In each of the last three games, the Chargers’ initial possession ended in a Philip Rivers interception.One of those went to Baltimore cornerback Brandon Carr, setting up a field goal in the Ravens’ 22-10 victory 15 days ago. Rivers took the blame, saying all three were poor passes. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said the fault should be equally shared by all parties involved. Regardless, the Chargers must take better care of the ball in this rematch. So good at protecting the ball this season, they had nine turnovers and were minus-four in takeaways over the final three weeks of the regular season. They also will need to establish some semblance of a running game against a Baltimore defense that ranked No. 1 in yards allowed and No. 4 in yards rushing permitted. Chicago’s defense was the only one that gave up fewer points. In the teams’ first meeting, the Chargers gained only 51 yards on the ground in 16 attempts. Melvin Gordon had 41 of those yards, his second-worst single-game performance of 2018. Rivers just matched his second-best passer rating (105.5) for a season. The Ravens’ 80.6 defensive passer rating was second in the NFL, behind the Bears’ 72.9.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times