Baltimore Ravens @ Los Angeles Chargers
Final Score: BAL 30 – LAC 23
Writer: Steven Pintado (@coachstevenp on Twitter)
The battle of the Harbaugh did not disappoint on Monday Night Football. It started with the Chargers getting off to a fast start with a 10-0 after the first quarter. The Ravens would eventually score 30-13 the rest of the game over the Chargers. The Ravens leaned on Derrick Henry, who rushed for 140 yards, and Lamar Jackson, who helped account for 3 of the Raven’s touchdowns. The offense didn’t step up to the plate for the Chargers as they should have in a favorable passing offense matchup. Rookie Ladd McConkey led the offense again with 83 yards.
Three Up
- Ladd McConkey – The rookie receiver put up another solid outing with 83 yards. McConkey has 65 or more yards in 6 straight games.
- Mark Andrews – The veteran tight end bounced back after a quiet performance in Week 11. He could do that against the Chargers. The defense was elite against fantasy tight ends this year.
- Derrick Henry – Star running back Derrick Henry had an absolute elite performance with 140 rushing yards. He is on pace for a 2000-yard season.
Three Down
- Justin Herbert – Justin Herbert has been playing so well lately, and he was primed for a big game in a very favorable matchup. Herbert failed to perform up to a great matchup on primetime with barely 200 passing yards.
- Quentin Johnston – The second-year receiver could not make a catch in a favorable matchup. He also had a few drops in this game.
- Isiah Likely – The backup tight end would show up with 0 on the stat line after a solid outing the week before. He did nothing on offense besides getting a save on an onside kick grab.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson : 16/22, 177 yards passing, 2 TDs | 8 carries, 15 yards, 1 TD
Lamar Jackson was solid on MNF with a good fantasy outing. He hit plenty of his receivers for big catches as he went through his progressions. He threw the ball well enough outside of some high balls to his pass catchers early in this game. Jackson’s rushing output was sad to see, as he only finished with 15 yards. He had a great matchup to do more, but Jackson wasn’t forced to move out of the pocket all that game. Jackson continues to show to be a top-tier fantasy quarterback, as he had three of their four touchdowns in this game.
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 24 carries, 140 yards rushing
Derrick Henry had a solid game in Week 12. He eclipsed 100 yards rushing after missing that mark for the last two weeks. Henry showed off his tackle-breaking ability and continuously gained yards after contact. Henry would eventually take advantage of a trying defense as he had some big runs in the second half of this game. He would have scored a touchdown in this game, but it was been called back due to a penalty. Henry will remain an RB1, but it would be nice for him to receive some receiving work.
Justice Hill: 4 carries, 55 yards rushing, 1 TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 7 yards
Backup running back Justice Hilled helped fantasy managers in a big way. Hill broke free for a 51-yard rushing touchdown in the second half of this game. Outside of that, he combined for 11 total yards on five touches. For most of those touches, he was unable to find any room to create yardage. This was not much of a high-usage game for Hill due to the Ravens leading for about three quarters.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Flowers: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 62 yards receiving
The Ravens’ WR1, Zay Flowers, had a solid outing in this one. He would lead all Ravens pass catchers in receiving yards. Flowers should have seen more targets in this one since he was running his routes well and gaining yards after the catch. He took full advantage of the Chargers’ zone defense and had a few plays go over ten yards this week. Even in man coverage, Flowers was beating his defenders out of the break and finding some separation. Flowers remains a very good WR2 in fantasy.
Mark Andrews: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 44 yards receiving, 1 TD | 1 carry, 2 yards
Mark Andrews was able to bounce back after a poor Week 11 showing. The important part was he led all Baltimore tight ends in targets, receptions, and yardage. For most of this game, Andrews was a safety blanket underneath with short catches. His touchdown was very impressive, as he caught the ball over the defender and managed to keep control of the ball. Andrews is still a difficult tight end to rate, but he proved he can do well despite the matchup.
Rashod Bateman : 3 targets, 2 receptions, 43 yards receiving, 1 TD
Rashod Bateman was quiet for most of this game. He didn’t see many targets in this one, but after the Ravens went ahead, it was a lot of rushing. Bateman had a 40-yard touchdown grab from Jackson after beating the defender deep. Jackson overthrew Bateman on a couple of other deep targets, but the WR was able to come down with at least one of them. Bateman remains a boom or bust receiver in fantasy moving forward.
Tylan Wallace: 1 target, 1 reception, 15 yards receiving
Diontae Johnson: 1 target
The rest of the Ravens receivers didn’t make much of an impact in this game. Wallace had a nice catch and run for 15 yards, but it was his only target of the night. Diontae Johnson continues to be a big disappointment and head-scratcher in this Ravens offense. His only target was a high ball over his head. Johnson has lost all his fantasy value until he can show something as a member of the Ravens.
Charlie Kolar: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards receiving
Isaiah Likely : 0 target
The other Ravens TEs were less involved in the passing game than usual. Charlie Kolar would get his one catch in this game, but he isn’t fantasy-relevant. Isaiah is likely to be shut out in this game, which is hard to swallow. He had such a great performance earlier in the season. He wasn’t looked toward once and was on the field running routes. It was one of those weird, strange, quiet nights for the young tight end. He should be able to bounce back.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: 21/36, 218 passing yards | 4 carries, 29 yards receiving, 1 TD
For Justin Herbert in this game, I felt he should have done better than his stat line. Herbert was throwing the ball well during this game for big gains downfield. When Herbert saw more pressure from the Ravens, you noticed his play changed slightly, with more incompletions and bad plays. Herbert’s rushing output saved his fantasy day from being a total waste in a favorable matchup. After 129 passing yards in the first half, Herbert would only have another 89 yards in a negative game script, which isn’t great. Herbert has been playing well as of late, so hopefully, he will be able to bounce back next week.
Running Back
J.K. Dobbins: 6 carries, 40 yards rushing | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
J.K. Dobbins started well in this matchup. He had some nice runs early in his game, showing his explosiveness behind the line of scrimmage. He was able to get yards against Ravens’ tough run defense. He saw plenty of receiving options with five targets, all in the first half. Unfortunately, Dobbins was ruled out with a knee injury he sustained in the second quarter. He wouldn’t play in the second half. Hopefully, it will not be a serious injury that keeps him out past the rest of this game. He was performing well and seeing a high workload in Week 12.
Gus Edwards: 9 carries, 11 yards rushing, 1 TD | 1 target
Backup Gus Edwards was very poor in this game with his efficiency, only averaging 1.2 YPC in his game. His longest run of the night was only eight yards. Many of his carries went for zero or negative yards in this game. If you were a fantasy manager who started him, then you got lucky with a goal line touchdown in the final minute. Edwards could see a more significant role if Dobbins’ injury is not great, but so could rookie Kimani Vidal. It is something to monitor this week.
Hassan Haskins: 1 carry, 3 yards rushing
Hassan Haskins didn’t get much involved in this game. He doesn’t have any fantasy relevance.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Ladd McConkey: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 83 yards receiving
Week 12 was another strong performance from rookie receiver Ladd McConkey. McConkey was finding a way to get open all over the field. McConkey was finding the soft spot in zone coverage, and Herbert found him a few times. In man coverage, McConkey easily found separation from his defender, and it was Herbert’s option when pressure was getting his way. The Chargers need to find ways to get McConkey more involved in the red zone, as it has now been four games since he crossed into the end zone. McConkey remains a high-end WR3 with an upside to be a WR2.
Will Dissly: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 47 yards receiving
Tight end Will Dissly continues to be a weapon for this Chargers offense. He saw most of his work over the middle of the field as a safety blanket for Herbert. He would catch all four passes and attempt to make yards after the catch. Dissly should have seen more targets in his game, but Herbert being constantly under pressure in the second half did not help this passing unit. Dissly is showing he can be a low-end TE1 moving forward.
Joshua Palmer: 8 targets, 3 receptions, 38 yards receiving
Joshua Palmer and Justin Herbert couldn’t get on the same page in his game, as he only had three catches on eight targets. Palmer showed off his ability to find separation in man coverage and beat his man for the catch. A few times, Herbert had Palmer open, but I didn’t see him on the field. Most of his targets were not greatly thrown balls, and Palmer had few chances to catch them. He remains a WR5 type of player in fantasy.
Quentin Johnston: 5 targets
It was not a nice night for Quentin Johnston, who could not handle his matchup this week. Johnston had five targets with zero receptions to account for. His targets from Herbert were all deep looks, and he couldn’t come down with any of those passes. He dropped at least two of those five targets, which is not great. Hopefully, Johnston can bounce back, as he has been playing very solid this year.
Jalen Reagor: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards receiving
Jalen Reagor is seeing more work in this Chargers offense, but only had 20 yards in this game. Reagor could have had a better than if he didn’t drop a ball that would have resulted in a football.
Tucker Fisk: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards receiving
Derius Davis: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 4 yards receiving
Tucker Fisk is mainly just a backup tight end with little fantasy value. Derius Davis is more of a special team player who saw a few short-designed targets go this well. Both players don’t offer much for fantasy.
Photos by Peter Lloyd/Unsplash and Irina Sitnikova/Unsplash | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)