Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 20-10 win over the host Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday night’s Week 12 game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Brian Wacker: The Ravens defense did it again despite Baltimore’s offense doing its best to give another game away.

After struggling mightily to move the ball for most of the night against a Chargers defense that is one of the worst in the NFL, Baltimore relied on its defense to hold on to a game the Ravens were somehow in danger of losing until a fourth-down blitz from cornerback Arthur Maulet ended any chance of another blown lead. Then rookie Zay Flowers showed why he’s the team’s best receiver, breaking free for a 37-yard touchdown run to seal the victory with just over 90 seconds remaining.

There’s no sugar coating it: The Ravens offense was disjointed. That’s going to happen sometimes, but it seems to happen in games the Ravens should win easily. It helps to have one of the NFL’s best defenses, though, and players like safety Kyle Hamilton, who was all over the field, and what has been a rejuvenated Jadeveon Clowney, who came up with a crucial fourth-quarter strip-sack. The game was closer than it should have been, but unlike the three losses in which the Ravens blew fourth-quarter leads, the defense saved the day.

Childs Walker: The Ravens again flirted with disaster thanks to disjointed offense and a shocking 44-yard miss from kicker Justin Tucker. Give all the game balls to their defense, which came up with a decisive fourth-down stop and forced four turnovers, including a strip-sack by Jadeveon Clowney with the Chargers in the red zone early in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles came in averaging 25.9 points per game. Holding them to 10 was no small feat.

The Ravens moved the ball efficiently in the first half but did not build a substantial lead in part because of a misguided fourth-down call in the red zone — why take Lamar Jackson out of the play with a direct snap to Gus Edwards? — and in part because of suspect pass blocking on third down. Venerable Chargers pass rusher Khalil Mack was a nightmare for left tackle Ronnie Stanley and the rest of the offensive line. The Ravens got their running game going in the third quarter but did not stick with it enough, failing to capitalize on repeated chances served up by the defense.

As they defend their narrow lead in the AFC North, the Ravens will take a road win in any form, but this was not a performance that put to bed concerns about their finishing ability.

Mike Preston: The Ravens had 10 days of rest and left their best game in Baltimore instead of taking it to Los Angeles. The Chargers showed why they are one of the worst teams in the NFL because they had virtually no offense. The Ravens have a good defense, but it was tough to tell whether they dominated or whether Los Angeles was so inept. Offensively, the Ravens weren’t in sync for most of the game but were good enough to take advantage of some turnovers and put Justin Tucker in field goal range. The bottom line is the Ravens won, they have the best record in the AFC and are in position to seal the No. 1 seed and home field advantage in the playoffs heading into December. It was an ugly win, but that’s fitting for the NFL with its emphasis on parity.

C.J. Doon: The Ravens are so hard to figure out. At times, the offense looks unstoppable with Lamar Jackson and a strong group of weapons breaking off big gains through the air and on the ground. Then, there are times when Jackson holds on to the ball too long, the play-calling and personnel is questionable and the offensive line fails to generate much of a push. The Ravens went just 4-for-13 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth down Sunday night, which doesn’t inspire much confidence in the offense’s ability to perform under pressure. With the Chargers blitzing Jackson on nearly 40% of his dropbacks, the Ravens only seemed to have success when he got the ball got out of his hands quickly. As good as Jackson is scrambling and extending plays, it’s not a reliable way to move the chains.

Even this historically good Ravens defense is prone to occasional lapses. If not for those four Chargers turnovers, who knows how this game would have played out. That said, those moments of brilliance — Zay Flowers’ long touchdown run, Keaton Mitchell’s outside burst, Mike Macdonald’s patented corner blitz, Jadeveon Clowney’s strip-sack — provide plenty of hope for a deep postseason run. Embrace the chaos. (By the way, do you think the Chargers regret drafting Quentin Johnston over Flowers?)

Tim Schwartz: It wasn’t pretty, but it rarely is. What was, though, is how this Ravens defense continues to dominate, regardless of opponent. The Chargers, as inept as they might appear at times, had scored a first-half touchdown in 48 straight games entering Sunday — the longest streak in NFL history. That’s over. Lamar Jackson did enough, spreading the ball around without tight end Mark Andrews, but the offense disappeared again, and that’s got to be a point of emphasis during the bye week. There’s too much talent to score so few points. Fortunately, the Ravens have a defense that is undoubtedly going to be difficult to beat in the postseason. And at 9-3, they’re a virtual lock to be there.

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