Schedule makers saved the best for last on Christmas Day to close out Week 16 of the NFL schedule, with the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens battling the NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers in a potential Super Bowl matchup.
Early on, one could have confused the score for a baseball game after the 49ers led the Ravens 5-3 after the first quarter. The second and third quarters were much different, with Brock Purdy gifting the Ravens multiple presents, leading to a 33-19 Baltimore win over San Francisco.
The Ravens won the game, securing their place as the best team in the AFC; meanwhile, the 49ers ended up with a lump of coal. In addition to Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy, here are the biggest winners and losers from the Ravens’ Week 16 win over the 49ers.
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Winner: Kyle Hamilton, Ravens defense
Not only do the Ravens have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, they also have the league’s best scoring defense, and the 49ers learned that first-hand. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald kept pressing all the right buttons, with safety Kyle Hamilton showing why he’s one of the best in the game.
This play was special, as it showed Hamilton getting pummeled into the turf early on, but he didn’t give up. Hamilton got right back into the action and even ended up with one of the best plays of the night.
Keep in mind, this was Hamilton’s second on the day after jumping one of Purdy’s throws on San Francisco’s first drive of the game.
Unfortunately, Hamilton later had to leave the game with a knee injury, which is an issue he’s been dealing with since Week 14 after suffering an MCL sprain. Still, the Ravens intercepted the 49ers five times, which is nearly as many interceptions as San Francisco had thrown all season (seven).
Winner: Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk
If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s the 49ers’ skill position players having big games. In this one, all three of George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Brandon Aiyuk topped 100 yards apiece. All together, they combined for 342 yards. Deebo Samuel chipped in 54 yards on six total touches. That type of production should have been enough to generate far more than just 19 points. Still, going off for that many yards against the league’s best defense is impressive.
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Loser: Brock Purdy’s MVP campaign disintegrates
Just like that, Purdy is no longer the NFL’s MVP frontrunner. He would have made history as the first player taken last in an NFL Draft to win MVP. Yet, much of the reason why he was considered a favorite was thanks to leading a team with one of the best records in the NFL, rattling off six wins in a row coming into Monday.
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This was in addition to Purdy having some of the best stats among NFL QBs this season, where he tied for the fewest interceptions while having the most passing touchdowns when the week began. All of that is gone now after completing just 56% of his passes with four costly interceptions. The worst part about Purdy’s bad day is that he had to watch his opponent become the MVP frontrunner instead.
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Winner: Lamar Jackson becomes MVP frontrunner, again
Lamar Jackson already has one MVP award, but the Ravens QB will gladly take another if he can finish his season strongly. You won’t find him among the league leaders in passing yards, yet if you take Jackson away from Baltimore’s offense, is there any doubt this team would fall flat on their faces?
Jackson was excellent, displaying his otherworldly ability to make throws on the run and adjusting his release point just to get the job done.
On a day where Jackson completed 23 of 35 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, he also added 45 more yards on the ground to lead Baltimore’s ground game. Watching his opponent commit five turnovers, the Jackson-led Ravens offense didn’t commit a single one. That was the biggest difference tonight.
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