The Baltimore Ravens went to San Francisco and beat the 49ers, 33-19, on Christmas. RSR staff react to the win here…
Derek Arnold
What a win! It was so typically Ravens as well: dominate, then hold on to win by the seats of your pants, by making it way too interesting in the end. We had flashbacks of so many recent blown leads, and even of Super Bowl XLVII, seeing those red uniforms.
But in the end, the Ravens defense made enough plays that we didn’t even have to sweat out a late on-side kick (thanks for that!)
Speaking of the defense, talk about a statement! Brock Purdy‘s MVP case came crashing down in the form of FOUR interceptions by Mike Mac’s guys (and Sam Darnold added another). In a battle of bullies, it was Baltimore who imposed their will.
The offense looked discombobulated at times – still – but made enough plays to capitalize on a few of those turnovers, and put together one huge drive from their own five to the SF 1. Lamar Jackson still doesn’t use his legs enough for my liking, but when he did, the game changed.
Oh, and since, as we said, it was a typical Ravens win: we now wait on the injury status of several key players, including Kyle Hamilton, again (the smiles on the sideline are encouraging…).
Kevin McNelis
And that, Charlie Brown, is the true meaning of Christmas.
In the Bold Predictions piece (which I admittedly got wrong), I mentioned as sort of a parting shot that Brock Purdy might run into some issues with an unfamiliar foe, having never played the Ravens before. Baltimore’s defense played their part and made it a VERY long night for Purdy with four picks. The crazy part is that the Ravens could’ve easily had a more expanded lead but struggled to capitalize early on those turnovers.
Make no mistake about it, the Niners may not have looked it tonight, but they’re a damn good team, which makes it all the more impressive that the Ravens made them look so outmatched for a good portion of the game.
Kyle Hamilton seemed in good spirits back on the sideline, but the Ravens NEED him to be ok. Hopefully the bumps and bruises are nothing major.
Rob Shields
This was a shocking outcome for me. I didn’t pick the Ravens to win but I wouldn’t have been surprised if they won a close game.
But to have blown SF out is pretty surprising to me. Plus they held them to 19 points.
Now, I must say I hope we don’t see those guys again. Obviously I’m happy to play anyone in the Super Bowl but I would much rather play Philly or Dallas.
The Ravens really struggled to hold down the 49ers stars tonight and they made several big plays.
Great win. Now, let’s hope Hamilton and Zeitler are ok. It’s a quick turnaround to play Miami for the top seed and those guys may struggle to play, especially Hamilton.
This game makes the Steelers game irrelevant if you beat Miami. Go get the one seed next week and rest certain guys for a few weeks.
Darin McCann
In the grand scheme of things, next week’s clash against the Dolphins carries more weight, but this was a big win at this time of the season, and the Ravens won the kind of game they’ll have to win to have a deep postseason run.
Lamar Jackson was terrific after a bit of a slow start, and the defense made some big plays against a tough offense. You can’t shut down an offense like the 49ers, you have to kill their drives with sacks and turnovers. Mission accomplished.
Chad Racine
Merry Christmas to all of us Ravens fans. That was a trouncing of the so called best team in the NFL. Lamar in my opinion sealed the MVP race. This game was more about that since it wasn’t a must-win for the first seed.
Hopefully Hamilton’s injury is not too severe because when he went out that defense wasn’t the same with him. He was laughing on the sidelines so I think that’s promising.
Next week is the big game that could seal the number 1 seed. Somewhere Mike Florio is eating crow right now.
Chris Schisler
Well, it’s a Merry Christmas. We heard all week that the 49ers were the best team in football. To use words famously used by Brian Billick after beating the proclaimed best team that was the Titans, “Not Today.” This was a battle between Super Bowl contenders. The Ravens bullied the best the NFC has to offer. If you weren’t convinced the Ravens could win the Super Bowl I bet you are now.
The defense was awesome. They didn’t have an answer for McCaffrey, but they got everything else accounted for. The Ravens pressured Brock Purdy so much they dropped him out of the MVP race. Purdy had four interceptions. There’s very little to complain about.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens got points on just about every drive. Outside of Jackson’s shaky start and some dropped passes it was a picture perfect day.
The Ravens are the best team in football. They just proved it against the 49ers.
Nick Polinsky
I don’t think many thought the final gift under the tree would be a 14-point win. The offense looked sound in all aspects, and turnover free football leads to that. Not one decision from Lamar caused anyone to stop and wonder why.
Pressure from the Ravens was in the face of Purdy and Darnold all night, and when it didn’t lead to a sack, the pressure led to errant throws, and turnovers. When you win the turnover battle 5-0 that’s a game you’d expect to win a thousand times out of a thousand, and the Ravens did just that. Let’s just all hope Kyle Hamilton is alright.
Jared Pinder
Wow. Just wow. What a statement from the Ravens tonight. They seemingly had the refs against them (tripping Lamar in the end zone?!) along with the whole world, yet they put together one of the most complete games I have seen in a while. The defense was awesome. Losing Mike MacDonald this offseason is going to hurt. He might have had his best day. He had Brock Purdy, the leading MVP candidate, benched in this game. That’s right, benched. The whole d-line played great and the only issue was the tackling but the Niners have so many guys that can break tackles that they were going to get theirs.
It wasn’t very good for Lamar at first but he fought through it and he turned a great second half. He is deadly on the run this year. Shout-out also to the tackles who all played great tonight.
Doesn’t look like the injuries to anyone are serious either so all in all, this game turned into a statement by this team. Now it is time to prepare for the next biggest game of the year with the number one seed on the line.
19 Responses
At some point the moron talking heads will understand with salary cap and injuries unbeatable teams dont exist
Parity equals…….mediocrity!
Keep Mike McDonald around
Going out on a limb and say the intention is surely there – ufortunately way easier said than done… and the same applies to Madubuike and Queen. Chances are this is the last season we’ve seen at least two of these three (and possibly all three) in Baltimore…
As for MacDonald, his personality, defense-first pedigree and results might make him the prime candidate in places like New England. Hoping like hell we can keep him, but… the chances of that seem to keep shrinking week by week… Last night might just have sealed the deal for him. It was an out-of-the-world show.
“What a win! It was so typically Ravens as well: dominate, then hold on to win by the seats of your pants, by making it way too interesting in the end.”
The heck are you talking about, Derek? It was a two-score game, and was never a closer one once the difference went above 2 scores way back in the game…
Ditto. Faint-hearted fan talk, not pro analysis.
I mean, they had first and goal at the 2, down 14, outside the 2-minute warning. If they punch it in there, especially before 2:00, we have to sweat out an onside kick and/or have to get at least one first down, or SF have the ball down 7.
If you’re comfortable with that after the last few years of Ravens football, you’ve got bigger stones than I. Merry Christmas!
Exactly
Agreed, negativity leads. Then these guys can’t even spin a positive from it. WE BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF ANOTHER GREAT TEAM……AND THAT’S THE STORY
I agree, we were exhausted from Christmas and went to bed after the third quarter because we felt it was a secure win. There have been plenty of games the Ravens held on by the seat of their pants, but this wasn’t one of them.
lol, you just said you went to bed! So u missed the part where they were 2 yards away from making it a 7-point game with all their timeouts and 2 minutes left!
“This game makes the Steelers game irrelevant if you beat Miami.”
Steelers games are NEVER irrelevant 😉
(I personally would be delighted to see a rerun of Week 17 in 2019 – when the Ravens, already clinched the top spot in the AFC, played a mostly-backups team against the steelers who were still in the playoff-run… and still beat them, with RGIII at the helm. That was an awesome day, despite not making a real difference for the Ravens… Rivalries are rivalries. Even if we have secrued the top spot by then, I will still want a win. It’s the steelers.
There should have been flags thrown in the play that resulted in a safety – in fact multiple flags:
– too many men on the field for the 49ers (including the ref who made the play)
– tripping (by the ref)
Also, decency would dictate crediting the refs with a tackle for loss and 2 points.
A game pitting a genuine contender vs. an ersatz…….pretender! The only thing missing was the gift wrapping! The only thing that can stop the Ravens at this point is the……Ravens!
It is apparent that the Ravens have found the Super Bowl algorithm and are using it with precision.
It’s time to hold refs accountable…you cannot give a Safety when the Ref made the play!
These are the same writers calling for Harbs to be fired earlier this year, no?
The NFL was just put on notice.
There’s one thing left for Lamar to do, make noise in the playoffs and change his narrative in the postseason, I have a feeling he’ll oblige us in a few weeks.
LFG
Darin McCann pegged it. Monday night in San Francisco was for the bragging rights, but next Sunday with the Dolphins is for the marbles.
I cannot fathom all the negativity. The pessimism expressed in many of these posts must be a symptom of the times we live to criticize and ruminate on future scenarios like retaining your current personnel.just enjoy the ride , and celebrate the team with its special skill sets. don’t understand why you feel compelled to be downers and naysayers.