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Christmas Presents Delivered

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Ravens Down 49ers 33-19

December 23, 2023, the Ravens board a charter flight to California to take on the league’s juggernaut, the San Francisco 49ers. On Christmas Eve, away from their families, away from home, the players meet up to tidy up details in preparation for the game. They need to get their heads right. They’ve come too far – accomplished so much, yet the journey is hardly complete. Challenges remain. Focus is required. The Christmas celebration must wait.

The teammates spend Christmas Eve together. They dine, laugh and undoubtedly wonder what it must be like back in Baltimore where wives, Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends come together during a most joyous Holiday. Isolation is present. The longing for home is real.

Making matters worse, the team is forced to travel across the country, across three time zones to take on a 49ers team in a game that nearly all pundits predicted would end with a Ravens loss. Oddsmakers agreed. By the time kickoff arrived, the Ravens were 6 ½ point underdogs to the Christmas-red clad Niners. A helping of coal seemed a certainty for each of the Ravens’ take-home bags.

But the Ravens would not be denied.

With steely-eyed conviction that the great Ray Lewis would admire, the Ravens used all of the adversity to fuel their focus; to remain committed to the plan; to carry out their individual assignments; to attain the collective achievement. Against all odds, they shocked the world beating the 49ers 33-19 and in doing so, as is the case in this week-to-week league, they flipped the script on the 2023 season and changed the narrative. Now, the challenge is to preserve the narrative; to carry this potboiler forward when they host the Miami Dolphins at The Bank on Sunday.

Until then, let’s enjoy the glow of this Christmas present to #RavensFlock…

“I used to have good Christmases when I was young. We used to get bikes. Me and my brothers would ride around the whole neighborhood, so I’d put this [one] up there. It’s like Top 2.” ~ Zay Flowers, on if he’s ever had a better Christmas

THE GOOD

The Ravens have taken on four first-place teams during the course of this season; the Lions, Seahawks, Jaguars and 49ers. They’ve beaten these teams by the combined score of 131-35. They are (7-1) on the road and if they play their cards right, the next time they will make a road trip will be in February for Super Bowl 58.

But first things, first…

The Ravens can clinch the AFC North title with a win over either the Dolphins on Sunday or the Steelers on January 7. They can also clinch the division if the Browns lose tomorrow night against the Jets or the following week to the Bengals in Cincinnati. Of course, the simplest path to long-term success is to clinch the conference’s No. 1 seed with a win over Miami on New Year’s Eve. They can also clinch the No. 1 seed even if they lose to Tua Tagovailoa & Co. on Sunday IF the Ravens beat Pittsburgh in Week 18 while the Dolphins fall to the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium.

Before we get to the individual performances, here are a few team-oriented facts worthy of note:

• The Ravens are now 12-3 through 15 games of a season for the second time (2006) in franchise history. This marks John Harbaugh’s fourth time (2010-11 & 2019) leading Baltimore to at least a dozen wins in a season since his 2008 arrival.

• The Ravens own an NFL-best 39-17 (.696) primetime record since. Baltimore has won five consecutive road primetime contests which is currently the league’s longest active streak.

• Baltimore’s 45-22 (.671) record in interconference play marks the NFL’s best such record since 2008. QB Lamar Jackson owns an NFL-record 20-1 (.952) mark as a starter in interconference play.

Full disclosure, I picked the Ravens to lose this game, 27-20. I thought they would compete but, in the end, I thought the 49ers defensive front would overwhelm the Ravens offensive line, particularly on the flanks. To the credit of O-Line Coach Joe D’Alessandris’ unit, they put in the work and held their own.

That said, things didn’t start out all that well for Lamar Jackson. During the Ravens first two possessions Lamar was 1 of 5 for 7 yards that included a horrific play from the Ravens own 20-yard line that resulted in a safety, courtesy of a grounding call in the end zone. Let’s reiterate, the LOS was the TWENTY. The play featured game official Alex Moore who Lamar tripped over. Coincidentally, Moore wears No. 49.

To his credit, Lamar did not lose his poise. If anything, the early struggles seemed to heighten his determination. He made some terrific off-schedule plays including a scoring strike to Nelson Agholor and a 39-yard connection with Gus Edwards. Lamar finished the game going 23 of 35 for 252 yards and 2 TD’s for a 105.9 passer rating. He also ran for 45 yards on 7 carries. Lamar led the Ravens on seven consecutive scoring drives, something that according to ESPN Stats & Info, hasn’t been done to the 49ers in 18 years.

Back to Agholor, he made a great veteran move on a short comeback route in the end zone, recognizing that Lamar needed somewhere to go with the football. Fortunately for both players, Justice Hill broke his route off to the inside. Had he continued to travel towards the boundary, Fred Warner could have disrupted the throwing lane. Take a look…

Zay Flowers continued his solid rookie season with 9 catches for 72 yards and a score. Isaiah Likely isn’t Mark Andrews but he’s performed admirably in relief. He’s a good open field blocker and if his physicality was ever questioned, his run after catch that included a Derrick Henry-like stiff arm should put such doubts to rest. Likely had 3 catches for 56 yards and an impressive 18.7 YPC…Hill deserves props for his efforts in pass protection.

Besides Lamar being Lamar, the Ravens defense really set the tone. The 49ers were thought to be the bullies, just ask Mike Florio. The 49ers were the hosts playing before a sea of Christmas red. They were home for the Holidays. They were the 6 ½ point favorites. The Ravens’ defense was having none of it. They set the tone. They controlled the game, confusing Brock Purdy throughout beginning with Kyle Hamilton deeking the 49ers QB to close out San Francisco’s first drive.

Collectively, the Ravens defense behaved like cunning animals of prey in the Serengeti. They strategically baited the 49ers into traps and Purdy couldn’t resist. FIVE INTERCEPTIONS!!! Two by S Kyle Hamilton and 1 apiece by CB Marlon Humphrey, ILB Patrick Queen and S Marcus Williams. The Ravens scored 17 points off the takeaways. They also posted 4 sacks (2 by DE Brent Urban and 1 apiece by DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney & OLB Kyle Van Noy).

Even when the Ravens didn’t sack Purdy, he looked confused. The Ravens bluffed simulated pressure and moved post-snap in ways that forced Purdy to hesitate. And the pressure was relentless despite only rushing four most of the game. Clowney delivered most of the heat and was credited with 8 pressures, two of which led to Urban’s two cleanup sacks…Travis Jones is starting to blossom as an interior pass rusher. Coupled with Justin Madubuike who ironically had his sack streak snapped in such a pressure-packed defensive effort, the pair leaves little opportunity for opposing QB’s to step up and throw…Kyle Van Noy had a sack courtesy of an impressive bull rush while overpowering the much larger RT Spencer Burford…Patrick Queen was a physical force throughout, credited with 4 pressures, a pick and an angry run after the catch.

On the backend Marlon Humphrey was physical and well-prepared, quickly diagnosing plays and getting in position to disrupt them. He had quite a few snaps in the slot and it would surprise no one if he sees more time there given the similarities in the Niners’ and Dolphins’ offenses…Marcus Williams rebounded from a slow start and his ability to lurk on the back end triggered some second-guessing on Purdy’s part…Brandon Stephens was beaten a couple of times but nothing egregious. He was in position but sometimes teams as good as the 49ers are just going to make a few plays. The timing on his deflected pass when blitzing off the edge was absolute perfection. Marlo thanks you!

Kyle Hamilton is just a beast. He lines up on the edge, at ILB, at corner, at safety – he’s like Johnny Cash. He’s everywhere, man! He blitzed off the edge, drew a chop block call when Christian McCaffrey and G Aaron Banks combined to pancake him. After which, he got up and followed the play before coming down with the INT. What an incredible play and effort. And then the aforementioned INT in the end zone, without which it turns into a 49ers TD, completely flipping the momentum in the game and possibly the end result.

“Defensively, it was all three levels. We had pressure. We had the run game under control, [and] that helped us a lot. But we had pressure. I think our coverage was just fantastic and we covered long, so we made them hold the ball, forcing them into some bad throws, and we had our hands on balls. We tipped balls; we had balls in the air, and guys caught them and that helps, too. It was just a complete team effort on defense to get those interceptions.” ~ John Harbaugh

On special teams Justin Tucker was really driving the ball on FGA’s. He was perfect on four tries, the longest of which was from 41 yards out…Tylan Wallace shook off a would-be tackler on the opening kickoff to finish a 26-yard return to the 31 YL. He also had a 23-yard punt return with a tack on roughing penalty when hit out of bounds. It gave the Ravens a first-and-10 at the SF 44. Three plays later it was 23-12 Ravens…Jordan Stout had a 56-yard punt to the 11 YL with no return following the Ravens first possession. He added another punt to pin the 49ers at the 10.

THE BAD

The Ravens running game never got untracked. Outside of Lamar, Hill and Edwards combined for 57 yards on 19 carries (3.0 YPC)…Defensively the Ravens seemed to be a bit confused over how they planned to defend George Kittle who had 7 catches for 126 yards including a 58 yard gain on the 49ers opening possession…Christian McCaffrey had 84 yards on 9 carries including a touchdown in the first half. The Ravens held the versatile back to 19 yards on 5 carries in the second half but the score of the game limited his attempts in the second half. A tighter game could have challenged the Ravens run defense which hasn’t been stellar in recent weeks…Jordan Stout’s line drive 44 yard punt with the Ravens leading 33-19 at the 4:45 mark of the game was hardly ideal. The game started to turn there and I must admit, I started to flashback to Super Bowl 47.

THE UGLY

When you beat what was believed to be the league’s best team on Christmas night, 3,000 miles away, there is no ugly.

COACHING

John Harbaugh deserves credit for having his team focused despite all the potential distractions given the cross-country Christmas night game. He also made the right choice to resist the temptation to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the SF 1-yard line with 2:47 to go in the 3rd quarter. Kicking the FG to make it 33-12 put the 49ers in the undesirable spot of needing three touchdowns just to tie or go ahead (if the 2-point play factored in).

Todd Monken’s game plan was somewhat questionable. The Ravens never got the run game going. They didn’t move the pocket for Lamar who seems to make his biggest plays on the move and in some situations, it seemed as if Lamar didn’t have a hot read, particularly on the play resulting in a safety. Although as RSR’s Cole Jackson points out below, sometimes that’s on the players and their individual pre-snap reads.

The play call at the 3:34 mark of the 3rd from the 1-yard line was a real headscratcher. The Ravens emptied the backfield save Patrick Ricard who lined up to the right while Gus Edwards flanked out to the right. I initially thought that Ricard would get the call on a swing pass right, but Lamar kept it, tried to run behind Ricard but went nowhere. Monken should just blow that play up.

Maybe this is just me over-thinking Lamar’s lack of success in the playoffs, but it just seems to me that the Ravens biggest plays are off-schedule. In other words, they are the result of Lamar ad-libbing. It would be nice to see more successful designed plays, but execution, design or both just don’t seem to be where they need to be and we’re heading into Week 17.

On the plus side, the design of the TD pass to Flowers in the red zone was a think of beauty.

THE MEGAN FOX AWARD

Zugzwang, a German term meaning ‘compulsion to move’, is a situation found in chess and other turn-based games wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because of their obligation to make a move; a player is said to be “in zugzwang” when any legal move will worsen their position.

That somewhat describes the play of Brock Purdy on Monday night and the guy on the other side of the metaphorical chess board was Ravens DC Mike Macdonald. The assortment of pre-snap looks that morphed into something different post-snap, caught Purdy completely off guard. It was a masterpiece in diversity from Macdonald intended to disrupt one of the most balanced offenses, if not THE most balanced offense in the NFL.

Purdy’s critics will say that he’s nothing more than a very good game manager. This time around, courtesy of confusion authored by Macdonald, the game manager transformed into mis-manager and a former MVP candidate. Passer ratings of 42.6 generally don’t translate into wins. Monday night was no exception.

QUOTABLE

“I think it’s the way we gel together. [There are] a bunch of guys in here – I just got here this year, and I feel like I’ve been here for a while. We’re just cool with each other. We all go out to eat together, [and] we do a lot of stuff together as one when we’re on the road. It’s just a fun environment to be around. We’re excited to go to work every day. It’s not stressful to walk in the building and [not] worry about other things going on. It’s just football and having a good time with the guys you love and have a good time with.” ~ Jadeveon Clowney

PARTING SHOTS

Congrats to one of RSR’s own, Ben Dackiw who recently accepted a position with Bismarck, North Dakota’s NBC affiliate KFYR as their new sports reporter and anchor. Ben is a graduate of Oklahoma University where he was a PBP guy and reporter for OU hockey. Ben has all the tools and he’s earned a shot to show North Dakotans what he’s all about. Here’s to your future Ben!

Mandrews

I’ve been hearing good things about the rehabbing of Mark Andrews. If he doesn’t make it back, it won’t be from a lack of effort. Word is that Andrews is determined to make a post-season appearance and what once seemed like an extreme longshot, could possibly come to fruition.

Chiefs Cheerleaders

Not sure if you watched the broadcast of the Raiders at Chiefs on Christmas Day. While the Raiders were taking it to the Chiefs despite Las Vegas quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s inability to complete a single pass for over three quarters, Kansas City’s offense was coming undone. Patrick Mahomes screamed at his offensive linemen; Travis Kelce banged his helmet around like he was trying to imitate a Rob Gronkowski end zone celebration; and Andy Reid got mad at something other than the referee.

While all of it was going on, PBP guy Jim Nantz and analyst Tony Romo openly rooted for a Chiefs’ comeback. The bias was both obvious and sickening and this week, the duo will stay in Kansas City to call the Bengals at Chiefs. I have not been able to confirm if the broadcasting pair is staying with Mahomes, but word is that the Chiefs’ QB has agreed to the stay, provided they babysit throughout the week.

All kidding aside, the No. 1 CBS team is calling that hot mess while the Ravens are hosting the Dolphins for the conference’s No. 1 seed? Really?

Ravens’ fans should be happy about CBS’ cold shoulder. Instead, we get Ian Eagle, Charles Davis and Evan Washburn. Ultimately, I’d rather hear/see Kevin Harlan’s crew cover the game. But anything is better than the Chiefs’ cheerleading captains, Nantz and Romo. I’m guessing they are Swifties too.

By the way, the Ravens open as 3-point favorites over the Dolphins with the over/under set at 47. The forecast calls for some sun, temps around 50 with an 11% chance of rain.

You Can’t Fix Stupid

9 Responses

  1. Jason LC is a clown and needs to find a new team to cover. Love your column Tony I look forward to it every week!

    Reply

  3. What a game! I really hope that they can get Clowney back again next year. I’ve wanted him as a Raven since he left college!

    Reply

  4. It’s the adlibbing that makes him so hard to defend! He’s a running QB who is more dangerous with his legs than his arm! Can’t blame coaches for not designing plays for him…….

    Reply

  5. Great point Tony about success with designed plays, or lack thereof. To add to the confusion, opening schemed drives have been really successful in some games, but obviously not against the Niners. I’ve generally put it down to our inconsistent OL play. It’s no coincidence that the line played really well in the blowout wins against the Lions and Seahawks, and Lamar was super in the pocket in those games. But maybe it’s more complicated.

    Reply

  6. Not a fan of the Bulletin Board Motivation but this team seems to thrive on the disrespect angle. Hopefully, they stay focused and Harbs continues to motivate them with that angle . It may be tough if they beat Miami and they start to believe that all they have to do is show up to win.

    Reply

    1. I think there is zero chance that our offense/Monken had no hot option for Lamar on the safety play with a free runner. One of the receivers on that side was hot and left Lamar hanging.

      Reply

  7. The “Bad” segment should perpetually include a returnable kickoff and the yards that are maddeningly given up past the 25yd line in each case. There is no reason to not kick the ball out of the end zone EVERY SINGLE TIME.

    Reply

  8. I’ll take the silver lining here. In a number of games this year I felt the opening script and execution was amazing. It’s one reason why we’ve outscored opponents so badly in the first qtr this year. But in some games I felt that the opposition adjusted, and Monken failed to adjust properly as the game went on. Against SF I felt the opposite was true. Lamar came out a little hyped up and inaccurate. But then I felt Monken settled in, and called a pretty good game. I agree with you on the Lamar goal line run. A silly design.

    Reply

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9 Responses

  1. Jason LC is a clown and needs to find a new team to cover. Love your column Tony I look forward to it every week!

    Reply

  3. What a game! I really hope that they can get Clowney back again next year. I’ve wanted him as a Raven since he left college!

    Reply

  4. It’s the adlibbing that makes him so hard to defend! He’s a running QB who is more dangerous with his legs than his arm! Can’t blame coaches for not designing plays for him…….

    Reply

  5. Great point Tony about success with designed plays, or lack thereof. To add to the confusion, opening schemed drives have been really successful in some games, but obviously not against the Niners. I’ve generally put it down to our inconsistent OL play. It’s no coincidence that the line played really well in the blowout wins against the Lions and Seahawks, and Lamar was super in the pocket in those games. But maybe it’s more complicated.

    Reply

  6. Not a fan of the Bulletin Board Motivation but this team seems to thrive on the disrespect angle. Hopefully, they stay focused and Harbs continues to motivate them with that angle . It may be tough if they beat Miami and they start to believe that all they have to do is show up to win.

    Reply

    1. I think there is zero chance that our offense/Monken had no hot option for Lamar on the safety play with a free runner. One of the receivers on that side was hot and left Lamar hanging.

      Reply

  7. The “Bad” segment should perpetually include a returnable kickoff and the yards that are maddeningly given up past the 25yd line in each case. There is no reason to not kick the ball out of the end zone EVERY SINGLE TIME.

    Reply

  8. I’ll take the silver lining here. In a number of games this year I felt the opening script and execution was amazing. It’s one reason why we’ve outscored opponents so badly in the first qtr this year. But in some games I felt that the opposition adjusted, and Monken failed to adjust properly as the game went on. Against SF I felt the opposite was true. Lamar came out a little hyped up and inaccurate. But then I felt Monken settled in, and called a pretty good game. I agree with you on the Lamar goal line run. A silly design.

    Reply

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Picture of Tony Lombardi
Tony Lombardi
Tony is the founder of EutawStreetReport.com and RussellStreetReport.com. His work has been featured on various websites and he hosts The Front Office and Word on The Street podcasts. Among his favorite things in life are his wife, kids, grandbaby Elise, family, friends, My Single Friend on Facebook, The Spirit of Christmas, The Beatles, Breaking Bad, Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, The Godfather, Guinness, bourbon, meatballs and Key West, not necessarily in that order. Brussel sprouts, bacon and milk chocolate are highly overrated. Follow Tony on Twitter @RSRLombardi. I'm nicer in person than I am on X!
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