The Los Angeles Chargers‘ prize for dismantling the toughest defens

NFL is a road game against a team that has long been a nemesis for Philip Rivers.Los Angeles advanced to the divisional round of the postseason by beating the Baltimore Ravens 23-17 on Sunday. Next up Quincy Williams II Jersey , a matchup against the New England Patriots (11-5) this Sunday.Since Rivers became a starter, the Chargers are 0-7 against Tom Brady and the Patriots, including 0-2 in playoff games. The last time they met, New England rolled to a 21-12 win in the AFC Championship game in January 2008.Fortunately for Rivers, past performances don’t necessarily mean that much. Just two weeks after being dominated by Baltimore in a loss that knocked them out of first place in the AFC West, the Chargers (13-4) bounced back with a resounding win to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014.Rivers went 22 of 32 for 160 yards, his longest completion a 28-yarder to Mike Williams.Going up against longtime Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and standout coach Bill Belichick is no easy task, but Rivers is up for the challenge.“I’m not playing Tom by any means. But is it special to go to New England against a Hall of Fame coach and arguably the best quarterback ever to play and get another shot at ’em? Heck, yeah,” Rivers said. “To get an opportunity again to go against them, 11 years after we had the opportunity in the 2007 season, yeah, it’s awesome. Looking forward to it.”The Chargers face a veteran quarterback after putting the clamps on a rookie, Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, who fumbled three times, threw an interception and was sacked seven times in his playoff debut.AFC North champion Baltimore (10-7) got to play a home playoff game for the first time since 2012, but its run ended there.Looking ahead Ryquell Armstead Jersey , this much is clear: John Harbaugh figures he’ll be back as coach — even if nothing is set in stone yet — and he knows Jackson will be the team’s starting quarterback next season instead of past Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco.While Flacco is “the best quarterback in the history of the Ravens,” as Harbaugh put it, Jackson’s 6-1 close to the regular season cemented the first-round draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner as the No. 1 quarterback.“Lamar’s our quarterback going forward. There’s no question about that,” Harbaugh said.And as for Harbaugh’s future?“We’ll see,” he said. “I have every expectation and every plan to be here, as long as the Ravens want me here. And I believe they want me here. That’s been made clear by them to me.”Some other things we learned from the Ravens-Chargers matchup:STICK TO THE PLANIt would be easy for Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram to hog the spotlight after recording a team-leading seven tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on Sunday.But Ingram said his success was simply a byproduct of playing in a system that emphasizes staying in position and not over-pursuing a mobile quarterback and his hard-running backfield.Two weeks ago, the Ravens’ complicated offensive strategy wore down and puzzled the Chargers. Not this time.“We played assignment football,” Ingram said. “We were told to see what we were supposed to see. They do a lot to confuse us, but we stayed with it and it was a much better result for us.”SUGGS WANTS MORESixteen seasons of being an NFL linebacker evidently isn’t enough for Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs .Asked after the game if he intended to return, the 36-year-old Suggs said, “Absolutely.”With Baltimore?“I would love to be here. I would love to be a Raven life-timer,” Suggs said. “If it’s not, I’ll be playing lights out for somebody.”BOO BIRDSThe boos started in the second half, as the Ravens’ offense kept getting shut down and Jackson kept getting sacked. Then came the chants from the home fans for Flacco to replace Jackson.Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith was not surprised — but he was angered. So he told those spectators exactly what he thought.“I’m standing there, and they were just like chanting Flacco’s name. I love ‘Flac Gardner Minshew II Jersey ,’ but (Jackson) got us here,” Smith said. “So for the fact that you’re a fair-weather fan that quickly when things go rough — you turn your back on him? That just got under my skin a little bit.“So I just went to them and told them, like, ‘Yo, you either ride or die or you get … out of here.'”JOE TO GO?Although Flacco likely won’t throw another pass with the Ravens, Harbaugh clearly believes Flacco will be a starting quarterback for years to come.“Joe Flacco is going to play really well in this league. Joe can still play,” Harbaugh said. “Joe’s going to have a market. A lot of teams are going to want Joe because they understand that.”Asked if he can still be a starter in the NFL, Flacco replied, “Oh, there is no doubt about it.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The NFL’s lone undefeated team has just made an already dominant defensive front even deeper.The Los Angeles Rams swapped a pair of draft picks for Jaguars pass rusher Dante Fowler on Tuesday, adding the third overall pick in 2015 to a defense already stocked with Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh, Michael Brockers and Mark Barron for the most surprising move at the NFL trade deadline.Denver sent wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to Houston in a deal giving the Broncos some salary cap relief, and Philadelphia gave Carson Wentz another target picking up receiver Golden Tate from Detroit. Washington added safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix , while Green Bay shipped Ty Montgomery to Baltimore two days after fumbling a kickoff late against the Rams.The Rams gave up a third-round pick in 2019 and a fifth-rounder in 2020 for Fowler, who is a free agent at the end of this season. Fowler became expendable with Yannick Ngakoue’s success Christian Wilkins Jersey , and the Jaguars already opted in 2017 not to pick up the fifth-year option on Fowler’s rookie deal.Fowler has two sacks in seven games while playing behind Ngakoue.With the Broncos at 3-5, Denver general manager John Elway made a move to clear both some salary cap space and more playing time for some of his younger receivers. Thomas has a salary cap figure of $15.53 million for 2019, the last year of his deal, while rookies Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton and second-year Tim Patrick are much cheaper.The Texans (5-3) have won five straight to take the lead in the AFC South and had to replace Will Fuller who tore a knee ligament i n a win over Miami last week. Houston sent a 2019 fourth-round pick to Denver with the teams swapping seventh-rounders in next year’s draft.Thomas is a nine-year veteran with 36 catches for 402 yards this season. Elway said the Texans beat out three or four other teams for the veteran.“It’s never easy when you trade a guy that’s been a household name around here for a long time and done a lot of great things, not only on the football field but also in the community, and is a good man,” Elway said.“Plus, it’s a good spot for Demaryius. He’s going to a good football team that’s in a pennant race. So, it’ll be good for him, too.”The defending Super Bowl champions Eagles (4-4) have their bye this week and could lose Tate after this season if he leaves in free agency.“We’re not going to sit on our hands,” Eagles personnel boss Howie Roseman said. “It’s hard to find really good players and this is a really good player. The message to our players, our coaches and our fans is that our foot is always going to be on the gas.”Tate, 30, has 44 catches for 517 yards and three touchdowns this season and joins an offense that already has Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews and tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Tate can help the Eagles be less predictable with his ability to play in the slot.He averaged 93 catches, 1,056 yards receiving and five TDs the past four seasons in Detroit after spending his first four with Seattle. If Tate leaves after the season Michael Deiter Jersey , Philadelphia likely would receive a compensation pick.Tate wrote on Twitter : “It’s been real DETROIT! I’ll love ya forever. Philly Philly let’s get it!!” He then posted a GIF of fictional Philly icon Rocky Balboa jumping up and down on the steps of the Art Museum with the caption: “Mood.”The Packers made a couple of moves, trading away Ty Montgomery two days after his late fumble on a kickoff kept Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers from a late chance to hand the Rams their first loss this season. They sent the running back and kick returner to Baltimore.They also sent safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington for a fourth-round draft pick in 2019 as the Redskins (5-2) boosted a stingy defense.Now Washington can pair Clinton-Dix, who will be a free agent after this season, with D.J. Swearinger. Clinton-Dix, a first-round pick in 2014 out of Alabama, has started 65 of his 71 games, and he has 14 interceptions, including three this season. Swearinger leads the NFL with four interceptions this season.Clinton-Dix is just the latest former Alabama player on the Washington roster, joining recent first-round picks Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne along the defensive line, and second-round pick Ryan Anderson at linebacker.The Ravens sent a seventh-round pick to Green Bay (3-3-1) for Montgomery , who had been told to take a touchback if the kickoff with about two minutes left in a 29-27 loss to the Rams went into the end zone. A third-round pick in 2015, Montgomery has 1,676 yards from scrimmage for his career.