Ravens' Lamar Jackson, Official Alex Moore Make Amends After Safety Snafu
Number 49, two minutes for tripping!
It felt like only divine intervention could stop Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night, as the birds flew away from the San Francisco 49ers by a 33-19 final. The potential Super Bowl LVIII sneak preview wasn't even as close as the scoreboard indicated thanks to Jackson's MVP-strengthening performance that saw him amass 297 total yards and two scores.
But an official's dive of destiny perhaps fueled countless conspiracy theories from Ravens fans convinced that the NFL has an anti-Baltimore agenda: Alex Moore, the umpire from Monday's officiating crew overseeing the highly anticipated interconference Christmas clash, went down in zebra infamy for a first quarter blunder that afforded San Francisco an early lead. A fallen Moore, tripping over Levi's Stadium's grass, accidentally tripped Jackson in his own end zone as he tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, but the ensuing intentional grounding call gave the 49ers the first points of the day.
Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY SPORTS
All sides can laugh about the play thanks the the one-sided nature of Baltimore's win. Jackson, however, certainly wasn't chuckling at the time though he did reveal that Moore apologized to him in the aftermath.
“He fell but he came back and apologized like ‘my bad,'" Jackson said in video from Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "It’s all good but those two points helped them out a lot."
On what became the final play of Baltimore's second drive, Jackson's attempt to flee from a pass rush headlined by Nick Bosa and Chase Young put him in his own end zone despite the action starting at the 20. Moore, trying to avoid the rush, tripped and landed in the area and Jackson tripped over him in an attempt to throw the ball away, shortly before he was engulfed by Young.
Jackson was able to fling the ball away but it came at a two-point price: referee Bill Vinovich immediately charged Jackson with grounding, much to the delight of the 49ers fans gathered in Santa Clara. Since the foul occurred in the end zone, Baltimore (12-3) was not only forced to give up the ball but was subjected to an early 2-0 deficit thanks to a safety.
The ensuing San Francisco drive pushed the lead up to 5-0 thanks to a field goal from Jake Moody. Jackson and the Ravens' offense found offensive clarity shortly after: a run of 13 consecutive points saw a Gus Edwards touchdown get sandwiched by field goals from Justin Tucker to put the Ravens up 13-5. The 49ers narrowed the gap to four by halftime but the Ravens pulled away with Jackson touchdown passes to Nelson Agholor and Zay Flowers to pull away. Baltimore led by as much as 21 before San Francisco (11-4) earned a garbage time touchdown in the dying stages.
Jackson hinted that Collins' trip prevented further bloodshed on the scoreboard.
"I knew that I was going to get away," Jackson claimed. "I knew Chase knew I was going to get away, too ... I think a ref fell in front of me before, but I got away. So when this happened, aw man. But it is what it is, we live to fight another day. It's just that, we turned it over, gave them a (field goal)."
Despite the apology, Jackson will probably hope that Moore and Vinovich's crew stays away from the Ravens' next game, another crucial holiday showdown against Miami on New Year's Eve (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
