The Chargers only lost four times during the regular season and they were able to get some payback for two of those defeats by beating the Chiefs and Broncos in their second meetings with their AFC West rivals.
They’ll get a chance to answer another one of their losses in Baltimore on Sunday. The Ravens beat the Chargers 22-10 in Week 16, so it hasn’t been long since their first meeting and Chargers defensive end Isaac Rochell said that’s a good thing when it comes to dealing with the Baltimore offense.
“It helps a lot because it’s fresh,” Rochell said, via ESPN.com. “You don’t have to dig weeks back or game plan for a team you’ve never seen before. So it’s good for us that we’ve seen them two weeks ago, and we just have to sharpen the game plan and get better, pick up on things that you didn’t pick up on the first time.”
The Chargers held both Jackson and the Ravens as a whole to their fewest rushing yards since Jackson took over as the team’s starting quarterback, but safety Derwin James still expects Baltimore to try to run the ball right at them on Sunday.
“You just have to play rules football, and you need every hat to the ball,” James said. “It’s not like a normal game where you’re like, ‘OK, he’s going to make the tackle.’ He might cut it back, so we need you.”
While the Chargers defense will be trying for a repeat, the key to the game could be how the Chargers offense changes things up from last time. They were held to 198 yards in Week 16 and tight end Antonio Gates’ fumble late in the fourth quarter in Baltimore territory resulted in a touchdown that put the game out of reach.