Game Time:  1:00  pm ET, Sunday, October 17th, 2021

Venue:  M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Where to Watch:  CBS

 

 

BetMGM:  Spread: Ravens -3; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Caesars: Spread:  Ravens -3;  Over/Under:  51.5 points

FanDuel: Spread: Ravens -3; OverUnder:  51.5 points

 

 

Chargers: 4-1 (AFC West)

Ravens: 4-1 (AFC North)

This is a real matchup between OCT studs.  The regular season is now fully underway.   Going into the sixth week of NFL play real identities are coming to the forefront. The former San Diego Chargers are now clearly the Las Angeles Chargers (because of the wining) and the current Baltimore Ravens can ignore anyone saying Baltimore Colts (because of the winning).  Both teams have quarterbacks that prove that sometimes the NFL draft smiles upon the team without the first pick.  Both teams are doing reconstructive surgery on their reputations.  One of these teams will lose, but both are winners.

 

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RECENT FORM

The Chargers opened the season with a win over the Washington Football Team 20-16 (as a side point, several Washington Football officials from coaches to executives to the owner are wrapped up in the Jon Gruden e-mails… they will need to say publicly if they ever corresponded with him).  Game 2 was the lone loss to the Dallas Cowboys 20-17.  Game 3 was another win over the Kansas City Chiefs 30-24.  Game 4 was a win over the Las Vegas Raiders (as a side note, Gruden e-mailed the Raiders owner 11,000 times… do we have the NFL Clippers?). Game 5 was a tight shootout that ended in a win over the Cleveland Browns 47-42.

The Ravens opened their season with an overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders (coached by the racist, homophobic, misogynist Jon Gruden) 33-27.  Criticism of Lamar Jackson followed.  Game 2 was a super close win over the Kansas City Chiefs 36-35.  Game 3 was a super close win over the lowly Detroit Lions 19-17.  Game 4 was finally the easy win… over the Denver Broncos 23-7.  Game 5 was a dramatic overtime comeback against the Indianapolis Colts directed by the amazing play of Lamar Jackson 31-25.  They sit at 4-1, the landmarks reached so far this year were 1) beating the Chiefs.  2) proving that Lamar hasn’t deserved most of the criticism directed toward him.  3) they never hired or employed Jon Gruden.

The Chargers are ranked 7th in the NFl on offense.  They score 28.4 points per game on 411.4 yards per game.  Quarterback Justin Herbert is playing like a man who needs no backup ever. He doesn’t just connect with Mike Williams… he hits everybody! 

The Baltimore Ravens are ranked #1 in offense in the NFL.  They score 27.2 points per game on 440.6 yards per game.  Quarterback Lamar Jackson has improved his passing year over year and still holds on to his ability to run the ball at any time he sees an opening.  Lamar put in a fourth quarter performance against the Colts that will be taught in graduate level coaching classes.

 

The Chargers need another draft to shore up the defense or at least get them to compliment the offense enough to win postseason games. November and December are coming and the warm weather Chargers will need to do better than 19th in the league. They give up 23.2 points per game on 371.8 yards per game. Maybe there are some cornerbacks on the practice squad that can defend pass attempts?  If not, they need more.

The Ravens were once known for an amazing defense.  A defense so amazing they won a Super Bowl with a middling quarterback at the helm.  Now the Ravens are ranked 24th on defense.  They give up 23.4 points per game on 389.6 yards per game.  The numbers between 19th and 24th are very very close. The difference is when the Chargers win they really win… when the Ravens win it is close and hard fought.  They will need to come together as a team and find the heart that will let Lamar keep on winning.

Our prediction for Sunday October 17th is… Chargers 35 - Ravens 27

This will be a big OVER.  The numbers say that the Ravens defense won’t stop Justin Herbert… and there may be no defense that can stop Lamar Jackson after he got the green light by Harbaugh and fans to just be himself.

 

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The Chargers are 4-1 ATS this season.

The Chargers are 19-7 ATS in road games where the total is greater or equal to 49.5 points since 1993.

The Chargers are 5-2 ATS in October games, the last 3 seasons.

The Ravens are 7-2 ATS in games where the line is -3 - +3, the last 3 seasons.

The Ravens are 11-5 ATS against teams with a winning record, the last 3 seasons.

 

Chargers: G Oday Aboushi (knee) Out for season

Ravens:  G Ben Cleveland (knee) injured reserve * Wr Sammy Watkins (hammy) Quest

Chargers:  QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Mike Williams, WR Keenan Allen, WR Jalen Guyton, TE Jared Cook, Lt Rashawn Slater, LG Matt Feiler, C Corey Linsley, RG Miachale Schofield III, RT Storm Norton

Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, RB Latavious Murray, WR Marquise Brown, WR Miles Boykin, WR Devin Duvernay, TE Mark Andrews, LT Ronnie Stanley, LG Ben Powers, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Kevin Zeitler, RT Patrick Mekari 

 

 

Ravens

Passing Yards: Lamar Jackson 1,519 

Rushing Yards: Lamar Jackson 341 

Receiving yards: Marquise Brown 451

Tackles: Patrick McQueen 33

Interceptions: Anthony Averett 2

Chargers:

Passing Yards: Justin Herbert 1,576

Rushing Yards:  Austin Ekeler 349

Receiving Yards: Mike Williams 471

Tackles: Derwin James 43 

Interceptions: Asante Samuels 2

Sunny.  High of 67*.  Humidity 48%.  Wind 14 mph.  14 mph is not enough to deter a well kicked field goal… and it certainly won’t deter a season-high kicks for extra-points.  This will be a high scoring game.