The Ravens beat the Chargers 22-10 in Los Angeles in Week 16 in a game that had major ramifications for each team’s playoff picture.
Baltimore wound up going into the final weekend needing a win to seal the AFC North title while the Chargers had to win and hope the Chiefs lost to get a division title of their own. Both teams won, but so did the Chiefs and that means the Chargers will be in Baltimore next Sunday with their season on the line.
Tight end Antonio Gates had a key fumble in the Week 16 loss and was one of many Chargers to address the rematch on Sunday afternoon.
“Baltimore is a good team,” Gates said, via the team’s website. “A very good football team with a good defense. We get a chance to redeem ourselves. Me personally, I get a chance because I fumbled the ball at the end. That absolutely motivates me. I always go about my business in a professional manner. To me, it was all about letting the team down more so than it was about me getting over it. And now I have that chance to help this team get a win this time.”
Among the wrinkles to this matchup is that the Chargers will be the first team to see Lamar Jackson and the run-heavy offense the Ravens have been running since he hit the lineup for a second time. We’ll see if that helps the Chargers defense, although their efforts on that side of the ball might not matter if the offense keeps turning the ball over.
The Chargers have nine turnovers in the last three games and Philip Rivers has been intercepted to end the first possession each week. That will need to change if the Chargers are going to play a redemption song in the Wild Card round.
