The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers meet on Christmas night in arguably the battle of the NFL’s two best teams, but Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey is trying not to sound like he’ll be in the gift-giving mood.
During the game preview segment on his weekly “Punch Line Podcast,” the first words that Humphrey uttered were “I don’t respect ’em.”
When his co-host, Jack Settleman, asked him to elaborate on his comment, here’s what Humphrey said with a somewhat deadpan expression on his face: “I don’t respect a single person on their football team.” The clip begins at the 28:26 mark, but here it is called out on X.
After that, Marlon Humphrey, a three-time Pro Bowl performer, seemed to backtrack a bit, without saying he was. But his follow-up comments suggested he wasn’t serious about not respecting the 49ers.
“I’m excited for this one,” said Humphrey. “Their defense is crazy, so you know … our offense is — I’m going to say struggle, but they’re gonna have to put some work in to score points. So you know, defense has gotta come ready.
“But they got key playmakers. Christian McCaffrey scores every freaking game. Um, Deebo (Samuel), (Brandon) Aiyuk, (George) Kittle. I mean they, dang … wow, they might have the most All-Pros. They’ve got a really good team.
“It’s gonna be a good one. I think this might be the game of the year, honestly.”
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Marlon Humphrey will have his hands full
Despite his team’s success, it’s been a rough season for Marlon Humphrey from a health standpoint. He missed the first four games of the season with a foot injury, and later sat out two more games with a right calf strain.
Humphrey, in his seventh season out of Alabama, has 12 career interceptions, but he has yet to register a pick in 2023. According to NFL.com, he entered the season as the No. 8 ranked cornerback, and is the only cornerback since 2020 to record 10 forced fumbles — eight coming in 2020 along — and five interceptions.
As part of the Ravens’ second-ranked defense, Marlon Humphrey will likely be matched up either on the outside against the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk or in the slot against Deebo Samuel. Aiyuk, the 49ers’ leading receiver, has surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the second straight season and leads all NFL receivers in yards per catch at 18.5.
Samuel looks like he’s back to his 2021 All-Pro form with 11 total touchdowns, six through the air and five on the ground, to go with 959 yards of total offense.
Marlon Humphrey cited the play of Aiyuk, Samuel and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy: “Brock Purdy is the MVP favorite. That’s kind of impressive. I mean, second year. It’s gonna be a ballgame.”
Giv
| Aug 15, 2023 | NFL | Pedal Foot | Humphrey underwent surgery on August 16. He missed the first four games of the season. |
| Nov 12, 2023 | NFL | Leg Calf Strain | Humphrey suffered the non-contact injury to his right calf against Cleveland. He missed two games. |