(Photo: Sports Illustrated)
NFC Game Of The WeekÂ
Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers
Ravens: Since that shocking loss to the Cleveland Browns back in November, they’ve been winners of their last four games. They have already punched their tickets to the postseason and are closing in on their first division title since 2019 which was the year they had clinched the one seed in the AFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history. What I am about to say may hurt some of your feelings and to be honest, I really couldn’t care less because I’ll still sleep like a baby after saying this. Lamar Jackson isn’t an MVP candidate to me this year and as usual, I’ll back my claim up with some opinions as I usually do. Let’s look at his MVP campaign in 2019 compared to this year. Four years ago, Lamar accounted for 43 total touchdowns (36 passing and seven rushing), he threw for 3,127 yards and ran for 1,206 which was a rushing record for a Quarterback. This year, he’s thrown 17 touchdown passes and ran for five scores, plus the rushing numbers are down. I’m not taking anything away from him, but MVP candidates can consistently put together a string of good games. The best game I’ve seen from him this year came against the Detroit Lions earlier in the year where he was flawless. On Sunday in Jacksonville, the Ravens did what they were supposed to do and handled business against a Jaguars team struggling at this very moment. Once again, it’s been their defense that’s been one of the best this year and they lead the league in sacks this year with 50. This is what they do and it’s how they disguise things that impresses me because you never know who they will throw at you and what direction they’ll come from. On Monday night, they make a trip back to California.
49ers: In a year where things may appear to be different, here they are and as of late, this has been the most consistent team in the league as we speak that I have seen. I can admit I wasn’t all that impressed with their performance against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, but they came out with the win, their sixth consecutive win to be exact. They also won the NFC West for the second consecutive season and third time in five years under Kyle Shanahan. I will agree with the masses: A 49er does deserve MVP without question. However, it’s not Brock Purdy for me. I’m not taking a thing away from Brock at all because he’s been stellar this year and has shown he’s the guy for this team. He’s led and they’ve followed him. The reason why I don’t have him as an MVP candidate is because when I watch a Quarterback in an MVP position, he can get the job done no matter the receivers or skill players around him and we saw when the 49ers were without Deebo Samuel or some other weapons, Brock wasn’t capable of that for three games and those were the three they lost and look back at everything. The 49ers were not winning football games and Brock was failing to take care of the ball. An MVP candidate is a guy you can trust at all times, regardless of who’s around him. If anything, Christian McCaffrey should get more love as an MVP candidate because he’s been consistent and I think if you take him away from this offense, it’s a completely different group. There’s no question the 49ers have arguably one of, if not, the best defense in all of football. I always say the elite groups can be tested at any given time and that’s exactly what the Cardinals did on Sunday as they ran the football for 234 yards on a very stingy group. It wasn’t the inability to limit the run exactly that stop out so much. I noticed a group that struggled to wrap up and miss tackles. They missed 16 of them to be exact and that’s just a lack of football fundamentals. Wrap up, drive and bring to the ground. The 9ers will return home on Monday night.
Ravens X-Factor: Gus Edwards– Good things happen when they feed Gus the football. When you watch the film on him, he may not necessarily have the speed and vision as many other Running Backs in the league do today, but what I appreciate about him is that he’s a north-south runner who remains on his feet always until he’s taken down to the ground. Gus is a workhorse and I say that because you can feed him the football over and over which allows him to wear down a defense. I like his patience he displays. He trusts his blockers, then attacks the lanes.
49ers X-Factor: Dre Greenlaw– I remember the game against the Cleveland Browns and he missed that game with an apparent injury. You saw how vital of a piece he is to what they do as a defense, especially when it comes to stopping the run and Dre is their best run stopper without question. Look at his mindset. It’s position yourself, see the ball, fly to the ball and make the tackle and Dre does this on a consistent basis. Along with Fred Warner, they have become one of the best duos of Linebackers in the league today.
Final Thoughts: It’s one thing where we get two teams in the same conference currently holding the top two seeds facing each other and the winner of that usually gets home-field throughout the playoffs. Here, we have the leaders in each conference both sitting at 11-3 and in first places in their divisions. Many are calling this a preview of the Super Bowl. If there’s a weakness for either of these defenses, it’s stopping the run and that’s what this game will come down too. First, who can get that push up front more consistently and secondly, who can bottle up those running lanes? Christian McCaffrey will be the best Running Back the Ravens will have faced all year long. Also, watch the 49ers attack Baltimore with creative ways to get Deebo Samuel the football. Lamar will be a handful for this 9ers defense as they haven’t seen or faced a Quarterback this year that can keep the play extended and stay on his feet. This is the game where I feel they miss both Mark Andrews and Keaton Mitchell who are both out with season-ending injuries. The 49ers will prevail here to another victory on Christmas night.
Prediction: 49ers 31, Ravens 17
