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5 Takeaways: Why Jim Harbaugh Isn't Fazed After Loss to Ravens

5T Ravens

The Chargers are 7-4 after Monday night's 30-23 loss to the Ravens.

Here are five takeaways from Week 12:

1. Harbaugh, Bolts forge forward

The Bolts saw their four-game win streak snapped on Monday night.

Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh isn't fazed one bit.

"We'll regroup. They played better football than we did tonight," Harbaugh said. "But more importantly, we know what kind of team we are and what we're capable of."

Monday night's game was the Chargers first loss in more than a month.

The showdown between AFC postseason contenders lived up to the billing, too, as Khalil Mack called it "a playoff kind of caliber game."

But even though the Chargers raced out to an early 10-0 lead, the Bolts couldn't stay consistent enough against a stacked Baltimore squad.

Offensively, the Chargers marched 70 yards for a touchdown on their opening possession but didn't get in the red zone again until late in the fourth quarter.

And while the Bolts defense stymied Lamar Jackson and Co. early on, the Ravens got rolling to the tune of 30 points in the final three quarters.

Daiyan Henley revealed Harbaugh's message to the Chargers in the postgame locker room.

"Stay connected. It's easy to stay connected after a win, we got to stay connected after we fall short," Henley said. "We know we got a long season and this one game does not define us. We're trying to go farther than one game."

Mack added: "The way I play football, I would love to play this team again. I would love to. But what we put on film today wasn't good enough."

Even with the loss, the Bolts still find themselves in a strong spot to make the playoffs in the AFC.

The Chargers dropped to the No. 6 seed but have seven wins — two more than the Dolphins and Colts — and also hold the current head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos.

"Keep battling," Justin Herbert said of the outlook going forward.

Derwin James, Jr. added: "The men in this locker room are going to respond."

The Bolts are on the road in Week 13 against Atlanta.

Browse through live action photos of the Bolts Week 12 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens at SoFi Stadium!

2. Plenty of 4th and 1s

At the 2-minute warning of the first half, the Chargers led 10-7 and appeared to be in position to get the ball back.

The Bolts defense had just stuffed Baltimore on a run to bring up fourth-and-1 for the Ravens at their own 16-yard line.

Instead, the Ravens went for it, converted and scored a touchdown roughly 90 seconds later. The Chargers wouldn't hold the lead for the rest of the night.

"Nah, I mean they're an aggressive team," Morgan Fox said when asked if he was surprised by Baltimore's gutsy call. "They had been making plays all day. I think that they thought that they were going to go and make that play."

Nick Niemann added: "I think it was a position where it was like they wanted to put their foot down and come at us a little bit and not let us just control everything."

That conversion would be the first of three Baltimore conversions on fourth downs, all of which came on fourth-and-1.

The next one came late in the third quarter at the Ravens own 39-yard line. Derrick Henry rumbled for 27 yards to move the chains.

The final sequence came on the first play of the fourth quarter as Henry powered ahead for two yards.

"They were just getting read options where Lamar could keep it, Henry can run it," James said. "We just got to be better and get them out of those fourth-and 1s. That team being in those situations is very dangerous and can't play like that in those situations."

Besides going 3-for-3 on fourth downs, the Ravens were also 8-for-15 on third downs (53.3 percent).

"They did a great job and third down and fourth downs, without a doubt," Harbaugh said.

3. Henry a tall task for Bolts defense

Mack was frustrated in the postgame locker room that the Chargers gave up 212 rushing yards, their highest total of the season by more than 30 yards.

Henry did most of that damage with 24 carries for 140 yards (5.8 per carry), with a long of 27 yards.

"We knew what we was going to get," Mack said. "That's the frustrating thing about it, but ultimately just trying to fix it up and get ready for the next one."

Mack later added: "I feel like there was a lot of instances where we've got to get off our blocks and play with our hands a little better."

Harbaugh said: "They ran the ball real well. We needed better block destruction, you know, just across the board. But give them credit."

On a night when the Chargers limited Jackson to just 15 yards on 8 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run, the Chargers struggled to find an answer for Henry, who surpassed 1,300 rushing yards for the season on Monday.

Henry got going in the second quarter with runs of 19, 14 and 11 yards on the same drive, with each run coming on first down.

"It's a good team, it's a good offense. We know what they had in their backfield," Henley said. "Really just came down to technique.

"Just being one of the guys on the defense, I feel like as a unit we could have been better up front," Henley added. "I feel like it's one of those games I have to step up and be better. As a defense I feel like we all could be better."

Niemann, who got ample playing time in place of injured starter Denzel Perryman, added: "They started to control the game just being able to run the ball a little bit against us. That's a team you don't want to give momentum to and when they can control the game and run the ball, I think that makes it harder for us."

Check out the top photos of the Bolts warming up for their Week 12 game against the Baltimore Ravens at SoFi Stadium!

4. Offense loses Dobbins, rhythm

Through most of the first two quarters Monday night, J.K. Dobbins was the driving force of the Chargers offense.

The running back tallied six carries for 40 yards and added three catches for 19 yards, good for an impressive 7.6 yards per touch.

But Dobbins sustained an injury in the first half and didn't return to the field. He was listed as questionable to return and was later ruled out.

"I don't have an update. I know it's a knee," Harbaugh said.

Herbert added: "We did a good job running the football in the first half and I'm hoping J.K. is OK."

With Dobbins in the mix, the Chargers ran for 76 yards on 15 carries in the first half. That total dropped to seven total yards on five attempts in the second half.

Part of the low rushing output was due to the Chargers trailing and relying on Herbert to try and win the game through the air.

"J.K. is a dynamic back. Losing him definitely hurts ... whenever you lose a player that good, you definitely feel it a little bit," Zion Johnson said.

Overall, the Chargers put up 285 yards of offense on 60 plays.

"I thought we did a good job moving the ball, we just have to go score points," Herbert said.

5. Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh

The third edition of The Harbaugh Bowl went the same as the first two, with Jim coming up short on the scoreboard.

Even so, Harbaugh said postgame that he was grateful for the chance to once again compete against his brother, John.

"It's just cool to be at this level, to be at the highest level, in these competitive environments," Harbaugh said.

The brothers spent time chatting pregame as they were surrounded by cameras near midfield.

After the game, the two shared a quick embrace and words of encouragement before parting ways.

"Congratulated him on the victory and said, 'Love you,'" Harbaugh said.

Something to consider: if the Ravens end up winning the AFC North and claiming the No. 3 seed, the Chargers would travel to Baltimore in the playoffs if the Bolts end up with the No. 6 seed.

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