Ravens Made 'Major Statement' In Dismantling San Francisco 49ers
Statement made. The Baltimore Ravens rolled into Levi's stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers and stole their souls, lunch money, and anything else you can think of in a 33-19 win.
Not many gave the Ravens a chance in Santa Clara (yes, you Mike Florio) as the 49ers juggernaut was expected to continue on its merry way. But they ran into a buzzsaw as the Ravens took them to task in a way not seen this season.
Off the back of five total interceptions from the defense and an outstanding night from Lamar Jackson, the Ravens put the entire NFL on notice with a superb win as all three phases contributed to the win.
With the Ravens now having dismantled the Seattle Seahawks (37-3), the Detroit Lions (38-6), and now the 49ers, head coach John Harbaugh thinks his team made a serious statement on Monday night.
“It's a major statement about who they are and about, how they compete and what they're all about,” Harbaugh said.
While the final scoreline was a statement, so too was Jackson's performance and such were his efforts against a stellar 49ers defense that he made look mediocre, many have him now as the favorite for the NFL's MVP award.
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It is hard to argue based on what the eye test tells you as Jackson was operating Todd Monken's system nearly flawlessly en route to completing 23 of his 35 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, while he also ran for 45 yards on seven carries.
But what did Harbaugh think of Lamar's performance?
"I thought Lamar had an MVP performance,” Harbaugh said. “It takes a team to create a performance like that but it takes a player to play at that level, to play at an MVP level, takes a player to play that way and Lamar was all over the field doing everything.
"Just a complete game by Lamar.”
It was a "statement" win for the Ravens over an NFC powerhouse, but perhaps the bigger statement was made by Jackson as he tore apart a team many thought would cakewalk to the Super Bowl.
And that in itself is a "major MVP statement."
