The Sports Report: Chargers have four turnovers in loss to Ravens

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers got a glimpse of the top of the AFC on Sunday at SoFi Stadium and played better but still not good enough.

They hung tough and hung around before losing to Baltimore 20-10 on a night their defense showed vast improvement but their offense struggled.

The Chargers fell to 4-7 with their third consecutive loss. The Ravens improved to 9-3 and remained atop the conference.

Leading by three points, Baltimore put the game away on a 37-yard run by Zay Flowers with 1:36 to go.

Quarterback Justin Herbert finished 29 of 44 for 217 yards. Keenan Allen caught 14 passes for 106 yards. The Chargers committed all four of the game’s turnovers and finished with 279 total yards.

Trailing 13-3, the Chargers closed to within a field goal when Herbert passed three yards to Gerald Everett for a touchdown with 8:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. The score was set up by a 35-yard scramble by Herbert six snaps earlier.

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Chargers’ 20-10 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens by the numbers

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RAMS

From Gary Klein: Before kickoff Sunday, the retractable roof at State Farm Stadium opened, letting sunshine beams pour down onto a patch of the grass field.

Rams players out for early warmups soaked it up.

A few hours later, after routing the Arizona Cardinals, the Rams left here with rays of hope and looking like a — dare it be said — legitimate playoff team.

Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, running back Kyren Williams had a career performance and safety Jordan Fuller and defensive lineman Kobie Turner led a defense that remained steadfast in a 37-14 victory in front of 62,177 that kept the Rams in the hunt for a spot in the NFC playoffs.

Stafford connected twice with tight end Tyler Higbee and twice with Williams for touchdowns as the Rams won their second game in a row and improved their record to 5-6.

“It’s about one week at a time,” coach Sean McVay said when asked if the Rams were rounding in a playoff-caliber team, “And if we do that and continue to get better, then I think those conversations always take care of themselves, and that’s what served us well in previous years as well.”

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Rams’ 37-14 road win over the Arizona Cardinals by the numbers

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UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: It felt like so much of what had come before it under Chip Kelly.

A week after posting a riveting victory, UCLA sustained the sort of loss that made one question the whole operation.

Long, hard reflection was practically all that remained after the latest lurching left the Bruins with their most deflating defeat of the season Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

Only seven days after pummeling its cross-town rival, UCLA fell flat during a 33-7 loss to California that left Kelly to answer for six seasons of one-step-forward, one-step-back results that put his record at an even .500 while serving as a sad senior night sendoff.

Was Kelly concerned about his job status? How would he evaluate his performance? Why didn’t he switch quarterbacks after Dante Moore committed three turnovers in relief of Ethan Garbers?

Did his team’s third loss in four games — and second at home in that stretch to a heavy underdog — make him worry school officials might rethink their recent show of support?

“I don’t worry about that,” Kelly said after his team finished the regular season 7-5 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12, leaving his record at the school at 34-34. “I don’t worry about that dynamic. I know this team’s 24-13 in the last three years, and they compete every single day, and I’m proud of every single kid in that locker room.”

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McCollough: Mourning the death of the best regular season in sports — college football’s

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Here are the key takeaways from the Lakers’ 121-115 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night.

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LAFC

From Kevin Baxter: There was a lot of history on the line in Sunday’s MLS Western Conference semifinal at Lumen Field.

For the Seattle Sounders, who hadn’t lost a playoff game at home in a decade, another win would be their 20^th straight in the postseason, breaking the league record. For LAFC, the reigning MLS champion, a victory would keep alive its hope of becoming the first MLS team to win consecutive titles in 11 seasons.

But at the end of the night the streak that mattered most belonged to Denis Bouanga, whose goal in the 30^th minute gave him a score in eight straight games and proved the difference in LAFC’s 1-0 victory.

Seattle’s often-brutal late-fall weather stayed away, with the game kicking off in 41-degree temperatures under clear skies. The Sounders were even hotter at the start, forcing LAFC keeper Maxime Crepeau into two splendid saves in the opening four minutes.

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This Mexican immigrant soccer agent wants women players to get more pay and less abuse

DUCKS

Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists to give him nine points in two games and help the Edmonton Oilers rout the Ducks 8-2 on Sunday night.

Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane, James Hamblin, Leon Draisaitl and Mattias Ekholm also scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots. The Oilers have won two straight to improve to 7-12-1.

Max Jones scored for Anaheim. The Ducks have lost six in a row to fall to 9-12-0.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1913 — Notre Dame and Texas meet for the first time in a Thanksgiving showdown. Both carry perfect records into the game, with Notre Dame not losing a game in three years and the Longhorns on a 12-game winning streak. The Fighting Irish build on a 10-7 halftime lead, scoring 20 unanswered points for a 30-7 win at Austin, Texas.

1947 — Howie Dallmar of the Philadelphia Warriors sets an NBA record for the most field goal attempts with none made (15) in an 81-59 loss to the New York Knicks.

1949 — Steve Van Buren of the Philadelphia Eagles becomes the second NFL player, the first in 16 years, to rush over 200 yards. He runs for 205 yards in a 34-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

1960 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe scores his 1,000th point with an assist, and the Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0. It’s Howe’s 938th NHL game.

1961 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe becomes the first to play 1,000 NHL games.

1965 — Gordie Howe becomes the first NHL player to score 600 goals. The milestone comes in Detroit’s 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

1966 — The Washington Redskins set an NFL regular-season record for most points in a 72-41 victory over the New York Giants. Both teams also set records with 16 TDs and 113 total points.

1994 — Joe Montana of the Kansas City Chiefs becomes the fifth quarterback to surpass 40,000 passing yards in a 10-9 loss at Seattle.

1998 — Texas’ Ricky Williams becomes the leading rusher in Division I-A history, breaking Tony Dorsett’s record set 22 years earlier.

2011 — The Connecticut women’s basketball team wins its 89th straight at home to set an NCAA record, beating Dayton 78-38 behind freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis’ 23 points.

2015 — James Harden scores 50 points to lead Houston past Philadelphia 116-114 for the 76ers’ 27th straight loss dating to last season, the longest losing streak in major U.S. pro sports. The previous record was set by the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-77 and matched by the 76ers in 2013-14.

2016 — Justin Tucker makes all four of his field goal attempts, including ones from 52, 54 and 57 yards, in Baltimore’s 19-14 victory over Cincinnati. Tucker has made 34 field goals in a row, including 27 this season, and has connected on all 15 conversion. It is Tucker’s 11th game with at least four field goals since entering the NFL in 2012.

Compiled by the Associated Press