INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The bewildered expression on Jim Harbaugh’s face told the story of Monday night’s Harbowl.
Not even he seemed to have anticipated the daring fourth-down decision that flipped the latest Harbaugh sibling showdown in favor of his older brother.
It was audacious enough that John Harbaugh left the Baltimore offense on the field with two minutes left in the first half and Ravens facing 4th-and-1 from their own 16-yard line. No NFL team had gone for it on fourth down from inside their own 20 in the first half in four-plus years.
It was even riskier that John chose not to give the ball to either of his feared short-yardage playmakers, nimble-footed quarterback Lamar Jackson or bulldozing running back Derrick Henry. John instead called for a tush-push style play with tight end Mark Andrews taking a direct snap while Henry and fullback Patrick Ricard shoved him from behind.
The high-risk fourth-and-1 conversion by Andrews sparked an eight-play, 93-yard drive that culminated with 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 a two-touchdown cushion midway through the fourth quarter and hanging on for an impressive 30-23 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
When asked why he risked going for it on fourth down from inside his own 20-yard line, John said he had a gut feeling “that I really thought we could get it.” The elder Harbaugh brother knew the downside was giving the Chargers a gift-wrapped chance to take a two-score lead before halftime, but he felt his team needed to maintain possession in that position down three against a playoff-caliber opponent on the road.
“I’m not saying we’ll go for it all the time in those situations,” John elaborated, “but the overriding thing was who we were playing. The idea was that you’ve got to try to hang onto possessions as long as you can because they’re so 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 on 4th-and-1 twice during their first touchdown drive of the second half, Henry converting both of those to set up a 6-yard reception from Andrews in the back of the end zone.
Analytics models say that John increased Baltimore’s win percentage by more than 2% when he went for 4th-and-1 from his own 16-yard line. Even so, he certainly left himself open to criticism by being so aggressive early in the game and by entrusting his tight end to gain the necessary yardage on a quarterback sneak.
“It means everything to us that Coach Harbaugh has that kind of confidence in us,” Ravens running back Justice Hill said. “We know as an offense that we can get a yard at any given time. When we’re put in those situations, we want him to still call those, so we have to execute them. Tonight, I think we went 3-for-3. I think that should give him confidence to call more of those in the future.”
The Andrews tush-push was a play that Hill said the Ravens have “been practicing for awhile.” They held onto it until exactly the right moment, down three, on the road, in a surprisingly hostile SoFi Stadium environment.
“Everybody’s got their different versions of it,” Andrews said. “We’ve been practicing it and it came through big in a big moment.
Added Hill with a laugh, “I’m glad it worked out as good as we practiced it.”
The Chargers were still within one score early in the fourth quarter when second-year receiver Quentin Johnston broke free on a crossing route but dropped a perfect third-down pass from quarterback Justin Herbert. Instead of the Chargers securing a new set of downs near midfield, they had to punt and give the Ravens a chance to open a two-score lead.
That came back to bite the Chargers three minutes later when Hill delivered a knockout blow in the form of a 51-yard touchdown run. Safety Alohi Gilman crashed too hard around the edge, leaving no defender in position to so much as lay a hand on Hill when he broke his run outside the left tackle.
For the Chargers, the loss was a disappointment but not a disaster. They’ve only beaten one team with a winning record so far this season, but Jim Harbaugh’s rebuild is still ahead of schedule with his 7-4 team in good position to earn an AFC wild-card playoff berth.
For the Ravens (8-4), the victory was an ideal bounce-back after last week’s costly loss to rival Pittsburgh. Now they’re only a half game out of first place in the AFC North and still firmly among the top contenders to Kansas City’s AFC throne.
The third meeting between the Harbaughs as NFL head coaches was once again sentimental for two men who are more like twins than brothers. They both mirror each other in every way, from their khaki pants, to their coaching staffs, to their football philosophies.
When ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge asked Jim Harbaugh before Monday’s game what it meant to coach against his brother again, he said, “I love my brother. I’d lay down my life for my brother. But I would not 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 that the day had been tough on their parents, who watched 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 they’re 100% disappointed at the same time.”