The Ravens' own brotherly shove sends the Chargers sprawling

Baltimore's emphatic win reverberated beyond the Harbaugh family

The little brother is usually the goofy one. You never know what he’ll say, do or propose, and thank God for it. But now it was Sunday night, the second quarter of the third Brother Bowl, and the older one was doing something that was stark Raven mad.

John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens were trying to keep up with Jim Harbaugh’s L.A. Chargers, and they ran into a fourth-and-one on their own 16 yard line. John kept his offense on the field but clearly this was a ruse to get the Charger defense to jump. Lamar Jackson gave up the charade and trotted to the sideline as the clock went to 2:00. Then the action resumed…and Jackson came back out. What?

This time, tight end Mark Andrews lined up close to center Tyler Linderbaum and got the snap. Jackson and the rest of the Ravens’ backfield pushed him over the line to gain for the first down, just like Philadelphia’s Tush Push. The Baltimore Boost, maybe? Five plays later, Jackson threw deep to Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard touchdown, and the Ravens led, 14-10. The Chargers scrambled back for a field goal before halftime, but the Ravens had stabilized their gearbox.  They scored two touchdowns and a field goal on their next three possessions, and John took a 3-0 career lead over Jim with this 30-23 win.

John has always been a fourth-down adventurer, sometimes to Baltimore’s detriment. This one might have been a finger in the ear of the younger Harbaugh, but mostly it seemed to ooze desperation. The Ravens have either looked like superheroes or stooges through most of the year, with penalties, turnovers and defensive lapses keeping them from taking charge of the AFC North. They are now 8-4 and a half-game behind Pittsburgh, whom they play later, but first they are on official Saquon Barkley watch, with the Eagles coming up Sunday. They needed this game for something more than family byplay.

To get it, they leaned on the feet, hands and ill will of Derrick Henry, who had nine carries in the first half. He had 15 in the second, and wound up with 140 yards, and with each carry he slapped away and straight-armed most of the Chargers who approached him. The backbreaker was a 51-yard TD run by Justice Hill, as Henry’s chopping finally felled the tree.

The Chargers had not given up more than 20 points in a game before they ran into the Bengals last week. They won, 34-27. Now this. The good news is that they’re finished with the AFC North, against which they were 1-3, but four of their final six games are on the road, including a Dec. 8 date at Kansas City.

However, the Chargers were supposedly equipped to handle a TD-fest. This game showed how fragile their offense can be, as it transitions to an infantry operation. J.K. Dobbins left with a knee problem after six carries. Quentin Johnson, the first-round pick in 2023 who has prospered, reverted to the dropsies. For the first time this year, the Chargers did not have a play  of 20 or more yards. Justin Herbert was under siege, with four sacks, and also threw inconsistently when protected. His strange backwards pass to Gus Edwards did nothing but give Edwards a headache, cause a 7-yard loss, and screw up an entire possession. In the end, nobody but Ladd McConkey could beat Baltimore’s coverage.

So the John and Jim show was basically a pre-game angle. But one shouldn’t forget how remarkable it is for them to become so embedded in a position with 32 professional openings.  Jim Harbaugh is 179-68-1, college and pro, with a Super Bowl appearance and the 2023 College Playoff Football title. John is 168--103 in regular season games, is 13-10 in the postseason, and has that Super Bowl win over Jim’s 49ers.

No brothers have coached against each other in playoff games. Darryl Sutter was 16-10-9 in regular season NHL games against Brian, Brent and Duane. Terry Murray got the best of his brother Bryan five of nine times. In the NBA, Stan Van Gundy was 3-2 against Jeff. But the Harbaughs might have bigger confrontations ahead, age and health permitting. John is 62, Jim will be 61 on Dec. 23. 

Jim had to leave a Chargers-Denver game on Week 6 with “atrial flutter,” a problem with electrical signals in the heart. John heard about it after Baltimore’s game and immediately cut short his press conference. Jim returned and the Chargers won, and he explained that he’d gone through that before, in a 2012 game against the Bears when he was coaching San Francisco.  “I’m 2-0 with arrhythmias,” Harbaugh said, with a goofy, little brother’s smile.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

Kansas City 30, Carolina 27

– Patrick Mahomes admitted he’d prefer not to have to win games “on the very last play”  but that’s the way it is for the back-to-back champs. He darted 23 yards on the last drive to enable Spencer Schrader to kick a game-winning field goal over the 2-9 Panthers on the road, in a game where he was sacked five times.

– Carolina (3-8)  is getting a little late-season hope from Bryce Young, the former first-overall pick who had lost his job to Andy Dalton but won it back and has played much better. Here he was 21 for 35 for 262 yards, and he got the Panthers back in the game after a 20-6 deficit. Chuba Hubbard ran for a touchdown and a two-pointer to tie the game with 1:46 left. Young’s favorite receiver was David Moore, whom he targeted 10 times for six catches and 81 yards. Moore, 29, is a 7th round pick of the Seahawks in 2017 from East Central Oklahoma. He’s changed NFL uniforms eight times, and this is his second go-around with Carolina.

– The Panthers hit Mahomes eight times and had eight tackles for loss. The Chiefs (10-1) put together 165 ground yards, and Noah Gray, becoming a more popular target for Mahomes each week, caught two TD passes.

Philadelphia 37, L.A. Rams 20

– Adrian Peterson is the last running back to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, 12 years ago, but it’s hard to find a more worthy candidate than Saquon Barkley, who had touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards and rolled to 255 yards in 26 carries. Add six catches, 109 receiving yards and a touchdown by A.J. Brown, and it was an overwhelming show for the Eagles (9-2), who scored on all four second-half possessions prior to the final kneel-down.

– The defense stopped the Rams (5-6) in all eight third-down situations, although L.A. was 3-for-3 on fourth down. They also had five sacks and hit Matthew Stafford 11 times, three apiece by Brandon Graham and Milton Williams, who had two sacks. However, Stafford hung in there to post a 104.3 passer rating, and Puca Nacua caught 9 balls for 117 yards.

– The Eagles only led 20-14 in the third quarter but Jalen Hurts converted a third-and-10 with an 18-yard scramble. On the next play Barkley took Hurts’ pass 31 yards, and Kenneth Gainwell scored a 13-yard TD on the play after that for a 13-point lead.

Minnesota 30, Chicago 27 (OT)

– Jonathan Greenard has been one of the top free-agent signings. The ex-Houston linebacker had two sacks and two other tackles-for-loss for Minnesota, and in overtime he dumped Caleb Williams for a 12-yard loss to ruin Chicago’s first possession. There wouldn’t be a second one, since Sam Darnold hit T.J. Hockenson with 12 ad 29 yard passes to put John Parker Romo in position for a 29-yard game winner.

– That followed a breathtaking fourth quarter in which Williams took a major step forward. After Minnesota took a 27-16 lead, DeAndre Carter’s punt return put the Bears in position on the Vikings’ 40, and Williams was throwing a one-yard TD to Keenan Allen with :29 left. Then Cairo Santos pulled off a rare, successful onside kick, recovered by Tavarius Moore. Williams’ 27-yarder to D.J. Moore allowed Santos to tie it with a 48-yarder.

– Williams threw 47 passes and had none intercepted. Darnold was also outstanding with a 22-for-34, 330-yard day. The Bears (4-7) took away Justin Jefferson but Hockenson and Jordan Addison combined to catch 15 balls of 18 targets and totalled 276 yards. The Vikings are 9-2 and are 6-1 in games determined by eight or fewer points, the same formula they used in 2022 to win the NFC North.

Green Bay 38, San Francisco 10

– It didn’t make up for years of playoff losses to the 49ers, but it warmed every heart in Lambeau Field to get this rout. The Packers (8-3) had the ball for nearly 37 minutes and gave San Francisco only 11 first downs. They also forced four fumbles and recovered two. The 49ers ran only six plays in the first 23 minutes. Coach Kyle Shanahan termed it “embarrassing,” as last year’s NFC champs fell to 5-6, still only a game out of the division lead.

– Brock Purdy missed this one, and Brandon Allen was 17 for 29 in his first start in three years. Only four of the defensive starters who played in last year’s elimination of Green Bay started this game. The Packers smothered Christian McCaffrey (11 carries, 31 yards) and tacked on 14 points to their lead in the fourth quarter.

– Josh Jacobs led the offense with 26 carries for 106 yards, and Jordan Love kept the sticks moving with 12 completions in 23 tries, Jacobs became the first 100-yard rusher against San Francisco in 55 regular-season games. Ten different Packers caught passes, and Matt LaFleur’s team turned three takeaways into three touchdowns. 

Detroit 24, Indianapolis 6

– The Lions (10-1) had only two explosive plays and Jared Goff missed on 10 passes, which is a whole month of incompletions for him. They also didn’t have a sack and had only one tackle-for-loss, and power runner David Montgomery left the game in the fourth quarter. They still won with no problem, keeping an opponent out of the end zone for the second consecutive week, and getting 90 yards on 21 carries from Jahmyr Gibbs..

– An efficient game from Anthony Richardson last week was no harbinger for the Colts. The second-year QB went 11 for 28, although he hit Alec Pierce with a 39-yarder. The Colts had the ball for only 22:59, and for only 14 minutes after the first quarter. Richardson was 0-for-4 in two red zone visits in the first half, turning touchdown possibilities into field goals.

— Detroit is playing without Aidan Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone on defense, and didn’t have cornerback Terrion Arnold in this one. It will play host to Chicago, and Caleb Williams, in the traditional Turkey Day game.

Cleveland 24, Pittsburgh 19

– Jameis Winston’s career rehab continued during a snowy second-half in Cleveland. He hit 18 of 27 passes for 219 yards, threw only one pick, and went sailing into the end zone himself for a two-yard score that put the Browns (3-8) ahead, 18-6. He also completed all six balls that he threw at Jerry Jeudy, for 85 yards. Somehow they survived a 1-for-10 night on third down. It was the first NFL game Winston ever played in sub-40 degree temperatures.

– For the Browns, the most heartwarming development was Nick Chubb scoring two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 0:57 remaining. Chubb tore up his knee in Week 2 of the 2023 season, also at home, also against the Steelers. The Browns’ defense also awakened, with three sacks from Myles Garrett and 11 tackles for loss by the unit. Russell Wilson was hit nine times.

– Wilson, in his first loss as a Steeler, went 21 for 28 for 278 yards, but Cleveland limited George Pickens to four catches and no touchdowns. Wilson’s 23-yard score to Calvin Austin created a 19-18 lead with 6:15 left. The Steelers are 8-3 but are 14 points away from 11-0.

Seattle 16, Arizona 6

– Leonard Williams’s two-and-a-half sacks and four QB hits were the tone-setters for a defensive performance reminiscent of Pete Carroll’s days. Arizona was 3-for-4 on third down, completed only seven passes to wide-outs, and got eight rushing yards in seven tries from James Conner. The Seahawks also got a 69-yard pick-six from Coby Bryant as they tied Arizona atop the AFC West with a 6-5 record. They play again in two weeks, at Glendale.

–  The Cardinals were down 13-3 early in the fourth quarter when Kyler Murray drove them to the Seahawks’ four-yard-line. But Murray missed Trey McBride, who would have 133 receiving yards, on third down, and Jonathan Gannon took the field goal by Chad Ryland. Seattle then took 8:12 off the clock on a drive that ended in Josh Myers’ 50-yard field goal.

—The Seahawks had given up 57 points in the two games before their bye. They’ve given up 23 in the two games, both wins, since. Their only touchdown was Smith’s pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has caught 23 passes for 367 yards in the past three games.

Tennessee 32, Houston 27

– After Will Levis connected with Chig Okonkwo for a 70-yard touchdown, C.J. Stroud and the Texans had several chances to retake the lead from Tennessee (3-9). First, ex-Texan Ali Gaye sacked Stroud and sabotaged a Houston drive. The Texans got it back on the Tennessee 49 with 5:22 left, and Collins threw a 33-yard touchdown to Nico Collins, but it was canceled by an illegal shift penalty. Stroud got the Texans down to the 11-yard-line where Jarrett Patterson was whistled for offensive holding. Still, it enabled Ka’imi Fairbairn to line up a 28-yard field goal that would have tied the game. And he missed it. Such are the differences between the ‘23 Texans, who were flying toward the playoffs at this point, and the ‘24 team that is 7-5 and still hanging onto the AFC South lead.

– It’s difficult to lose when you sack a quarterback eight times, but that’s what Houston did. Danielle Hunter had three of those and Will Anderson, back in the lineup, had two. Houston also had 13 tackles for loss.  But Levis hung in, completing 18 of 24 for 278 yards, and Tony Pollard picked up 119 yards on the ground.

– Stroud threw two interceptions and has nine for the season. He had five in ‘23 when he was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. For the fourth consecutive game his passer rating came up short of 80 (78.7). At the end he stepped out of the back of his end zone when eyeing a long pass attempt, and Tennessee got a safety.

Miami 34, New England 15

– The Dolphins (5-6) hit rookie quarterback Drake Maye eight times and piled up six tackles for loss in their third consecutive win. Rookie Chop Robinson, a polarizing figure during the draft process, has a sack and a half and broke up two passes. This dovetailed nicely with Tua Tagovailoa’s four touchdown night, with no interceptions and 317 yards on just 29 pass attempts.

– Miami had a 24-point second quarter that included two TD passees to De’Von Achane, who has become the Dolphins’ featured back. Jalen Waddle also caught a 23-yarder  and had 144 yards, seizing eight of the nine passes Tagovailoa threw him. The Dolphins are 4-3 when Tagovailoa starts.

– The Patriots (3-9) had only one offensive touchdown. Christian Gonzalez returned a fumble for the other TD. They have scored 20 or more points four times in 11 games and, strangely, are 1-3 in those games. They didn’t snap the ball inside the red zone Sunday and are 3-for-10 in red zone TDs over the past three games.

Denver 29, Las Vegas 19

– It was Cirque de Kicker at Allegiant Stadium, as Will Lutz and Daniel Carlson went 9-for-9 in field goals. It was also Denver’s first win ever against the Vegas version of the Raiders, and it boosted the Broncos to 7-5. Down 13-9 at the half, Bo Nix threw an 18-yard score to Courtland Sutton on the first drive of the third quarter, and Denver was on its way.

– Gardner Minshew broke his collarbone at the end of a 25-for-42 day, and Desmond Ridder finished up at quarterback for Las Vegas (2-9). The Raiders are banged-up generally, so Denver held Brock Bowers to four catches in 10 targets and basically gummed up the Vegas offense. Seven different Broncos had at least half a sack, and seven were credited with at least one pass breakup.

– The Raiders were down to third-string runner Sincere McCormick, who gained 33 yards in five carries. Maxx Crosby had three tackles for loss.

Tampa Bay 30, N.Y. Giants 7

– Charmin should be the Giants’ official sponsor, according to several players’ assessment of how soft they were Sunday. New York (2-9) had one first down in a first half that ended with a 23-0 Tampa Bay lead. There’s no blaming Daniel Jones, either, who was released last week. Tommy DeVito got the start over Drew Lock and was sacked four times.

– Baker Mayfield got receiver Mike Evans back and went 24 for 30 with no interceptions and 294 yards. The Bucs are 5-6 and a half-game behind Atlanta in the NFC South, although the Falcons have beaten them twice. Bucky Irving continued a fine rookie year with 87 yards on 12 carries, and led the Bucs in catches with six, for 54 yards. Mayfield completed passes to 11 different Bucs and to no Giants, who have only one interception this season.

– The Giants had no sacks of Mayfield either, although rookie safety Tyler Nubin was in on 12 tackles. On Thursday they will be in Dallas for what promises to be a Triptophan Bowl.

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