26th Nov 2023 - Ravens 20, Chargers 10
One Wide-Receiver, No Rushing Game, Mutliple Turnovers - A Perfect Storm
It really takes something special to find any barrel left to scrape. But our boys did it.
Again.
Everything that is bad about the Chargers is getting tighter, compressing, getting more… badder. As evidence:
Only one decent wide receiver? Check. Keenan Allen had 14 of Justin Herbert’s 29 completions. As for the rest…. Quentin Johnson, one catch for seven yards. Bad.
No rushing game? Check. When your superstar pocket passer QB is again your leading rusher, things are bad.
Turning the ball over at will? Check. Four to zip. Another one by Austin Ekeler. I forgive Allen’s - when you’re catching the ball as much as he is, and getting whacked for doing so, the odd slip is going to happen.
Defensively, the Chargers were solid. Lamar Jackson was held to 177 passing yards. Yes, the Ravens ran the ball well, but they always run the ball well (we can dream, eh?) Zay Flowers's game-finishing 37-yard-touchdown run helped to pad out their stats a bit.
There is a palpable sense of demise, of rudderlessness, with the Chargers. The season was long ago lost - perhaps this season was lost as long ago as the last game of last season - yet the show must go on.
And so we remain ever more firmly bolted to the bottom of the AFC West. The Broncos are morphing into something. A five-game winning streak? Gosh. That sounds nice. Amazing what happens when you hire a quality coach, someone who has actually won one of those pesky Superbowl things.
Ain’t going to happen with Mr Staley in charge. As ever, don’t bother wasting your Monday refreshing X. It ain’t going to happen quite yet: we have the rest of the season to waste.