Don’t be fooled by the fact that the margin of victory is only 14 points. The Baltimore Ravens emerged as the best team in the NFL with a road win over the San Francisco 49ers on Christmas Eve, and quarterback Lamar Jackson regained his position as the league’s best player.
Monday’s bold move by the swashbuckling Ravens (12-3), who have won nine of their last 10 games and currently have the best record in the NFL, may come as a bit of a surprise to those who have paid more attention to football this season. Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys and 49ers.
Relating to: NFL recap: Ravens defeat 49ers in first two matchups; Raiders knock off Chiefs
But Baltimore’s defense, which forced San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy into four interceptions before leaving the game with a nerve injury on Monday, is as relentless as the Ravens’ defense in the days when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed roamed the earth.
The 49ers (11-4) entered the game as six-and-a-half-point favorites and Super Bowl frontrunners, but the Ravens, apparently angered by the oddsmakers’ perceived disrespect, jumped out to a three-touchdown lead and trailed the Chiefs (9-6) and Cowboys (10-5). ) exposed San Francisco’s flaws on a weekend in which it also lost and the Eagles (11-4) barely escaped the awful Giants.
Baltimore’s defense needed to be strong because the Ravens’ defense has been combative for two decades under coach John Harbaugh. The surprise could be the return of Jackson, a quarterback out of Louisville in his sixth NFL season who has eclipsed other QBs, even Patrick Mahomes, who, believe it or not, has actually been on the receiving end of entertainment.
“I thought Lamar was going to have an MVP performance tonight,” Harbaugh said after the game. “It takes a team to create a performance like that, but it also takes a player to play at that level, play at the MVP level. Lamar was everywhere on the court.”
The 26-year-old Jackson has exciting speed and always throws the ball better than he is given credit for. He won the league MVP award in his second season in 2019, but lost some of his luster when he had a dismal showing as the Ravens were eliminated in their playoff opener at home that year.
As active as the guy seemed, knee and ankle sprains caused him to miss 10 games over the past two seasons. Jackson won only one playoff game; this game was against the Titans nearly three years ago (this game was followed by an indifferent defeat against Buffalo).
Still, the Ravens signed Jackson to a five-year, $260 million contract extension in April. Among NFL QBs, only the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($450 million), the Bengals’ Joe Burrow ($275 million) and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($262.5 million) have thicker contracts.
In addition to giving him a massive raise, the Ravens also thought Jackson could use some help. Harbaugh, 61, in his 16th season as head coach of the Ravens, brought in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken; He most recently served in the same role at the University of Georgia, where he was a two-time national champion and played for eight years. NFL experience.
The Ravens had a terrific veteran tight end in Mark Andrews, who suffered a fractured fibula and ankle ligament injury in a November victory over Cincinnati. But Baltimore also added other receivers, including veterans Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor.
Additionally, the Ravens used their first-round draft pick in April on wide receiver Xavien ‘Zay’ Flowers, who caught 200 passes for 3,056 yards and 29 touchdowns in four years at Boston College. Flowers had nine catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on Monday night.
Flowers, Beckham and Agholor have combined for 122 receptions for 1,513 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Tight end Isaac Lively has recorded 23 receptions and two touchdowns since replacing Andrews. Running back Gus Edwards has also stepped up his production.
But Jackson remains the focus. He has 786 yards rushing this year, including one ridiculous, twisty, delightful run (well, pleasant (Unless you were the 49ers) A 30-yard open field run from the San Francisco secondary set up a field goal late in the first half.
This gave Baltimore a 16-12 lead. Purdy had already thrown three interceptions. But although the 49ers still had a chance to win the game, Jackson’s best performance came in the third quarter. Baltimore’s three drives ended with two touchdowns and another field goal.
One of those drives was just one play and was nine yards long because it came right after Purdy’s fourth interception. Jackson, who didn’t throw the ball as much as he pinched it, threw a touchdown pass to Flowers. Baltimore took a 33-12 lead into the fourth quarter.
Sam Darnold, who was the Jets’ QB Flop before becoming Zach Wilson’s last QB Flop, took over after Purdy was injured and threw a touchdown pass to make the game more interesting. But the Ravens sacked Darnold twice and then picked him up on the Niners’ final drive.
And that’s it. Soon Jackson was being asked about the Ravens’ next big game; This game will be played on Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins (11-4), who beat the Cowboys in the last game of the game on Sunday. He snubbed inclusion on the NFL MVP shortlist.
“It’s great,” he told ESPN. “I’m honored to be in the conversation. I have one [MVP]. Man, we’ve got to keep winning, we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve got to do to get to February. This much.”
He later said: “We got the W. I don’t really care [personal] yield. I just want to win. That’s what happened tonight. I got my gift for Christmas.
Christmas Eve didn’t start off well for Jackson. Baltimore went three-and-out on their first drive, and their second ended miserably with Jackson hitting referee Alex Moore while trying to avoid being tackled in the end zone. called for security by intentional grounding.
Jackson only made 12 starts in just one season in his NFL career; When he won the MVP award in 2019. That season didn’t end well, and Jackson had been waiting for a new chance to put a real contender forward for some time. Now it looks like there is one.