The Chargers 23-17 Wild Card win over the Baltimore Ravens wasn’t exactly an offensive explosion (the first touchdown didn’t come until 14:44 in the fourth quarter). but there were still exciting moments throughout the game.
Ranking the 6 best plays in a Chargers-Ravens game that was so bad until it became good
The top plays from the strange, yet entertaining playoff game between the Ravens and the Chargers
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It was a game filled with special teams success, special teams blunders, vintage plays from a future Hall of Fame quarterback, and a late surge from a talented rookie in his first playoff start.
Here are the top six plays from the Chargers’ win over the Ravens.
1. Lamar Jackson played backyard football on a late pass to Ken Dixon
Baltimore found themselves in a hole late in the fourth quarter, but Lamar Jackson pulled a big play out of thin air when the Ravens needed some life. Jackson scrambled around before finding Kenneth Dixon down the field for a 39-yard gain.
2. Buck Allen blocked a punt for the Ravens!
The majority of the game was a special teams bonanza. Down 12-3 halfway through the third quarter, the Ravens hit gold on a big special teams play with a blocked punt.
Baltimore didn’t make much use of the blocked punt, though. The Ravens gained eight yards and three plays and eventually attempted a 50-yard field goal by Justin Tucker, which sailed wide right.
3. Za’Darius Smith blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt
Before the punt was blocked, Ravens linebacker Za’Darius Smith blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt that would’ve put the Chargers up 15-0.
This block happened to be the only kick that Mike Badgley missed on the day. He made his other four field goal attempts outside of getting this one blocked by Smith.
4. Philip Rivers threw a perfect pass to Mike Williams off his back foot
The game between the Chargers and the Ravens didn’t have very many great offensive plays, but this throw by Philip Rivers to Mike Williams was fantastic.
Rivers (maybe unnecessarily) threw the ball off of his back foot before hitting Williams in stride with a defender right behind him in coverage. That throw put the Chargers in position to score a touchdown on the goal line with Melvin Gordon, before completing a two points conversion to go up 20-3 at the start of the fourth quarter.
5. Lamar Jackson hit a deep touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree
Right when it seemed like the game might be out of reach, Lamar Jackson found lightning in a bottle. On a first-and-10 during the fourth quarter, Michael Crabtree ran right past the Chargers’ coverage where Jackson found him deep for a touchdown.
Jackson hit Crabtree in stride and he was able to walk into the end zone, starting to mount Baltimore’s comeback that wound end up just short.
6. Uchenna Nwosu called “game”
After a second Michael Crabtree touchdown and a three and out by the Chargers’ offense, the Ravens found themselves with a chance to come back and win the game.
Chargers rookie pass rusher Uchenna Nwosu wasn’t having any of it. He dusted fellow rookie Orlando Brown and knocked the ball out of Lamar Jackson’s hands as he was throwing the ball — effectively ending the game.
The Chargers win will send them to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. The last time the Chargers played the Patriots was in 2017, which was a 21-13 win for the Patriots. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in the 2007 season, the Patriots beat the Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship game.
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