The Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens faced off on “Monday Night Football,” which means for the first time since the 2014 season, we had a Harbaugh Bowl. Jim Harbaugh made his return to the NFL this season as head coach of the Chargers, while John has been the head coach of the Ravens since 2008.
We saw these two face each other before, when Jim was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014. They met in the first-ever sibling head coach battle in the NFL in Super Bowl XLVIII, and it was John who went home victorious then.
The stakes were not as high Monday night as they were a decade ago, but Jim had a chance to get some revenge on his older brother.
The two have respect and love for each other, as they have emphasized throughout the years both in words and by showing up for each other in major moments of their lives, like John attending Michigan’s national championship game. They would do anything for the other, except one thing: let them win a football game.
Ahead of the game, the siblings discussed what it means to go against the other, giving compliments and cracking some jokes.
“I love my brother. I’d lay down my life for my brother, but I would not let him win a football game,” Jim said smiling. “And he wouldn’t want it that way. It just feels cool. Ready to have at it.”
John also spoke ahead of the matchup, explaining why it would be difficult to go up against Jim, given how high he ranks him both as a person and a coach.
“Well there’s all the things that we love about each other, then there’s all the things that we know about each other that we have to overcome in a game like this,” John said. “He’s a great coach, he’s a great man, a great leader and he’s got a great football team, so that makes it complicated.”
When the schedule was released and they realized they’d be meeting in Week 12, John called facing Jim “so meaningful.”
“We both root for each other, we both have each other’s back all the time, and yet we’re competing against each other.”
As expected, the brothers embraced each other on the field following Baltimore’s 30-23 win.
“I just told him you’re a great coach and you have a great team. And I love you,” John Harbaugh said when asked what was said between the two. “He said, ‘I love you and congratulations.'”
