This Christmas Day, Monday Night Football will feature a game between the Baltimore Ravens (11-3, 9-5 ATS) and the San Francisco 49ers (11-3, 8-6 ATS). Postseason berths have already been secured by both teams.
San Francisco leads 10-4 Dallas, Detroit, and Philadelphia by one game, while Baltimore leads #1 seed Miami by one game in the AFC. The Ravens, who were 4-point road favourites, defeated the Jaguars 23–7 on Sunday night football. The 49ers, who were 13.5-point favourites, just defeated the Cardinals 45-29 in Arizona.
ABC will broadcast the kickoff, which is set for 8:15 EST, from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Ravens Win Four in a Row
Since these are two of the NFL’s top teams, winning streaks are nothing new to them. The Ravens lead the AFC after winning eight of the previous nine games and their past four games overall.
It’s crucial to maintain your top ranking in the NFL playoffs since only one team from each conference receives a first-round bye.
They play the Dolphins and Steelers at home to wrap up the season; therefore, this is their final road game. Lamar Jackson led the club to an easy victory on the road by throwing for 171 yards and rushing for an additional 97 yards against the Jaguars.
Lamar Jackson has 3,105 total passing yards this season, or 221.8 per game, which ranks him 16th in the NFL. In addition to being the team’s top rusher with 52.9 yards per game, he has a 17-7 TD-INT ratio.
With +500, he presently has the second-best odds to earn MVP, only behind the quarterback he will soon face, Brock Purdy.
The best running back is Gus Edwards, who scores 11 touchdowns and averages 47.4 rushing yards per game. But quick rookie running back Keaton Mitchell (ACL) is lost for the entire season after suffering an injury last week against Jacksonville. In his first season, Zay Flowers has shown promise.
With 48.6 yards per game, he leads the club in receiving yards and has ten grabs for more than 20 yards. With the squad, Odell Beckham Jr. has established himself and contributes 43.3 yards per contest.
Beckham Jr. and Flowers have each scored three touchdowns so far this season. After Mark Andrews was placed on injured reserve, Isaiah likely assumed the position of starting tight end.
With 27.4 points scored per game, the Ravens are fourth in the league in scoring and boast the highest scoring defence in the league, with just 16.1 points allowed per game.
With 143 tackles this season, Roquan Smith leads the team in scoring. With twelve sacks, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike leads the team; safety Geno Stone leads with six interceptions. This season, the Ravens have forced 21 takeaways and committed 16 offensive turnovers.
Report on injury:
Dubious: OT Ronnie Staley, CB The CB, Jalyn Armour-Davis Arthur Maulet
JK Dobbins, Keaton Mitchell, Mark Andrews, TE, and David Ojabo, LB, are all out.
The 49ers Win Six Straight
After losing three straight games in the midst of the season, it appeared as though the 49ers’ dominance was starting to wane, but they responded by winning their next six games.
The winning streak included victories over the Eagles, Seahawks, and Jaguars. The 49ers will play the Rams at home to wrap up the season after one more road trip to Washington.
Christian McCaffery continued his impressive play in their most recent game, amassing 115 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in all.
Currently averaging 271.1 yards per game, Brock Purdy has 3,795 total passing yards this season, which ranks him second in the NFL. Purdy is presently the frontrunner to earn league MVP at -200 odds with a 29-7 TD-INT ratio. Purdy manages the 49er offence well; he completes 69.8% of his throws and takes advantage of the opportunities the defence presents.
Christian McCaffery would win the league MVP if the MVP award weren’t so heavily controlled by quarterbacks. With an average of 92.3 rush yards per game, he leads the league in rushing by more than two hundred yards.
He has seven receiving touchdowns in addition to 13 rushing scores. The team’s best receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, averages 83.8 yards per game and six touchdowns.
Aiyuk has 23 catches totaling more than 20 yards. For the 49ers, Deebo Samuel is more involved in short-yardage plays. He averages 65.6 yards per game and six touchdowns. One of the league’s top tight ends, George Kittle averages 61.8 yards per game and six touchdowns.
With 30.4 points scored per game, the 49ers are third in the league in scoring, and their defence is second with 16.7 points allowed per game.
With 116 tackles this season, linebacker Fred Warner leads the squad. He also contributes to the defence against the pass thanks to his four interceptions.
With 10.5 sacks this year, Nick Bosa leads the team, and cornerback Charvarius Ward adds four more from the secondary.
The 49ers, who have only turned the ball over 12 times on offence, have the top turnover differential in the league, forcing 25 turnovers on defence.
Report on injury:
Dubious: RB Jajuan Jennings, DT; Elijah Mitchell, WR; and Javon Hargrave DE’s Arik Armstead Ferrell Clelin
