INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The puzzled look on Jim Harbaugh’s face told the story of Monday night’s Harbowl.
Even he didn’t seem to anticipate the gutsy fourth-round decision that flipped the last Harbaugh sibling in favor of his older brother.
It was pretty audacious that John Harbaugh left Baltimore’s offense on the field with two minutes left in the first half and the Ravens faced 4th-and-1 from their own 16-yard line. No NFL team has done that on fourth down from their own 20 in the first half in four years.
What made it all the more risky was that John chose not to give the ball to either of his dreaded short-yardage playmakers, nimble quarterback Lamar Jackson or bulldozing running back Derrick Henry. John instead called for a tush-push play with tight end Mark Andrews taking a direct hit while Henry and fullback Patrick Ricard pushed him from behind.
A high-risk 4th-and-1 conversion by Andrews sparked an 8-play, 93-yard drive that culminated in Baltimore scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 40-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Rashod Bateman. The Ravens never relinquished the lead in the second half, opening up a two-touchdown cushion midway through the fourth quarter and holding on for an impressive 30-23 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
When asked why he took the risk on fourth down from his own 20-yard line, John said he had a gut feeling “that I really thought we could get it.” The elder Harbaugh knew the downside was that the Chargers were given a gift-wrapped chance to take a two-goal lead before halftime, but he felt his team needed to keep the ball in that position by three against a playoff-caliber opponent on the road.
“I’m not saying we’re going to continue in those situations all the time,” John explained, “but the number one thing was who we played. The idea was you’ve got to try to hang on to possessions as long as you can because they’re that good.”
John’s aggressiveness was the story of the first meeting between the Harbaugh brothers since the Ravens defeated Jim’s San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens also went for it twice on 4th-and-1 on their first touchdown drive of the second half, with Henry converting both to set up a 6-yard reception from Andrews in the back of the end zone.
Analytics models say John increased Baltimore’s winning percentage by more than 2% when he went on 4th and 1 from his own 16-yard line. Still, he certainly left himself open to criticism for being so aggressive early in the game and trusting his tight end to get the yardage he needed on the quarterback.
“It means everything to us that Coach Harbaugh has that much confidence in us,” Ravens running back Justice Hill said. “We know as an offense we can get a yard at any time. When we find ourselves in those situations, we want him to keep calling them, so we have to execute them. Tonight, I think we went 3-for-3. I think that should give him confidence to make more calls in the future.”
The Andrews tush-push was a play Hill said the Ravens have been “practicing for a while.” They stuck with it until the exact moment, three down, on the road, in the surprisingly hostile environment of SoFi Stadium.
“Everybody has their different versions,” Andrews said. “We rehearsed it and it came out in a big moment.
Hill added with a laugh, “I’m glad it turned out as well as we practiced it.”
Early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers were still within one score when sophomore Quentin Johnston broke free on a crossover but dropped a perfect third-down pass from quarterback Justin Herbert. Instead of securing another set of downs near midfield, the Chargers had to punt and give the Ravens a chance to open up a two-point lead.
It came back to haunt the Chargers three minutes later when Hill delivered the knockout blow of a 51-yard touchdown. Safety Alohi Gilman crashed too hard around the edge, leaving no defender in position to just lay a hand on Hill as he broke his drive off the left tackle.
For the Chargers, the loss was disappointing, but not a disaster. They’ve beaten just one winning team so far this season, but Jim Harbaugh’s rebuild is still ahead with his 7-4 team in good position to earn an AFC wild-card berth in the playoffs.
For the Ravens (8-4), the win was the perfect bounce back from last week’s costly loss to rival Pittsburgh. They are now just half off of first place in the AFC North and still among the top contenders for the AFC crown in Kansas City.
The third meeting between the Harbaughs as NFL head coaches was once again a sentimental one for two men who are more like twins than brothers. The two mirror each other in every way, from khaki pants to coaching staffs to their football philosophies.
When ESPN’s Laura Rutledge asked Jim Harbaugh before Monday’s game what it means to coach against his brother again, he said, “I love my brother. I would lay down my life for my brother. But I wouldn’t let him win a football game. And he wouldn’t want it that way.’
After John improved to 3-0 against his younger brother, the two Harbaughs briefly shook hands and exchanged kind words. John later called Jim “the best coach in the National Football League” and admitted it was a tough day for their parents, who were watching the game from Florida while celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Summing up the night for his parents, John said: “I know they’re 100% happy and 100% disappointed at the same time.”