Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 20-10 win over the Chargers | COMMENTARY

Here’s how the Ravens (9-3) graded out at each position after a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers (4-7) in Sunday night’s Week 12 game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson started strong but struggled throughout the final three quarters. He seemed to get caught up in dropping his arm slot while throwing the ball. That paid off at first, but not later in the game when he needed to be more accurate. Jackson completed 18 of 32 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 39 yards but still held onto the ball too long. If he doesn’t throw quickly, he struggles through progressions. Grade: C-

Running backs

The Ravens had a three-headed monster with Keaton Mitchell, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. They didn’t dominate the game but were effective on runs both inside and outside. Mitchell showed good speed on several outside runs and Hill was tough inside, especially in the red zone, though he was stopped on third-and-3 from the Chargers’ 28-yard line with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter. Mitchell finished with 64 yards on nine carries and Edwards and Hill combined for 57 yards on 13 carries. Grade: B+

Receivers

The Ravens seemed to catch the Chargers off guard with the short passing attack early in the game. They used a lot of quick screens to Zay Flowers and slants to Odell Beckham Jr., but Los Angeles took the quick stuff away in the second half. The Ravens did get a strong performance from tight end Isaiah Likely, who was filling in for the injured Mark Andrews and had four catches for 40 yards, including several good runs after the catch. Flowers’ 37-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left on a jet sweep sealed the win. Flowers also had five catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. Grade: C+

Offensive line

This group is good at run blocking, and guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler and center Tyler Linderbaum are active getting to the second level to make blocks. But both tackles — Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses — have had trouble in pass protection this season and struggled against Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack, who had two of Los Angeles’ three sacks. Grade: C-

Defensive line

The Chargers had 86 rushing yards and they couldn’t get much inside against Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington and Michael Pierce. All three performed well and didn’t allow Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to step up in the pocket. Reserves Brent Urban and Travis Jones also helped wear down Los Angeles’ running game inside the tackles. Grade: A

Linebackers

Inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen flew all over the field. Smith finished with eight tackles and Queen had seven. They punished Chargers receivers when they caught passes over the middle. The Ravens also got a strong pass rush from outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, whose strip-sack in the fourth quarter ended a potential scoring drive. The Ravens forced four turnovers. Grade: A

Secondary

Safety Kyle Hamilton was dominant in coverage and closing in on ball carriers, fighting off blocks and tackling. He finished with six tackles. The Ravens also got a strong game from cornerback Brandon Stephens, who played well in run support when needed and finished with six tackles. As far as coverage, the Ravens had few breakdowns and basically limited Herbert to one option in wide receiver Keenan Allen, who had 14 catches on 16 targets for 106 yards. Allen played well, but he was the Chargers’ only serious threat. Grade: B+

Special teams

Justin Tucker converted two of three field goal attempts but missed a 44-yarder with 2:57 left. It was a rare miss for Tucker, whose accuracy dropped below 90% for his career, and those missed kicks in the past usually serve as a bad omen for the Ravens. Jordan Stout had three punts for an average of 40.3 yards, but two were inside the 20-yard line. Grade: B

Coaching

There is a pattern starting to emerge. Offensively, the Ravens have a habit of starting strong but struggling in the second half of games. It seems to suggest other teams make halftime adjustments and the Ravens don’t. Defensively, they dominated the Chargers, who played with a small-ball passing game and had no intermediate- to long-range attack. This was a game the Ravens should have won by at least two touchdowns, but they had to struggle until the end. Coach John Harbaugh, in a rush to dictate the pace of games, needs to slow down when a challenge might be needed. He missed at least two opportunities Sunday night. Grade: C+

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