San Diego, CA – Justin Tucker tied the game on the final play of regulation, then kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:07 to play in overtime as Baltimore took a 16-13 win over San Diego.
The rookie kicker hit three field goals and Joe Flacco threw for 355 yards and a score on 30-of-51 passing for the Ravens (9-2), who have won four straight and now hold a three-game lead over both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North.
"When it comes down to it, this is a job and you just got to do it," Tucker said.
Ray Rice carried the ball 22 times for 97 yards and caught eight passes for 67 yards, including a 29-yard catch that converted a 4th-and-29 in regulation which led to the game-tying field goal.
Philip Rivers went 23-for-36 with 228 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers (4-7), who have dropped their past three games. Malcom Floyd caught four passes for 65 yards and a score, while Ryan Mathews had 19 carries for 72 yards in the loss.
"What we're trying to do is find a way to win a game, and that's obviously the frustrating part," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "We were able to make a couple plays in the first half and we didn't make the same plays in the second half."
San Diego started overtime with the ball, but had to punt after reaching midfield. Baltimore, though, also had to punt on its first touch after getting close to midfield.
The Chargers then went three-and-out, but a 63-yard punt from Mike Scifres pinned the Ravens back at their own 11.
A defensive pass interference penalty on the next play moved the ball 11 yards and Flacco converted a 3rd-and-4 with an 11-yard pass to Dennis Pitta. The Ravens later faced a 3rd-and-10 at the San Diego 47, but Torrey Smith made a leaping 31-yard catch down to the 16.
Following three kneels by Flacco to get the ball between the middle of the hash marks, Tucker drilled the winner from 38-yards out for the win.
The Ravens trailed by 10 points with 7:51 to play, but started their first touchdown drive of the game at their own 20, with Jacoby Jones getting things started with a 12-yard catch. Facing a 3rd-and-6, Flacco and Jones got together again on a 24-yard catch to move the ball past midfield.
Smith later caught a 22-yard pass and followed that with a 14-yard grab down to the San Diego 9. Two plays later, Flacco found Pitta in the back of the end zone from four yards out for a 13-10 game with 4:19 to play.
San Diego had a quick three-and-out and the Ravens got the ball back at their own 40, with the second play going for 16 yards on a catch by Pitta.
However, a holding call followed by two incompletions and a fumble that saw the team lose another nine yards faced Baltimore with a 4th-and-29.
Flacco dumped the ball off to Rice, who caught it at the right side, raced over to the left and just stretched over the first-down marker.
There was a lengthy review to determine whether the spot of the ball was correct, and eventually it was moved back about a half-yard. After resetting the chains to their original position, the spot still left plenty of room for a first down at the San Diego 34.
"I don't think it was a good shot, but I thought it might of been our best option at the time just to give it to Ray," Flacco said about the play. "Ray made a great run and we got a little lucky. It worked out perfectly."
The Ravens would get down to the Chargers' 20 before Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Baltimore got across midfield on its second possession of the game and was in field goal range, but Flacco got sacked for a 9-yard loss by Corey Liuget to force a punt.
Following a three-and-out from the Ravens to begin the second quarter, the Chargers got the ball back at their 22 and went to work.
Rivers hooked up with Danario Alexander on a 26-yard play, then a 16-yard catch by Floyd got the ball across midfield before Jackie Battle later converted a 4th-and-1 with a 2-yard run.
From the 21-yard line, Rivers hit Floyd over the middle near the 10, with the wideout taking it in for a 7-0 lead with 9:43 to play in the half.
After holding Baltimore to another three-and-out, San Diego put more points on the board with an 11-play, 53-yard march that was finished with a 47-yard field goal from Nick Novak for a 10-0 lead with 3:04 remaining before intermission.
Baltimore had two more possessions in the first half, but were unable to move the ball both times and started the third quarter with the ball, when the team was finally able to put something together.
On 3rd-and-7 at his own 19, Flacco found Smith for a 54-yard play down to the San Diego 27. The Ravens moved just two more yards, but Tucker got them on the board with a 43-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 game less than three minutes into the period.
Later in the third, Baltimore went on an extended drive that got into the San Diego red zone. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Chargers' 14, the team opted to go for it. Bernard Pierce, though, was stopped for a 2-yard loss and the Ravens came away empty-handed to give San Diego the ball back with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
San Diego then went on an extended drive that ate up over 7 1/2 minutes of the clock over 13 plays and was finished with Novak hitting a 30-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead with 7:51 to play. The big play of the drive was a 13- yard run by Ronnie Brown on a 3rd-and-7 that got the ball into the red zone.
Game Notes
Smith finished the game with seven catches for 144 yards ... The Ravens totaled 443 yards and held the ball for 39:02, while San Diego managed just 280 yards ... San Diego hosts Cincinnati next Sunday ... Baltimore hosts Pittsburgh next Sunday ... The Ravens have won 10 of their last 11 regular- season games against AFC opponents ... Baltimore now leads the series with San Diego, 5-4 ... Baltimore had six sacks in the game, while San Diego had five.
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