The Los Angeles Chargers have been chasing down the Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC West since losing to their division rival in the season opener. Given another chance last week, the Bolts finally caught up, pulling out all the stops in a dramatic 29-28 win on Thursday, clinching a playoff spot and nailing down a tie for the best record in the conference. The Bolts need some help to win the division and earn the No. 1 seed, but they also need to take care of business on their end and that starts with a tussle against the surging Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.
Watch this Week 16 regular season matchup live on Saturday, December 22, 2018, at 8:20 p.m. ET at StubHub Center.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Baltimore Ravens +4.5
Los Angeles Chargers -4.5
Over/Under 45
It looks as though the career of Joe Flacco in Baltimore could be coming to an end the way Lamar Jackson has revived the team over the past few weeks. Injured a few weeks ago, John Harbaugh turned to the rookie, who has led the Ravens to four wins in five starts with his ability to make defenders look foolish when he runs the football. The only loss during that stretch was in overtime to the Chiefs two weeks ago. The Ravens are 3-2 ATS since Jackson took over behind center.
Jackson flashed the form that won him the Heisman Trophy in 2016 at Louisville, darting for 95 yards on 18 carries while throwing for an additional 131 yards and a touchdown on 14 of 23 passing to hold off the Bucs, 20-12, and move closer to securing a playoff spot.
The Ravens have been punishing on the ground since Jackson took over and that’s not going to change against the Chargers. Baltimore is most effective when running the football and the game plan will also keep the ball out of Philip Rivers’ hands, leaving the Bolts playmakers on the sideline. Gus Edwards added 104 yards on the ground and Kenneth Dixon chipped in with 48 against the Bucs as Baltimore amassed 242 rushing yards on 49 carries.
Since Jackson’s first start on Nov. 13 against Cincinnati, the Ravens have rushed for over 200 yards in four of five games while narrowly missing in the other contest by netting 194 yards against the Chiefs. Over that span they are averaging 230.4 yards per game on the ground on nearly 47 attempts per outing. While Jackson has been a huge part of the team’s success on the ground, it hasn’t all been him. Edwards has been equally effective.
Edwards eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the third time in the last five games and has compiled 486 rushing yards with Jackson adding 427. Don’t expect the Ravens to throw the football since Jackson hasn’t proven to be a NFL-caliber passer yet. He’s thrown just 112 passes as a starter completing fewer than 59 percent and hasn’t’ thrown for more than 178 yards in any start. Should the ground game fail, the Ravens could be in big trouble.
The Chargers will be a confident group heading into the last two weeks of the season after defeating their nemesis on Thursday and climbing into a tie for the best record in the AFC. Defensively the Bolts clamped down on Patrick Mahomes, holding the MVP candidate to 243 passing yards and limiting the Chiefs to less than 300 yards of offense.
Silencing the Ravens will require the Bolts to shift gears from KC’s aerial attack to the ground game of the Ravens, but that shouldn’t be too difficult the way Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram have improved in their run defense. The two can get after Jackson and the Bolts have an athletic group of linebackers that can spy Jackson, holding him below his rushing yard total on a prop bet at BookMaker.eu.
The Chargers did a nice job last week playing without Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler, then losing Keenan Allen in the middle of the game. Rivers threw for 313 yards and a pair of scores and they got 58 yards on 16 carries from Justin Jackson to throw a wrinkle at the Chiefs defense. Facing the Ravens’ top ranked unit will be more of a challenge, but Rivers has taken care of the best in the past.
Ravens at Chargers Live Betting
There is a good chance Gordon returns on Saturday and the Bolts could certainly use him to diversify their game-plan. And with Allen listed as questionable, Mike Williams stepped up in a big way in last week’s win over the Chiefs. Rivers is fearless throwing the football and I anticipate plenty of shots through the air. Meanwhile, the Ravens will do what they’ve done over the last five games and that’s run the ball, so play the live betting lines accordingly and don’t expect a lot of points in this one.
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