- WHERE: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Â鶹¹ú²ú
Conditions for the Harbowl could not better.
John Harbaugh's Ravens and Jim Harbaugh's Chargers enter Monday night as certified contenders having made equal contributions in the win column for their combined 14-7 record.
Baltimore has played an extra game, a loss, which has it sitting just behind Los Angeles as the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture entering Sunday. For now, there's some room to breathe between the two squads and the teams located on the bubble -- the Ravens and Chargers are both sitting pretty with their chances of making the postseason currently at 95% and 92%, respectively. However, a loss for either club would still serve as a stark reminder that objects in the rearview are closer than they appear.
Should the Ravens bounce back from last week's divisional loss to the Steelers and win, their playoff odds move to 99%. The Chargers would jump to 98% with their fifth straight victory.
Those are the stakes for the Week 12 finale, which fittingly appears to be the best of the entire slate: One team will take yet another step toward a playoff berth, and one brother will also gain bragging rights until they meet again.
Here are four things to watch for when the Ravens visit the Chargers on Monday night on ESPN and Â鶹¹ú²ú:
1) Jim vs. John. Jim Harbaugh might have downplayed facing off against his older brother this week, but that won't stop everyone else from hyping it up. The two have played each other twice before, when Jim was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Those matchups, another Week 12 game in 2011 and Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013, both went to John and the Ravens. It's been nearly a dozen years since that 34-31 Super Bowl classic, and yet the Harbaughs remain the only pair of brothers in NFL history to ever face off as head coaches. It also just so happens that the game falls on the 63rd wedding anniversary of Jim and John's parents, Jack and Jackie, who will not be in attendance but will be watching as Harbowl III takes place.
2) Lamar Jackson seeks return to MVP form. Coming off what was easily his worst performance of the year against the league’s second-best scoring defense, Jackson now faces the unenviable task of trying to rebound against the league’s top scoring D. He posted season lows with a 48.5 completion percentage and a 66.1 passer rating against Pittsburgh as Baltimore failed to score 20 points for the first time this season. The good news, at least looking directly ahead, is that such an underperformance is par for the course for Jackson versus the rival Steelers. It's not necessarily indicative of a downward trend. More good news? Jackson has typically trounced No. 1 defenses during his career. He’s gone 3-0 against those units while averaging 29.3 points per game with a 111.0 passer rating, 4-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio and four rushing scores. It won’t be easy, but Jackson has proven capable of humbling powerhouse opponents in the past.
3) Will the Chargers keep airing it out? There was never any doubt entering the season regarding Jim Harbaugh's vision for the Chargers. They were going to run the rock, and they did -- especially out of the gate. In L.A.'s first two games, the team tallied 176 and then 219 rushing yards. Justin Herbert's high in pass attempts over his first four weeks was 27, and he eclipsed 150 yards passing just once. But then Harbaugh, who has also left no doubt how smitten he is with his quarterback, seemingly gave Herbert the green light. Over the Chargers' past six contests, Herbert has fallen under 27 pass attempts just once. He's yet to go sub-150 passing yards again and four times has eclipsed 250, the highest such outing coming only a yard shy of 350. Against the Ravens, who not only light up the scoreboard with regularity but also sport the NFL's worst passing defense, the stage is again begging for Herbert to sling it. He'll do so with the help of burgeoning receivers Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey and resurgent tight end Will Dissly, who is having a career year.
4) "Ravens West" host Baltimore. The familiar feeling between these two clubs does not end at the sibling rivalry. There are countless Chargers players, coaches and personnel who once called Baltimore home. General manager Joe Hortiz worked in the Ravens organization from 1998-2023, rising to director of player personnel before taking the GM job with Los Angeles in January. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman served as Baltimore's OC from 2019-2022, leading a top-three rushing attack each season. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter? He assisted Baltimore's D from 2017-2020. Even Jim Harbaugh played QB for the team in 1998. Between the lines, current players who have transitioned from purple to powder blue include running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, tight end Hayden Hurst and offensive linemen Bradley Bozeman and Sam Mustipher. TE Eric Tomlinson and safety Tony Jefferson, both L.A. practice squad members, also belong to that group. There's a ton of crossover and plenty of shared football philosophies. Soon, we'll find out who's the better for it.
