Normally in this spot, we breakdown the Baltimore Ravens defensive effort to pick out the top five defensive plays of the most recent game. In Baltimore's 34-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football, the Chargers scored on six of their first seven possessions and only didn't score on all seven because they missed a 37-yard field goal. On the Chargers final possession of the game, they turned the ball over on downs in Baltimore territory rather than rub it in any deeper with another score.
If a team virtually scores every time they touch the ball and racks up over 400 yards of total offense, it's hard to find the top five, much less one defensive play to write about in a positive way. When the opposing QB throws for an average of 11 yards per pass attempt and does not get sacked even once, you can't come up with a defensive play worth mentioning. When the opponent's rushing game scores three times, it's hard to say you shut them down.
Perhaps the fact that the Chargers only ran for an average of four yards per carry qualifies as a "top" defensive play? Ah, here's one: The Ravens had one tackle-for-loss (-5 yards) in the game. The Ravens had two kickoffs that were touchbacks deep in the end zone, so there's another "top" defensive play and as it was mentioned earlier, the Ravens defense "forced" the Chargers to miss a chip-shot field goal, although of course, Baltimore's Billy Cundiff missed on on the Ravens opening drive as well.
All in all, it was an defense-free game for the Ravens and thus, when asked to list the team's top five defensive plays of the game, we have to reach and by reach, we mean really, really reach!