Game Overview ::
By MIKE JOHNSON >>
- We are gifted with a Christmas day matchup of the top two teams in the NFL through 15 weeks.
- The Baltimore offense and San Francisco defense are each battling some injury issues.
- Baltimore’s offense relies on Lamar Jackson’s dynamic abilities to create opportunities for them while San Francisco has a balanced unit that can beat you from a variety of angles.
- This matchup features the #1 offense in the league facing the #2 defense in the league.
- San Francisco has scored 27 or more points in every game where all their key offensive skill players were healthy, while the Ravens have allowed 27 points only twice in 14 games.
How BALTIMORE Will Try To Win ::
The Ravens have built their lead in the AFC on the back of a quietly elite season from Lamar and one of the best defenses in the NFL. After dismantling the Jaguars last Sunday night, the Ravens are set for a huge test over the next two weeks as they face the NFC’s #1 seed (49ers) followed by the AFC’s #2 seed (Dolphins). Baltimore continues to battle the injury bug, as they lost explosive running back Keaton Mitchell to a devastating knee injury last week and have been playing without All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews for a few weeks now. Things will continue to ride primarily on the back of Lamar Jackson and the elite Baltimore defense as the Ravens look to take control of an AFC that is full of contenders with issues.
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Baltimore has opened things up this year and is passing at a much higher rate than they have in past seasons. They finally gave Lamar Jackson a receiving corps that has multiple playmakers and he is making good use of it with his highest passer rating since the 2020 season. This is also the healthiest season Jackson has had since 2020, as he played in only 12 games in each of the past two seasons. The loss of Mitchell will hurt this Baltimore offense, as he had another gear and appeared to be turning into a true difference maker in the offense. Defenses were having an extremely difficult time containing him while also having to account for the threat of Jackson. Now that Mitchell is out, we should expect Justice Hill’s role as a complementary back to Gus Edwards to grow. Edwards is more of a “hammer” as a physical grinder, but we are likely to see Lamar’s rushing role be heavily utilized this week as the Ravens look to replace the explosive ability of Mitchell. Through the air, Isaiah Likely has emerged as a legitimate weekly threat as a receiving tight end as the replacement for Mark Andrews. After a couple of slow weeks immediately after the Andrews injury, Likely has had consecutive weeks as the top receiving option for the Ravens.
The wide receiver trio of rookie Zay Flowers, Odell Beckham, and Rashod Bateman has emerged over the course of the season as well. When Baltimore does pass, it’s relatively aggressive downfield with Lamar Jackson ranking fifth in the NFL in average intended air yards. Some of those passes are by design and some are the result of Jackson buying time with his legs and extending plays to find receivers downfield. The 49ers have PFF’s #2 graded pass rush and are able to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks despite blitzing at the third-lowest rate in the league. This is a critical component for this week, as being able to pressure Jackson while also leaving “spies” in coverage to keep his rushes to short gains rather than huge explosive gains is critical to slowing down this Baltimore attack. The 49ers defense got a nice little “test run” against a similar style of quarterback last week when they faced Kyler Murray, who they sacked three times and intercepted twice. The Ravens will likely try to open this game by hammering the 49ers on the ground and controlling the tempo but will eventually need to open things up and create explosive plays if they want to keep up.
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