Ravens take four-game winning streak into test against Chargers’ passing attack

Baltimore, MD - The Baltimore Ravens return to M&T Bank Stadium carrying a four-game winning streak into a matchup defined by contrasting offensive strengths. Baltimore has climbed to 6-3 behind the league’s fifth-ranked rushing attack, while the 4-4 Los Angeles Chargers arrive with a passing game that also ranks fifth.

The difference in recent form is significant. Baltimore has won four straight, beating the Browns, Bengals, Bills and Jaguars after a loss to the Falcons. Los Angeles has gone 1-4 over its last five games, with its victory against the Rams followed by a Week 9 loss to the Texans. The Chargers now face a Ravens team scoring 28.6 points per game, eighth in the league, and allowing 22.9, also ranked eighth.

Los Angeles’ clearest route to challenging that balance runs through Justin Herbert. The Chargers quarterback has completed 211 of 299 passes for 2,341 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. His production leads an offense averaging 290.8 passing yards per game, but Baltimore presents a direct counter: The Ravens rank eighth against the pass at 193.2 yards allowed per game and 11th in total defense at 321.1 yards allowed.

Ladd McConkey gives Herbert a primary target entering the matchup. McConkey has 55 receptions for 627 yards and one touchdown, placing him at the center of a passing game that may need to carry a substantial burden again. Los Angeles averages 84.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 32nd, creating one of the sharpest statistical contrasts in the game. Omarion Hampton has recorded 442 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries, but the Chargers have not consistently matched their passing production on the ground.

That imbalance could shape how Baltimore approaches the matchup. The Ravens allow 127.9 rushing yards per game, ranking 20th, compared with their No. 8 pass defense. Establishing Hampton would give Los Angeles another way to test Baltimore, but the Chargers’ season-long numbers indicate that Herbert and McConkey are likely to remain central to the challenge. Los Angeles averages 375.6 total yards per game, 13th in the league, despite ranking last in rushing yards.

Baltimore’s offense offers almost the reverse profile. The Ravens average 148 rushing yards per game, fifth in the league, and Derrick Henry enters with 683 yards and three touchdowns on 112 attempts. Henry appears on the injury report with an undisclosed injury, however, adding uncertainty to one of the game’s most important matchups. Los Angeles ranks 10th in rushing defense at 123 yards allowed per game, giving the Chargers a measurable test against Baltimore’s primary offensive strength.

Lamar Jackson supplies the passing complement for the Ravens. Jackson has completed 187 of 270 attempts for 2,021 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Mark Andrews has caught 40 passes for 436 yards and two scores, giving Baltimore another option against a Chargers defense that ranks 14th against the pass at 244.5 yards allowed per game. The Ravens rank 18th in passing offense at 219.9 yards per game, but their ability to combine Jackson’s production with the fifth-ranked ground game has helped them average 28.6 points.

The injury reports introduce additional variables without establishing anyone’s game-day availability. In addition to Henry, Baltimore lists Justice Hill with a fractured forearm, Roger Rosengarten with an undisclosed injury and Trenton Simpson with a broken ankle. Los Angeles lists Tyler Biadasz with a fractured foot and Justin Eboigbe with an undisclosed injury. Those situations are particularly relevant around the line of scrimmage, where Baltimore’s rushing offense and Los Angeles’ effort to create offensive balance will meet.

The teams also have recent history in Baltimore, though it came last season. The Ravens defeated the Chargers 19-17 in Week 2 of Season 35. Jackson completed 21 of 27 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown in that game, while Andrews caught seven passes for 78 yards and a score. Hampton ran 16 times for 73 yards. That result offers context for another meeting at M&T Bank Stadium, but both teams enter this one with their current-season identities clearly established.

The central question is whether Los Angeles can use its fifth-ranked passing game to break through Baltimore’s eighth-ranked pass defense while preventing the Ravens from controlling the matchup on the ground. For Baltimore, extending its winning streak means containing Herbert without allowing the Chargers’ 32nd-ranked rushing offense to find new balance. For Los Angeles, slowing Jackson, Henry and the Ravens’ fifth-ranked ground attack could be just as important as anything Herbert produces through the air.