The Los Angeles Chargers' Week 12 matchup will have them in primetime on Sunday Night Football to face the Baltimore Ravens.
The Chargers will be back at home at SoFi Stadium on Sunday night, although that's unlikely to matter given that the crowd is typically taken over by the visiting opponents' fans. Los Angeles is coming off yet another loss in which they blew a late lead, and somehow head coach Brandon Staley has held onto his job for another week, not even relieving himself of defensive play-calling duties.
Last week's loss to the Packers now puts the Chargers with a losing record at 4-6 and in last place in the AFC West. Meanwhile, their opponent this weekend, the Ravens, just took the top seed in the AFC after the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
As talented as this Chargers team is, there's no way they should be clinging to last place in their division. They just keep finding ways to beat themselves. Five of their six losses this season have come by a combined eight points. They're currently on a two-game losing skid with back-to-back losses to the NFC North teams in the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.
Is there any way they right the ship against what is now the top-tier team in the AFC? Let's get into some Los Angeles Chargers Week 12 bold predictions for Sunday Night Football versus the Baltimore Ravens.
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Chargers minimize turnovers to just one or less against Ravens
The Ravens' defense comes into this game with 15 takeaways and the third-ranked overall defense in the NFL. Minus the defense's issues with not being able to hold leads, the offense has at times put the team in bad situations, turning the ball over in crucial situations. The Chargers have eight turnovers this season. If Los Angeles hopes to fend off the Ravens at home, they're going to have to win the turnover battle.
Chargers still have trouble running the ball against the Ravens, fail to gain 100 yards
In three out of their last four games, the Chargers have fallen under 100 yards rushing. And last week, even though they were able to post 150 yards, Justin Herbert was the leading rusher with 73 yards.
The Chargers are 18th in the league in rushing offense, putting up 105.7 yards per game. But they'll be facing the third-best rushing defense in the league on Sunday Night Football. Look for them to be heavy relying on Herbert, either with his arm or his legs.
Chargers allow Lamar Jackson to throw for 300 yards, multiple touchdowns
The Chargers are coming into Sunday night's game posting the worst passing defense in the NFL, having allowed 16 passing touchdowns while averaging close to 300 yards a game through the air, per Fox Sports stats. Lamar Jackson is once again making a strong case to be the MVP again this season, completing almost 70% of his passes, while throwing 12 touchdowns to five interceptions. He's only had one game this season throwing for 300 yards or more. He could get that again against the Chargers.
Chargers suffer their third consecutive loss, fall to 4-7, heating up Brandon Staley's seat even more
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Chargers do what they normally do and be competitive. They do, after all, have one of the better quarterbacks in the entire league in Herbert, who can put them in a position to win games. But we all know how this goes at this point with this Chargers team. The Ravens feel like they're back on track, on a completely different trajectory than the Chargers right now.
It feels like with every crushing defeat, all thanks to a late lead lost, that we're getting closer to the end of this Chargers era of football coached by Staley. This will be a pivotal game for the third-year head coach, with more than just getting back into the playoff hunt on the line. Staley very well could be coaching for his job. A loss might mercifully put it to an end.
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