The first season of the Jim Harbaugh Era now officially has games on the calendar.
The NFL announced the 2024 regular-season schedule Wednesday, with the Bolts kicking off their season at home against the division-rival Raiders and also playing in three primetime games.
There's no shortage of storylines in Harbaugh's first season as the Chargers Head Coach — but none will be bigger than a Monday Night Football bout against the Ravens.
The Week 12 matchup features one of the most-anticipated games of the season between Harbaugh and his older brother, John, who is the Ravens Head Coach. It also will be one of the top quarterback matchups of the year with Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson likely putting on a show under the bright lights.
And according to NFL.com's Jeremy Bregman it's not only one of the best games on the schedule, but the No. 1 primetime contest of 2024.
Bergman wrote:
Three days before Thanksgiving, the Harbaughs are planning a tiny family get-together ... at SoFi Stadium in front of 70,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers. In the first Har-bowl since Super Bowl XLVII, brothers John and Jim will lead their respective teams against one another in a duel for Dad's love.
Take a detailed look at who the Bolts will face in the 2024 season!!
Jon Hoefling of USA Today is also very high on the battle between the Harbaugh's, slotting it as the second-best game of the entire season.
Hoefling wrote:
Games involving the team with the best record in football tend to be a little more exciting. Still, this one should be particularly interesting. Not only is it happening later in the season, right about when teams determine whether or not they are contending for the playoffs, but this is also a game between John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh.
The younger sibling, John, is 2-0 in his career against Jim, including a win in Super Bowl 47. The eldest brother needs to find a way to get a win in this family rivalry, but he'll have his work cut out for him as the Ravens will be competing for a division title. Baltimore also has a much better roster overall. There's no doubt that Jim will pull out all the stops to get the win though.
Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr listed the game as one of his most interesting of the season but offered a different opinion as to why.
He explained how not only is this game between two brothers, but it could see a crucial chess match between two high-level special teams units.
Orr wrote:
The Harbaugh Bowl is not just a battle between brothers. It's a matchup between some of the best special teams minds in the NFL. John Harbaugh and his special teams coordinator, Chris Horton—who could make the jump from special teams to head coach, just like Harbaugh himself once did—are elite thinkers when it comes to different facets of the game, and could be early pioneers when it comes to the new return rules. The same can be said for Ryan Ficken, a bit of a hidden gem when it comes to special teams coaches but one who is highly revered.
Even with Baltimore being the most highlighted game of the year for the Bolts, don't forget about the primetime showdown against a division rival.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News had another Chargers game in mind when looking at the top matchups of the season — Week 14 under the lights against the Chiefs.
He ranked the battle between the Bolts and Kansas City on Sunday Night Football as the No. 3 primetime game of 2024, a game that always provides some fireworks.
Bender wrote:
This AFC West rivalry has a way of producing some entertaining prime-time matchups, and this could be fun if Jim Harbaugh can lead a quick transformation in Los Angeles around Justin Herbert. The Chargers have won two of the past four meetings at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chargers full 2024 schedule can be found here.
