Getty Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens didn’t have an easy Week 17 matchup to lock up their spot in the 2019 NFL playoffs, but they still got the job done. While Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns made it tough for Baltimore, even nearly capping the comeback with time close to expiring, it wasn’t quite enough.
In turn, the Ravens held on for a 26-24 win to move to 10-6 on the season and they wound up needing the win in the worst way. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were hot on Baltimore’s heels in the division, knocked off the Cincinnati Bengals just minutes prior to the Ravens game ending. In turn, this meant a loss would have left Baltimore’s playoff hopes essentially done.
Let’s take a look at who the Ravens will face next and the latest on their playoff schedule.
Ravens Wild Card Matchup
The Ravens now hold the No. 4 seed and it sets up a rematch of a primetime game from last week. In that game, Baltimore defeated the Chargers 22-10 and wound up keeping Los Angeles from winning the AFC West. The trip across the country to knock off Philip Rivers and company was one of the most impressive of the season for John Harbaugh’s squad.
In the previous matchup between the two teams, Rivers struggled to protect the ball against a strong Baltimore defense, throwing two interceptions. He also posted a quarterback rating of just 51.7 while completing 23-of-37 passes. The Ravens made life tough for the talented quarterback, sacking him four times and allowing just a 4.9 yard-per-attempt average.
The exact time of the matchup has yet to be released, but the NFL splits the NFC and AFC games up across Saturday, January 5 and Sunday, January 6. We’ll update this post as the time and date of the matchup are revealed.
Key Matchups to Watch
The Chargers were the only team in Lamar Jackson’s seven starts to hold the rookie quarterback under 67 rushing yards. In the Week 16 matchup, Jackson rushed 13 times for 39 yards with a long of 27. He was largely bottled up by the Chargers defense but needed just 12 completions in the game to throw for 204 yards and one touchdown.
On the season, Los Angeles has managed to keep rushing quarterbacks in check. They’ve allowed just 233 rushing yards on 59 attempts to the position while not giving up a single touchdown in the process.
One big question for the Chargers will be whether they can get their offense going against the Ravens defense. Heading into Week 17, Baltimore had given up just 284.1 total yards per game, which was good for the least in the entire league. They’ve also allowed the third-fewest rushing yards prior to this week at 85.1 per game, which doesn’t bode well for Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon.
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