Los Angeles Chargers (-2-1/2) at Houston Texans: In his debut season as head coach of the Chargers, Jim Harbaugh proves he's still got that ability to elevate a team in short order. In his first season as 49ers coach in 2011, he guided San Francisco to a seven-win improvement over the previous year. With L.A., it was a six-win upgrade over 2023. While stud QB Justin Herbert had another solid year, the Chargers did it with defense this season as they allowed the fewest points in the NFL.
After a terrific rookie season in 2023, Texans QB C.J. Stroud seems to have endured the ol' sophomore slump in '24. While he wasn't abysmal, he certainly didn't have the same vibe as last year. While their defense overall was pretty solid (#6 in terms of yards allowed), they've looked pretty leaky against upper echelon teams in the second half of the season.
Los Angeles 21 Houston 16
Pittsburgh Steelers (+8-1/2) at Baltimore Ravens: Thirteen games into the 2024 campaign, the Steelers were riding high at 10-3 with QB Russell Wilson somewhat resembling the perennial Pro Bowl player he was in Seattle. But the Steelers fizzled down the stretch going 0-4 while allowing 27 points per game. Even worse, Wilson reverted to the stiff the Denver Broncos jettisoned after two lackluster seasons. And while RB Najee Harris had another 1,000-yard season, the sledding will be awfully tough against the Ravens' top ranked rush defense.
After starting 0-2, the Ravens won 12 of their last 15 games to secure another AFC North title. And what a surprise, QB Lamar Jackson has put forth another MVP-caliber season (it'll come down to Jackson, Bills QB Josh Allen or Eagles RB Saquon Barkley). Oh, and more than just Jackson can run the ball as first year Raven Derrick Henry just missed a second career 2,000-yard season by running for 1,921. And this was his ninth season overall. Incredible.
I believe we're going to see a similar game that occurred in Week 16 when the Ravens pounded the Steelers in a game that basically settled the race in the AFC North.
Baltimore 27 Pittsburgh 13
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