49ers Have Their Christmas Ruined by the Ravens in Brutal 33-19 Loss
Christmas is meant to be a day of joy and happiness.
Unfortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, it was anything but that. The 49ers had their Christmas ruined in their brutal 33-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. This game was a potential Super Bowl preview as both teams are the No. 1 playoff seed in their respective conferences. For the 49ers, they will want to make sure this game never gets recreated if they are to meet the Ravens in the Super Bowl.
It was an outright abysmal outing from the 49ers. It started with them shooting themselves in the foot due to turnovers. Brock Purdy threw four interceptions in the game. Two of them were egregious, while two were completely out of his hands. Regardless, turning the ball over four times against an elite team is hardly ever going to make it a winnable game. To make matters worse, Purdy never looked himself out there. Much of that has to do with how the Ravens defense played against him.
It felt like Purdy was doing too much at times as if he was playing hero ball. Kyle Shanahan did Purdy no favors either. The 49ers were pass heavy in the first-half when really they should've incorporated more runs, especially since the Ravens aren't that stout of a run defense to begin with. Speaking of defense, the 49ers didn't do great there either. Lamar Jackson wasn't phased at all by the pass rush. He had so much time in the pocket for most of the game, and if the rush got to him, then he easily would scramble away to find an open receiver or take off with the ball.
Credit where credit is due. The Ravens came into Levi's Stadium and took the 49ers' lunch money. This was always going to be a tough outing for the 49ers the moment the schedule was released. Luckily, the 49ers are still in a good spot with their playoff seeding. All they need to do is win their final two games and they will have clinched the NFC's No. 1 seed. This game should not create any cause for panic or concern. Even with Purdy, who likely ended his MVP talk after this game.
Baltimore is a legitimate team who handed the 49ers a humbling loss. It happens. This game should not change, at least not drastically, the outlook on the 49ers. If anything, this game showed more about how great the Ravens are. Perhaps this loss can even benefit the 49ers as the playoffs near.
