‘Monday Night Football’ Betting Preview: Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers

Monday night at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, it is Harbowl III. John Harbaugh, the older of the Harbaugh brothers and the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens since 2008, vs. Jim Harbaugh, the first-year head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers and now in his second go-round as an NFL head coach.

John won the two previous meetings between the brothers (when Jim was the coach of the San Francisco 49ers), and beat his little brother to win Super Bowl XLVII.

The stakes on Monday aren’t quite as high as their last meeting. But the Ravens and Chargers are in the midst of the AFC playoff hunt, and head-to-head wins is the first and most important of the tiebreakers.

Game Line: Ravens (-2.5)

After a 41-31 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7, the Ravens were largely considered to be the best team in the NFL. They narrowly lost to the Kansas Chiefs in Week 1, but had big wins over the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Commanders. Lamar Jackson was the MVP favorite, and the Ravens looked unstoppable.

Then they lost to Cleveland, were a two-point conversion away from losing to the Bengals, and last week they lost at Pittsburgh. Suddenly the invulnerable Ravens were playing like just another Wild Card contender.

The Chargers are just another Wild Card contender, and they are thrilled to be there. L.A. ended the 2023 season with five straight losses, and eight losses in their final nine games. Their one victory during that stretch was a 6-0 win over the New England Patriots.

This was going to be a rebuild, and some pain. A change in philosophy that would take time. That time was about a month.

Since a 2-2 September, the Chargers are 5-1, and they scored at least 26 points in four straight games. They also lead the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 14.5 points per game. When the season began, the Chargers were +175 to make the playoffs. Today, they are heavy favorites to return to the postseason, paying -1600.

Quarterback Proposition Bets

This is the best quarterback matchup of the week, with the defending MVP, Lamar Jackson, taking on Justin Herbert of the Chargers.

Jackson’s line on passing yards is 238.5, and as a runner, he has a line of 44.5. Herbert is a deceptively good runner, and his over/under on rushing yards is 21.5. Herbert’s passing yards prop is set at 258.5 yards. 

As touchdown scorers, Jackson is paying +210 and Herbert is paying +380.

Running Back Proposition Bets

It’s been since Week 9 that Derrick Henry went over 100 yards rushing in a game, and his over/under reflects both that dip in production, as well as a very good Chargers run defense. Henry’s over/under on rush yards is 85.5.

King Henry does still have his touchdown streak alive, and he is -200 to make it a touchdown in 12 straight games as a Raven. He leads the NFL with 15 touchdowns on the season.

The Chargers ground attack is led by former Raven J.K. Dobbins, who is -135 to score a touchdown and has an over/under on rushing yards of 47.5. Dobbins spent most of the last two seasons fighting injuries in Baltimore, but he has been healthy in L.A., and he sits at 726 rush yards for the season, just 79 yards away from a career-high.

Pass Catcher Proposition Bets

One of the reasons that the Chargers went into this season with low expectations was the loss of wide receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. The cupboard for Herbert seemed to be quite bare.

Rookie Ladd McConkey has stepped up in a big way, and leads all pass catchers in this game with an over/under of 66.5 receiving yards. Last week against the Bengals, he had 123 yards, and against the New Orleans Saints in Week 8 he finished with 111 yards. McConkey has four touchdowns on the season, and he is +160 to score a fifth on Monday night.

Quentin Johnson has a receiving yards line of 48.5, and tight end Will Dissly is at 42.5. They are +210 and +240 to score touchdowns.

For Baltimore, the top pass catcher is Zay Flowers, and his over/under on receiving yards is 59.5. Rashod Bateman is 37.5, and the two tight ends – Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely – are listed at 32.5 and 26.5. Andrews has touchdowns in four of his last six games, and he is +180 to score on Monday night.

Flowers is +140 to get into the end zone and Bateman is paying +240 on his touchdown prop. A Likely touchdown comes with the biggest payout at +380.