The Ravens leave for San Francisco today, ready for a Christmas showdown between the two teams sitting atop their conferences.
Here are my thoughts on the game, all in 50 words or less:
The Ravens have a Grinch-like feel. They're crotchety because people think they're going to get beat. They have to spend Christmas on the road. They want to go into the 49ers' house and steal their presents. The only thing that will warm the Ravens' hearts is a win.
The Ravens are an intrinsically motivated bunch. They don't need much to be said outside their own huddle to get fired up. But any extra noise helps, and NBC Sports' Mike Florio provided it Friday when he said the 49ers are going to "kick the s--- out of the Ravens."
You'd be naive to think that athletes at any level aren't fueled by doubters. There's a reason why the term "bulletin board" material exists. It's part of sports. Before that was said, Kyle Hamilton said he felt the Ravens were being disrespected. Now he has a better case.
The Ravens aren't afraid to stick their chests out either. Hearing all week about the 49ers' offensive weapons, the Ravens said they can match up with anyone. That's been the persona of this team under Roquan Smith's leadership, and it harkens to the dominant times of Ray Lewis & Co.
With Lamar Jackson under center, the Ravens have lost by more than a touchdown only four times in the regular season. The 49ers could of course win Monday night. They're a really good team. But I definitely would not expect a blowout in either direction.
The Cardinals piled up 234 rushing yards against the 49ers last week. Their top defensive tackles, Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, are both dealing with injuries. Losing Keaton Mitchell hurts, but the Ravens may be best served trying to pound the rock and keeping the 49ers offense on the sideline.
"Game manager" shouldn't be an insult. The objective for a quarterback is to get the ball to their playmakers. Brock Purdy is doing that at a very high level. By comparison, Jackson makes more unscripted plays out of nothing, but neither MVP-candidate quarterback should be penalized.
The Ravens' interior pass rush will be a problem for the 49ers. Offensive scheme can do a lot, but there's not a lot of scheming you can do in one-on-one matchups against defensive tackles – especially one as disruptive as Justin Madubuike. The consecutive games sack record could be under assault.
Kyle Hamilton vs. George Kittle (and others) will be key to the Ravens' success.
In an offense rich with weapons, McCaffrey has the most explosion. He can do it all as a runner and pass catcher, and the 49ers often use his motion to try to throw off defenses. Smith will not only oversee communicating defensive shifts to his teammates but will be the man required for slowing down one of the leading MVP candidates.
Hamilton's matchup against Kittle will be far from the only one he gets, but it may be the most important. Of all the 49ers' weapons, Kittle lines up in the slot most often (35.5% of the time). Kittle not only is second on the team with 865 receiving yards, but a key edge blocker in the pass and run game. He's a physical presence, and the 49ers could try to body up the Ravens' burly second-year safety.
The Ravens have been rotating their offensive tackles on both sides with Ronnie Stanley/Patrick Mekari and Morgan Moses/Daniel Faalele. Whoever steps up will have their hands full against one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in Nick Bosa, who has 7.5 sacks over the past six games.
The weakness in the 49ers defense has been against the run. The Cardinals hung 234 rushing yards on San Francisco last week, including 49 by Kyler Murray. Even without Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore could pound the rock at the 49ers and Warner, who is the captain in the middle and one of the best inside linebackers in the game. It wouldn't be surprising to see Warner often spying Jackson.
Samuel's strength is making plays after the catch. He's tough over the middle and lines up everywhere in the 49ers offense. Samuel has averaged more than 100 receiving yards the past three weeks and scored five touchdowns. He's been on fire. Humphrey is a strong tackler, and he would be a good player to have on Samuel.
The game against the 49ers doesn't impact the Ravens' chances of getting a first-round bye as much as next week's game against the Miami Dolphins will. This is being billed as the best regular-season game since 2007, but next week is a bigger game.
With that said, I'm surprised Ravens-Dolphins didn't get flexed out of the 1 p.m. timeslot. Sure, fans looking to celebrate on New Year's Eve may be happy, but I wanted that night game atmosphere again at M&T Bank Stadium. Taylor Swift continues to rule the world.
