What a price the Chargers paid for losing in the second-to-last weekend of the season, at home, 22-10 to the Ravens; and doing it just a week after a streak-busting, narrative-altering comeback win in Kansas City. Instead of getting a bye and having the road to the Super Bowl run through little StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., the Chargers now travel to the opposite coast on the first playoff weekend, to play a game that kicks off at 10:05 a.m. West Coast time.
Maybe most worrisome of all: It’s against those same Ravens, who have now won six of their last seven.
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The Ravens handled the Chargers with startling ease, all things considered. The team tough enough to rally to victories in Pittsburgh and Kansas City in the three weeks prior made just enough mistakes on both sides of the ball to doom them. Their brief air of invincibility disappeared just like that, and now it’s the other team carrying the title of "Team Nobody Wants To Play."
Yet the Chargers, who tied for the best record in the AFC as 12-4, won't buckle that easily — certainly not Philip Rivers, or his weapons, or the young, loaded defense, or coach Anthony Lynn. They have a high bar to overcome in the toughness department with what Baltimore historically has done in the postseason … but, then again, this is only the second time the Ravens have made the playoffs since their Super Bowl win in 2013. It's their first home playoff game since that championship postseason.
It all will make for arguably the most compelling game of wild-card weekend. Seeing the winner end up in Atlanta is no stretch.
AFC playoff picks: Chargers at Ravens
- Date, time: Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET
- Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
- TV: CBS
- Odds: Ravens -2.5; total: 42
David Steele: The Ravens have the NFL's No. 1 yardage defense, which isn't terribly surprising with their history and the talent they have across the board. They’re also ninth in offensive yards, though, and that’s because no one has solved what Lamar Jackson brings. The Chargers couldn't last time, two weeks ago. More troubling, Rivers, in the thick of the MVP race after the win over the Chiefs, threw four picks in the final two games, after just eight in the previous 14 games.
A hungry Ravens defense coming off a late stand against the Browns to clinch the division; a Chargers offense hitting a mild speed bump and possibly having a limping Melvin Gordon; a player in Jackson that seems easier to figure out than he actually is. It doesn’t add up for the Chargers. It will be a harsh end to an outstanding season.
Pick: Ravens, 21-19
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Vinnie Iyer: The Ravens won the first matchup with a late fumble return TD while the Chargers were driving in comeback mode. The Chargers also didn't have Gordon, Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler all fully healthy in that game, and now they should also have more pop at tight end. Gus Bradley will have the Chargers’ defense better prepared for the Jackson-led, run-heavy offense in the rematch, while Rivers will cut out his mistakes by finding the right matchups to exploit in the Ravens' weaknesses in coverage.
The Ravens will stay in it with ball control and defense, but Rivers will build on his arguably best-ever season with a playoff road victory.
Pick: Chargers, 27-23
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Tadd Haislop: This is a tricky game for the Chargers for the same reason it was tricky a few weeks ago, when the Ravens beat up on them in LA. Baltimore put up almost as many rushing yards (159) in that game as LA did total yards (198). That running game-and-defense formula got the Ravens to this point, and they’ll lean on it again against the Chargers, this time at home.
But we all know the challenges that come with trying to beat the same team twice in one season. Anthony Lynn, Philip Rivers and Co. aren't having any of that.
Pick: Chargers, 27-20
