forced four punts and three field goals and held the Chargers to 4.8 yards per play and 5 of 14 on third down. They sacked Herbert four times, hit him seven times and generated consistent pressure, gaining a key lead against standout first-round rookie right tackle Joe Alt of Los Angeles.

Many maligned players bounce back from early mistakes

Two players that fans and pundits complained about and ridiculed on social media early in the game when they made a glaring mistake but sang their praises while chasing themselves with bigger plays were wide receiver Rashod Bateman and linebacker Malik Harrison.

Bateman has been a controversial talking point among the fanbase for most of his career, as his struggles with injuries kept him from realizing his full potential. After dropping a well-placed touchdown pass from Jackson in the back of the end zone on the Ravens’ first scoring drive, his doubters and detractors on social media started beating their drums. However, their victory laps were short-lived after he drew a 12-yard pass interference penalty on Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton and then beat him on his long touchdown reception, where he showed tremendous concentration and strong hands as he hauled in the accurate pass.

“I believe my receivers are great,” Jackson said. “They have great hands. On the first one, in the back of the end zone, I told him, “Bro, I expect you to notice that.” He said, ‘I got you,’ but he made up for it and made a great catch. I trust all my receivers.”

With Smith out due to injury for the first time in his Raven career, the team turned to a committee approach to fill the massive void, but the player who made the most progress was fifth-year veteran Malik Harrison. After some fans started criticizing him on social media for not filling the gap that former Ravens running back JK Dobbins hit for a huge gain, the versatile linebacker settled down and had the best game of his career. He played fast and physical downhill, bringing the hammer down for some thunderous collisions. He finished with a new single-game career-high of 13 total tackles, including seven solos and one for loss, and was effective as a blitzer in the middle.