The Los Angeles Chargers came up short against the Baltimore Ravens 10-20. The Baltimore defense played a key role as they held the Bolts to 86 rushing yards.
The matchup marked the first time wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. returned to SoFi Stadium since he helped the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI.
During the matchup, Beckham Jr. made three catches for 34 yards. As of Sunday, he is third on the team in reception yards with 374.
He was acquired by the Rams midway through the 2021 season. The last time Beckham Jr. competed in SoFi stadium; he scored the first touchdown for the Rams in Super Bowl LVI before sustaining a knee injury in the second quarter.
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“Just to be able to come back to the stadium, it has so many great memories and great times,” Beckham Jr said. “My son was in the stadium before he was born … I was very pleased with it.”
Now with the Ravens, he made his first catch back in SoFi on their third offensive play, resulting in a nine-yard gain.
The Ravens improved their overall record to 9-3 to give them the second-best record in the league and the best record in the AFC. The top two NFL teams are led by Black quarterbacks with Ravens’ signal-caller Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The defending Champion Kansas City Chiefs are in a six-way tie at third which includes the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite enduring two sacks, Jackson made 18 throws for 177 yards. He praised the Raven’s defense in the matchup.
“Our defense was playing lights out all night and we wasn’t doing what we usually do for them,” Jackson said. “I’m grateful we have a great defense because without I don’t know how this game would have went.”
The Chargers are fighting to keep their playoff dreams alive as they now hit a three-game skid. Ironically in the three consecutive losses, wide receiver Keenan Allen had over 100 reception yards. Against the Ravens, he had 106.
While the defense was in question during their 20-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Chargers offense was the phase that struggled the most by making four turnovers. Bolts head coach Brandon Staley noted how they “lost as a team.”
“In a game like that where it’s low-scoring, where it turns into a defensive game, you got to get one more stop,” Staley said. “I thought our defense really competed tonight … and I thought our guys really played at a high level for most of the game but we didn’t get it done as a team.”
Despite scoring at least 31 points in the last five games, the Chargers held Baltimore to 20 points. However, the Ravens sacked Herbert three times to help them pace the league in sacks.
“We didn’t get the job done, we didn’t win the game,” said Chargers safety Derwin James. “We got six more games , we got to finish them all out.”
The Chargers will battle the New England Patriots on December 3 at 10:00A.M.
