Chargers’ next opponent

Baltimore Ravens (10-3)

5:20 p.m., Sunday, Qualcomm Stadium

The Ravens have lost only three games. Each time, they were on the road. For all their success, the Ravens are no better than 16-14 in away games under head coach John Harbaugh.

So, ahem, there’s that.

About the last thing the Chargers needed to come along at this particular point – the virtual point of no return in terms of postseason contention – was a game with the smash-mouth Ravens. Baltimore’s a good opponent to have when it’s early in the season and you’re trying to measure yourself against the league’s better franchises – especially if you’re wondering about your own toughness — but not when you’re under .500 in mid-December and possibly one loss from elimination.

Baltimore’s not without a sense of urgency, either, despite a sweep of the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers and unbeaten record within the AFC North. The Ravens are one of four AFC teams at 10-3 and all too aware of the importance of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Those two wins over the Steelers won’t mean much, either, if Pittsburgh finishes with a better record than Baltimore.

When last the Chargers faced the Ravens two years ago – see Series History below – Baltimore was built around (now) 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis. He’s missed four games – all Baltimore wins — with turf toe.

The Ravens are the NFL’s best defense against the pass and second-best against the rush, allowing an average of 15.5 points per game and an opponents’ third-down percentage of just 28.7. If anything, this year’s ravenous Ravens seem even more on the offensive when on defense.

Baltimore’s 8-5 in prime-time games during Harbaugh’s tenure, 4-1 in “Sunday Night Football’ affairs.

Three players to watch

Terrell Suggs, LB: You can toss a dart at the Ravens’ defensive lineup and hit somebody you want to avoid in your game plan, but even with Ed Reed at safety and Haloti Ngata at nose, the first force to be reckoned with is Suggs on the pass rush. Three times this season, he’s recorded three sacks in a game, putting him within two quarterback drops of the team record of 15. In addition to three picks Sunday, he also forced three Indianapolis Colts fumbles. He’ll be dancing with a former Ravens teammate Sunday night in Jared Gaither, now the Chargers’ starting left offensive tackle.

Joe Flacco, QB: Of the top 26 quarterbacks in the NFL in completion percentage, 25 are doing better than Flacco, who’s hit just 56.6 percent of his passes. He’s no higher than 21st in passer rating at 79.9. But there’ll only be two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, and nobody would be surprised if Flacco is one of them. Why worry so much about passing stats, too, when your primary job is getting the ball to …

Ray Rice, RB: This not a height joke, but the 5-foot-8 Rice actually had been running well below the radar until most recently breaking off consecutive 100-yard games – incredibly, the first time he’s done that in his career. Rice leads the NFL with 1,622 total yards from scrimmage, including 10 rushing scores and two TD receptions. He’s now working behind one of the league’s premier fullbacks, Vonta Leach.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Two years ago, Ray Lewis shot the gap and met Darren
Sproles head-on in the backfield on fourth-and-2 in the closing seconds to seal
the Baltimore Ravens’ 31-26 victory against the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers hardly need to be reminded of that jarring hit. Sproles left
for New Orleans as a free agent after last season, perhaps one of the reasons
the Chargers have struggled so badly most of this season. And with their playoff
hopes barely flickering, the Chargers have to face the Ravens again, although
this time it’s Terrell Suggs who’s bringing the mayhem.

After consecutive wins against downtrodden Jacksonville and Buffalo, the
Chargers (6-7) host the Ravens (10-3), who will be assured a fourth straight
trip to the postseason if they win Sunday night. A loss would push the Chargers
to the brink of missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

“They’re as talented as any team in the league,” beleaguered Chargers
coach Norv Turner said. “They’re obviously the best defense in the league, in
my mind. They’re great on third down, they’re physical, they’re a great
pass-rushing group.”

Lewis, the Ravens’ long-time defensive leader, has missed four straight
games with an injured right toe. The Ravens, who have won those four games, hope
to have Lewis back Sunday night.

Suggs had three sacks and forced three fumbles in a 24-10 victory against
the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. He also had three sacks in a 16-6
victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night, when the Ravens
tied a franchise record with nine sacks.

“Suggs is a guy that I think everyone starts with,” Turner said. “They
have a number of guys that can rush the passer. The one area I think they’re
better than they were when we played them last time is they’ve probably improved
in the secondary.”

That could be bad news for Philip Rivers, who’s looked much better the last
two games.

The Ravens also have a physical offense, led by running back Ray Rice.

“They’re able to keep the ball away from you and limit the number of
opportunities you have against them,” Turner said. “It’s going to be a
physical challenge for all of our players.”

The Chargers’ 37-10 victory against the Bills on Sunday was tempered when
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos rallied to beat the Chicago Bears in overtime.
The Broncos are 8-5 atop the AFC West while the Oakland Raiders are 7-6.

After hosting the Ravens, the Chargers finish with road games against the
Detroit Lions and the Raiders.

Three Chargers are closing in on significant milestones.

With 582 career catches, star tight end Antonio Gates needs five receptions
to supplant Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner as the team’s all-time leading
receiver. Joiner, the Chargers’ wide receivers coach, had 586 catches from
1976-86, the final 11 seasons of his 18-year NFL career.

Rivers needs 255 yards passing for his fourth straight 4,000-yard season. He
would join Peyton Manning (1999-04 and 2006-10) and former teammate Drew Brees
(2006-11) as the only QBs in NFL history with at least four-straight 4,000-yard
seasons. Second-year pro Ryan Mathews needs 57 yards rushing for his first
1,000-yard season. Mathews has gained 100 yards in three straight games for the
first time.

Baltimore Ravens defensive end Cory Redding, left, and nose tackle Terrence Cody celebrate after making a tackle on the line of scrimmage during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts in Baltimore. / AP

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn’t interested in the complicated tiebreaking procedure that will ultimately determine the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

His focus, and that of the team, is solely on Sunday night’s game against the San Diego Chargers. With a victory, Baltimore (10-3) will be assured a fourth straight trip to the post-season.

“The object is just to win the next game, more than anything probably,” Harbaugh said Monday. “If that happens, we pretty much know where the chips are going to fall.”

The immediate goal is to get into the playoffs, but the Ravens want more. Locked in a four-way tie for the best record in the conference, Baltimore has a chance to receive a first-round bye, followed by two home playoff games.

If the Ravens win out, they are expected to become the top seed in the AFC — regardless of how Pittsburgh, New England and Houston fare. Although it’s too early to determine, if all four teams finish 13-3, it appears Baltimore will win the tiebreaker based on strength of victories.

The Ravens don’t care about that right now.

“We have to play the San Diego Chargers. That’s the next task at hand,” running back Ray Rice said.

Minutes after Baltimore completed a 24-10 victory over the winless Indianapolis Colts 24-10 on Sunday, Houston rallied past Cincinnati and New England held off Washington. The results did not go unnoticed in the Ravens locker room.

“It’s out there, so you always see it,” Flacco said. “It looked like there were a couple close games, couple of shots, looked like Houston might go down and they didn’t. Looked like New England might go down, and they didn’t. But I’m not really banking on that anyway. I’m looking at the rest of the season saying we’ve got to win the rest of our games.”

Baltimore’s only defeats this season have been on the road against teams that entered with losing records (Tennessee, Jacksonville and Seattle). San Diego is 6-7. But the Ravens have won four straight by a combined 55 points and are riding a crest of confidence.

“You’re always trying to gain momentum, you’re always trying to be as good as you can be and improve,” Harbaugh said.

The Ravens are clicking on defence, offence and special teams. Baltimore has allowed only 36 points over its last three games — and that’s without injured middle linebacker Ray Lewis. Baltimore got two touchdown passes from Flacco against the Colts, Rice has run for 307 yards over the past two weeks and Lardarius Webb has rejuvenated the punt return unit.

And yet, the Ravens aren’t satisfied.

“Championship teams, they don’t settle for what’s happening right now. Every week, they try to get better,” said linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had three sacks against the Colts. “We’re doing a lot of things good, but we have to correct things and get better at the things we’re not doing so well. We’re still not satisfied. This team is hungry.”

After the Chargers, Baltimore hosts the Cleveland Browns and concludes the regular season at Cincinnati. Even if they don’t get the top seed in the AFC, the Ravens can get a home game by winning the AFC North. And playing at home is no small advantage, given that Baltimore is 7-0 at M&T Bank Stadium and 3-3 on the road.

No matter how it turns out, the Ravens intend to be at their best once the post-season gets under way.

“Keep working hard. Keep getting better,” centre Matt Birk said. “We can get where we want to go, but all the stuff, all the external stuff, about playoff scenarios and what ifs, it doesn’t matter. All we have to do is focus on our opponents this week.”

Harbaugh said Monday he’s “very hopeful” of having Lewis back as soon as Sunday night. The 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker has missed four straight games with an injured right toe, and although Baltimore is 4-0 without him, he remains the team’s leading tackler.