On Christmas Eve, the Baltimore Ravens (12-3) took on the role of the Grinch in Santa Clara, defeating their hosts, the San Francisco 49ers, 33-19.
In the process, they sent a message about the current state of affairs in the AFC and the NFL, as the Flock is now the only club with 12 wins during the regular season.
Along with making Lamar Jackson the favorite to earn his second MVP prize, the win helped him outperform 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who was the favorite at the time, north and south on Monday. Jackson threw two touchdowns against zero interceptions, finishing with 252 passing yards and 45 more yards on the ground.
The problem for Jackson and the Ravens, however, was a shaky start to the game that made things more difficult than they should have been and that also inspired a few conspiracy theories. Was the NFL trying to use their referees to trip Baltimore up, literally? Judge by yourself.
Even though Jackson was almost perfect, there was a safety call against Baltimore in the first quarter, according to the box score of the game. Chase Young of San Francisco caught Jackson, though, after the quarterback stumbled over umpire Alex Moore, who had collapsed in the goal zone.
The play led to an intentional grounding and the ensuing safety, giving the Niners two early free points. But Jackson put an end to all plots of any kind by expressing the obvious while elucidating what had transpired on the field, thereby eliminating all imaginative aspects of the action.
“The ref fell. He fell, but he came back and apologized. He was like, ‘My bad,’ but it’s all good. Those two points helped [the San Francisco 49ers] out a lot.”
“The referee went down. “He stumbled, but he got up and said he was sorry,” Jackson informed the press. “It’s okay, I apologize,” he said. “Those two points were very helpful to [the San Francisco 49ers],” the quarterback continued.
The safety set a franchise record for the most in a single campaign and was the Ravens’ third of the season, the most in the NFL. Even though the play was odd, the Ravens bounced back quickly and mercilessly dispatched the Niners, defeating them without raising many, if any, questions about who the best player in the NFL is.
In order to secure the top seed in the AFC, the Ravens would need to defeat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in order to win six straight games this season. To win the AFC North, though, they would have to tie the Browns’ outcome from Week 18 if they lose.
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