Catch This: Baltimore Ravens vs. Los Angeles Chargers Will Be Heavily Impacted by Receivers
This Sunday night the Baltimore Ravens (8-3) are on the road to face the Los Angeles Chargers (4-6) in a battle of AFC teams looking to take one more win with them into the all-important stretch of December football in the NFL.
While Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will be the talk of the night, for better or worse, the availability and performance of each passer's receivers figures to weigh heavily in the outcome of the contest.
"I feel very good about the health of the guys," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said on Friday. "We should be in good shape."
Baltimore Ravens receiver Zay Flowers (4) is questionable in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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The words sound positive and while both Rashod Bateman (foot) and Devin Duvernay (knee) have been cleared fully, Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder) and Zay Flowers (hip) both entered the weekend listed as questionable on the team's final injury report before Sunday.
All four of those receivers were either limited or did not participate during at least one practice this week.
Not a good sign considering the team needs to replace tight end Mark Andrews who was lost to a season-ending ankle injury.
On the other side, Los Angeles will have Keenan Allen (shoulder) fully ready to go while Jalen Guyton (groin) is the only receiver on the active roster questionable for Sunday.
While Allen and Guyton could certainly impact the outcome, fellow receiver Derius Davis should also factor in, but in a different way.
"We've worked hard at it," Harbaugh said when asked about defending against Davis who is currently the NFL leader in punt return yardage. "It's not just the returner - that's a big part of it - but it's also the rushes, the blockers in front...all the different things that go with it."
Harbaugh continued by praising the entire Chargers special teams unit, something the coach would know since that is where his own coaching roots run deepest.
Some say wins and losses aren't quarterback stats and they may be right.
If they want an example of it, this week may be one of them simply because of the different ways each team will need to use their receivers to help win a pivotal AFC matchup in Week 12.
