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From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: A dropped pass. Then a missed tackle. Ultimately a 51-yard touchdown by the Baltimore Ravens that spelled the end of the Chargers’ four-game winning streak.
Searching for an opportunity to establish themselves as legitimate playoff threats, the Chargers instead found mistakes, a run-weary defense and another anemic second-half offense in a 30-23 loss to the Ravens on Monday at SoFi Stadium.
The Ravens (8-4) rushed for 212 yards, a season-high for a Chargers opponent, led by 140 from Derrick Henry. The defense that boasted an NFL-leading scoring average gave up a season high in points, including five straight scoring drives that easily erased an early 10-point Chargers lead.
“They played better football than we did tonight,” said Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who fell to 0-3 in NFL matchups against his older brother John Harbaugh. “But more importantly, we know what kind of team we are and what we’re capable of.”
That team, quarterback Justin Herbert said, is one that simply wins games. It plays complementary football, scores points in the red zone, and converts on third down.
The Chargers (7-4) missed on most accounts. Excluding a lopsided six-minute Chargers advantage in time of possession in the first quarter, the Ravens possessed the ball for 10 more minutes in the second, third and fourth quarters. They converted on 53.3% of their third-down tries compared to the Chargers’ 35.7% success rate on third down.
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson was arrested early Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence after California Highway Patrol officers observed him driving more than 100 mph on the 101 Freeway, the CHP said.
Robinson, who caught a touchdown pass in the Rams’ 37-20 defeat by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium, was arrested at approximately 5:13 a.m in Woodland Hills after officers observed a speeding white Dodge sedan on the freeway south of Tampa Avenue, according to a CHP news release.
Officers stopped the car, Robinson identified himself and officers observed “objective signs and symptoms of alcohol impairment,” the release said. Robinson was cited and released to a responsible party, the release said.
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From Gary Klein: The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Rams 37-20 on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
What we learned from a loss that dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6.
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: One of the best parts about being honest with yourself as a basketball team is that it allows for everyone to recognize an area of weakness and then take the steps to address it.
The Lakers have not been a good defensive team. They have not been a good rebounding team. And one of those remedies, they agree, is to play more physically.
Yet what does that actually look like?
“You’re just watching guys get up into the ball. You’re watching guys fight over screens. They’re not dying on the screens. They’re actually fighting through them,” Jaxson Hayes explained after Monday’s practice. “Boxing guys out. … You see a little guard come down, getting into the big legs. Like that’s something physical. Like the big pushing the other big up on the screen. Just little things to get into them, knock them out of the rhythm a little bit so they can’t just walk through everything.”
CLIPPERS
Jayson Tatum scored 20 points and the Boston Celtics made 22 three-pointers in a 126-94 win over the Clippers on Monday night.
Payton Pritchard added with 20 points for Boston, which extended its season-high win streak to six games.
Kristaps Porzingis finished with 16 points on six of 12 shooting, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks in his season debut after offseason ankle surgery. He made the start and played 23 minutes with Al Horford (illness) and Luke Kornet (hamstring) out.
Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. James Harden added 19, nine assists and eight rebounds. The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Clippers.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: The UCLA women’s basketball team has a new, coveted designation: best in the country.
A day after the Bruins toppled top-ranked South Carolina, they leapfrogged three other unbeaten teams Monday to take over the top spot in the Associated Press rankings.
It’s the first appearance at No. 1 for UCLA, which moved ahead of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Texas and USC in the wake of the Trojans’ home loss to Notre Dame. USC is No. 6 in the new poll, down three spots. South Carolina fell to No. 4 after its 15-point loss to the Bruins.
Hernández: UCLA women prove beyond a doubt they are No. 1 in basketball
ANGELS
From Bill Shaikin: In the NFL, Patrick Mahomes makes your team a contender. In the NBA, Nikola Jokic makes your team a contender.
In baseball, as the Angels and their fans know all too well, one player does not make your team a contender. Over the past decade, Mike Trout could not do it all by himself, and he and Shohei Ohtani could not do it all by themselves.
The Angels agreed Monday to a three-year, $63-million contract with pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, according to a person familiar with the deal but not authorized to comment publicly. The team has not announced the deal because Kikuchi has yet to complete his physical examination.
With the deal, the Angels topped the $100-million mark in holiday spending before Thanksgiving, buying six players in their 30s: Kikuchi and fellow starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, designated hitter Jorge Soler, backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud, backup infielders Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman.
KINGS
Rookie Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and had one assist for his first career three-point game, Will Smith had two assists, and the San José Sharks shocked the Kings 7-2 on Monday night.
Celebrini’s goals highlighted a three-goal outburst early in the third period.
The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft scored at 1:03 of the third to break a 2-2 deadlock. Timothy Liljegren scored just over a minute later and Celebrini scored on a five-on-three power play to break the game open.
Anze Kopitar and Brandt Clarke scored for the Kings.
DUCKS
Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Montour scored 24 seconds apart early in the third period and the Seattle Kraken extended their winning streak over the Ducks to eight games with a 3-2 victory Monday night.
Shane Wright also scored, while Joey Daccord made 21 saves as the Kraken improved to 6-2-0 since Nov. 8.
Frank Vatrano and Trevor Zegras scored for the Ducks, who saw their season-best four-game points streak come to an end. Lukas Dostal made 24 saves for the Ducks.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1917 — The NHL is formed with five charter members: Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs. Frank Calder is elected president.
1956 — In the Melbourne Olympics, Australia, Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union wins the single sculls. After receiving the gold medal, he jumps up and down and accidentally drops it through the slats in the float and it sinks to the bottom of the lake.
1961 — Jerry Norton of St. Louis becomes the only NFL player to have four interceptions in a game twice. He picks off four, two for touchdowns, in the Cardinals’ 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1988 — For the first time in their long rivalry, Notre Dame and USC enter the game undefeated and ranked Nos. 1-2. The top-ranked Fighting Irish win 27-10.
1989 — Willie “Flipper” Anderson of the Rams sets an NFL game record with 336 yards receiving. Anderson has 15 catches, one for a touchdown, in the Rams’ 20-17 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints.
1994 — The Cleveland Cavaliers sets an NBA record by attempting just two free throws during a 101-87 home victory over Golden State. John Williams and Tony Campbell go 1-for-1 from the line.
1995 — Dolphins QB Dan Marino sets NFL record with 343rd touchdown pass.
1997 — Charles Jones scores a school-record 53 points and Long Island University beats Division III Medgar Evers 179-62, breaking the NCAA record for margin of victory. The 117-point difference eclipses the mark of 97 set by Southern in a 154-57 victory over Patten in 1993.
1999 — Detroit’s Steve Yzerman scores his 600th career goal in the Red Wings’ 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Joe Louis Arena. He’s the 11th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals.
2005 — Defenseman Marek Malik ends the NHL’s longest shootout in the 15th round, fooling goalie Olie Kolzig with a trick shot to give the New York a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Malik wins it by taking a shot with his stick between his skates.
2005 — Florida International ties an NCAA record by returning four interceptions for touchdowns in a 52-6 rout of rival Florida Atlantic.
2010 — UConn defeats Howard 86-25 to win its 82nd straight game, setting an NCAA women’s basketball record for consecutive victories.
2010 — Cam Newton passes for three touchdowns and runs for another, rallying No. 2 Auburn from a 24-point deficit for a 28-27 victory over No. 9 Alabama that kept the Tigers on course for a shot at the national championship.
2011 — Illinois finishes the season with its sixth straight loss, 27-7 at Minnesota. The Illini become the first FBS team to open the regular-season with six straight wins and close it with six losses in a row.
2013 — Jordan Lynch breaks his single-game rushing record for quarterbacks with 321 yards, and No. 18 Northern Illinois completes its first unbeaten regular season in 50 years with a 33-14 victory over Western Michigan.
2016 — Nate Peterman throws for 251 yards and four TDs and runs for another score to lead Pittsburgh past Syracuse 76-61 — the most combined points for a regulation FBS game.
2016 — Will Worth accounts for four touchdowns while becoming the first Navy quarterback with more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in three consecutive games when the Midshipmen rout SMU 75-31. The Midshipmen, who beat East Carolina 66-31 the previous week, have consecutive 60-point games for the first time since 1917.
2017 — Julio Jones finishes with 12 receptions for 253 yards and two touchdowns in Atlanta’s 34-20 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s Jones’ third career game with at least 250 yards receiving; no other player has more than one.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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