OTL: Ravens Overcome Slow Start, Another Flurry of Flags

It was a late one last night, so if you stayed up and watched the whole thing, you’re probably pretty tired today. Ironically, though, the longer you stayed up and watched this one, the better you feel as a Ravens fan.

RAVENS WIN ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!! pic.twitter.com/YxtpiELbKf

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 26, 2024

The clock his triple-zero around 11:00 pm on the east coast, and by the time all was said and done, the Ravens had done a great job in the second half adjusting to take over this game. The Ravens would also, critically, go three for three on 4^th down, including a huge risk with a conversion from their own 16-yard line. A shift to a heavy run game in the second half (which so many of us have been begging for) milked the clock and snuffed out the little hope the Chargers had for a comeback.

Baltimore registered a whopping 212 yards on the ground, including a beauty of a 51-yard touchdown run by Justice Hill that was pretty much the dagger. Hill’s big play was the longest run allowed by the Chargers defense this year.

https://twitter.com/Ravens/status/1861253548127695320

Granted, a garbage-time touchdown by the Chargers in the last minute of regulation did necessitate an onside kick recovery, which had me sweating a little bit based on how Baltimore’s done in those situations this season, but Isaiah Likely stepped up and sealed the deal.

Now, we’ve covered a lot of good stuff, and hopefully that helped some of you that went to bed early, because lemme tell ya, if you turned this one off after the first quarter, you had a whole different idea of how this game was going to go down.

The Ravens have now gone scoreless in the opening quarter in five of the last six games.

— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) November 26, 2024

51-YARD TOUCHDOWN FOR @jhill21_!!!!!

Tune in on ESPN!!! pic.twitter.com/ZtjFDLTr24

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 26, 2024

The look of a dude who knows he gonna have to put up points to keep pace tonight. #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/AqC52QXzYM

— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) November 26, 2024

LA’s opening possession started with a JK Dobbins run that was stuffed in the backfield. That was the Ravens’ lone highlight though, as the Chargers didn’t face a third down, marching the length of the field and absolutely torching Baltimore’s defense. On LA’s second possession, Justin Herbert seemed dead to rights in the backfield multiple times just to slip free and extend the drive. Baltimore’s saving grace was a well-defended pass in Jalen Reagor’s direction that fell somewhere between a drop and a breakup by Nate Wiggins. Unfortunately, on the ensuing punt, Wiggins immediately undid the good will he’d earned by drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for blocking a player out of bounds on the punt.

Sigh.

As we all know by now, if your defense is making a Greg Roman offense look seamless, you’re probably doing something really wrong. Fortunately, as the Ravens started to reign in the mistakes, the Chargers began making more of them, and Baltimore was finally able to capitalize with the ball in their hands. When Baltimore got the ball back late in the half, Lamar Jackson did a Lamar Jackson thing, and hit Rashod Bateman on an absolute dime of a deep ball that would ultimately help the Ravens take a one-point lead into halftime.

TOUCHDOWN @R_bateman2!!!!!!!!

BIG PLAY BATE!!!! TUNE IN ON ESPN!! pic.twitter.com/2xFycvL74p

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 26, 2024

It was ugly in a lot of ways, but Baltimore managed to navigate the ugliness and be the team that made the fewest errors on the day. Unfortunately, we all know that the ugliness of play can’t be the only thing that mucks up the proceedings; the referees need their time in the sun. There was no shortage of laundry during the game, and the Ravens ended up on the receiving end of nine calls. None of them were more infuriating than the first-half call against Pat Ricard.

Ravens called for a leg whip on this…? #ravens #Chargers pic.twitter.com/cJ5gMwb116

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) November 26, 2024

Dear reader… I watch a really unhealthy amount of football, and have for a very long time. I’ve watched this sport at multiple levels, and I make it a point to watch as many games as possible. When I tell you I can count on one hand the number of times I have EVER seen a player called for a leg-whip, I mean that. I understand that the rule exists for a reason, but when you combine this incredibly obscure flag with the fact that the Ravens are the most penalized team in the league, at a certain point, don’t you just have to laugh at the absurdity of it? Ricard’s penalty wasn’t even a good example of the call!

And do we not remember THIS?

For reference: pic.twitter.com/4kMRpKqMJ6

— Tee ð…ð¢ðžð¥ðð¬ (@EDCburner) November 26, 2024

Speaking of really, really bad officiating…

Why Was This Touchdown Ever In Question???

This #Ravens TD to Mark Andrews is one of the clearest TD’s you will see in the #NFL. What is going on with these Refs?#HireFulltimeOfficials #BALvsLAC #Chargers #RavensFlock #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/OUUvTe0Pc3

— Ref On The Couch (@RefOnTheCouch) November 26, 2024

What are we doing here, Stripes? What are we even looking at?

Was there a question of Mark maybe being out of bounds? Not controlling the ball all the way through? I’m legitimately at a loss. Luckily, the officials convened and (obviously) overturned this no-brainer to a touchdown, but it’s a good thing this one was so far beyond a doubt, because the official review would’ve become even harder to overturn, and we’re all seeing in real time how reliable these officiating crews can be.

Games like this one don’t let you feel comfortable until all the time is off the clock, but fortunately, the good guys are bringing home a win. They’ll adjust back from Pacific time and prep on one day’s less rest for a tough contest as Philly comes to town.

The post OTL: Ravens Overcome Slow Start, Another Flurry of Flags appeared first on Russell Street Report.