When the crumb rubber settled on the Harbowl 3, the Baltimore Ravens had bestowed head coach John Harbaugh a rather comfortable victory over brother Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers.
Nonetheless, it was a Ravens win had by a rally from a double-digit deficit and keyed by a very gutsy early call from John Harbaugh.
Trailing by three points with two minutes to go in the first half, facing fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 16-yard line and looking for a spark, John Harbaugh eschewed any concern of consequences and called tight end Mark Andrews’ number -- at quarterback.
Following the two-minute warning, the Ravens broke the huddle, sprinted to the line and Andrews lined up under center before sneaking it 2 yards. Not long after, Lamar Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard touchdown and the Ravens were off and running to a 30-23 win.
“The downside is that you give them the ball at the 16-yard line. That’s the downside, but the upside or the thought is that I really thought that we’d get it. I thought Mark could get it with a quarterback sneak. I just thought he and and our interior offensive line, I mean Pat Ricard coming off the ball the way he did and Daniel Faalele coming off the ball the way he did, I just thought we would get it and they did. So, hats off to them and that led to like a 90-something yard drive and got us seven points. That was a big turning point in the game.”
The Chargers got out to a 10-0 lead before Jackson struck for a highlight-reel 10-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. It was on the Ravens’ ensuing drive that Andrews turned his head coach’s daring call into a massive change in momentum and emotions at SoFi Stadium.
Four plays -- and one Chargers penalty -- after the Andrews run, Jackson hit Bateman on a beautiful moon ball into the end zone that saw the receiver make a sensational catch despite L.A. cornerback Kristian Fulton being flagged for pass interference. It culminated an eight-play, 93-yard march to a 14-10 lead the Ravens would never relinquish.
“It was huge,” Jackson said of Andrews’ conversion. “We started off slow in the first quarter and we started off very slow. We have to get back in the groove and start our games the correct way. As the game goes on, we have to be stronger and stronger and finishing how we are supposed to.
“But we came out victorious and, on that conversion, it was just a great conversion.”
Andrews' 2-yard gain was also a footnote in Baltimore’s dominant rushing attack. The Ravens dictated the tone of the evening as they collected 212 yards on the ground thanks to Derrick Henry’s 140, Justice Hill’s 55, Jackson’s 15 and Andrew’s all-important 2.
With the triumph, John Harbaugh improved to 3-0 going up against his brother, though this was the first meeting since Jim joined the Chargers.
“That family is just really incredible and just thinking about their dad and both of them, it’s just an awesome family,” Andrews told NFL Network’s Bridget Condon after the game. “For us, to have our coaches’ back, coach Harbaugh, and get this win is really cool.”
Despite dealing with the doldrums of defeat, Jim Harbaugh did admit it’s something to behold being able to match up with his brother on football’s highest level.
“It’s just cool to be at this level, to be at the highest level in these competitive environments,” Jim said.
By evening’s end, though, all the fervor for the brotherly matchup had settled a bit with the reality that two teams smackdab in the middle of the playoff picture had locked up and Baltimore had emerged the victor in more impressive fashion than the final score indicated.
“The main thing is they played better football tonight,” Jim Harbaugh said.
And the turning point in the Ravens besting the Bolts began in earnest with Andrews’ sneak.
It was a play that turned the tide in the latest sibling battle, though, it didn’t impact any postgame reactions.
Said Jim: “We said the same thing and congratulated him on the victory. Yeah, love you.”
Said John: “I just told him, ‘You’re a great coach and you have a great team.’ I love you and he said, ‘I love you and congratulations.’ It was good.”