Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
Sunday, 12/18/11, 8:20 PM EST, TV: NBC
Opening Point Spread: Baltimore -1.5
Current Betting Line: Baltimore -2.5
Opening Total: 45
Current Total: 44
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
The San Diego Chargers will be fighting for their playoff lives while the Baltimore Ravens are playing for postseason positioning as the teams square off on Sunday Night Football. The Chargers (6-7) started the day two games behind Denver for the lead in the AFC West, but that could change heading into the evening if the Broncos (8-5) lose at home to the New England Patriots.
San Diego finishes the regular season with road games against the Detroit Lions (8-5) and Oakland Raiders (7-6), and Denver visits the Buffalo Bills (5-8) next week before hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (5-8) in the team’s home finale. The Ravens (-2.5, O/U 44) are tied with Pittsburgh atop the AFC North but own the tiebreaker by virtue of winning both head-to-head meetings. They are also tied with the Patriots, Steelers and Houston Texans for the top record in the conference.
Baltimore is riding a four-game winning streak, with the last loss coming in the team’s last visit to the West Coast in Week 10. The Ravens fell 22-17 to the Seattle Seahawks (6-7) in that game and trailed 22-7 early in the third quarter before scoring the final 10 points. They failed to get running back Ray Rice going offensively, handing the ball to him just five times for 27 yards, although he also had eight receptions for 54 yards.
Rice has carried the ball 20 times or more in each game during Baltimore’s winning streak, averaging nearly 118 yards on the ground during that stretch. He has helped take some pressure off quarterback Joe Flacco, who has regressed a bit this year after throwing 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions a year ago. Flacco has 15 touchdown passes and nine picks this season, and he is completing six percent less of his throws.
The Ravens would be wise not to turn this game into a shootout because the Chargers have played much better in their last two games. San Diego QB Philip Rivers has thrown six touchdowns in helping his team win consecutive games following a six-game losing streak that saw him toss 10 picks.
Rivers has gotten some help as well from second-year RB Ryan Mathews, who is averaging 121 yards per game in the past three. Mathews had rushed for more than 98 yards only once in the previous nine games he played this year.
The Chargers have lost four of the last five meetings with Baltimore both straight-up and against the spread, scoring 13 points or less three times. But in splitting the past two meetings, San Diego has averaged 29 points with the total going OVER both times.
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