Published: 14:07, 21 Dec 2023Updated: 14:08, 21 Dec 2023
This season’s NFL Christmas triple-header features one standout contest.
The Christmas Day night game pits two of the very best teams in the NFL against one another as the Baltimore Ravens face off against the San Francisco 49ers.
2
Lamar Jackson isn’t getting ahead of himself on the eve of the Ravens clash with the 49ers on Christmas DayCredit: Getty
It’s a marquee matchup between the top AFC seed and the top NFC seed which many have labelled a Super Bowl preview.
However, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson doesn’t want to hear about the Super Bowl right now, and coldly reminded reporters of what month we’re in when they mentioned it being a preview for the big game.
“The Super Bowl is in February. We’re in December right now,” Jackson calmly said.
“We’ve got to focus on Monday night. I’m not worried about what people say.”
The game promises to be an enthralling encounter as two of the league’s premier quarterbacks, at least this season, go head-to-head.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is the current MVP favourite and leads the league in a number of statistical categories including passer rating, wins, touchdown passes, and touchdown-interception ratio.
He leads an all-star Niners cast made up of numerous Pro Bowl calibre players and MVP contenders including Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa.
Kyle Shanahan’s team have already clinched the NFC West division title with an 11-3 record and have proved they can do it against the big boys this season with blowout wins against the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
2
Purdy has gone from last in the 2022 NFL Draft to being the MVP frontrunnerCredit: Getty
The Ravens, meanwhile, have been one of the most consistent teams in the NFL en route to an 11-3 record.
John Harbaugh’s squad are on the verge of clinching the top seed in the AFC North ahead of the Browns, who actually beat Baltimore in mid-November.
Dual-threat maestro Jackson has been at his irrepressible best at the centre of the league’s fourth-ranked offense.
The former MVP has averaged the most rushing yards per game by a quarterback this season, with 52.9 per game, and recently surpassed the 700 mark for the fifth time in six seasons.
Although Jackson doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s hard to ignore the fact these are two of the favourites to reach the championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas next year.
The Christmas Day clash doesn’t have a whole lot riding on it but it will give us a better idea of how these teams match up should they meet in February when the stakes are infinitely higher.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : TalkSport – https://talksport.com/sport/nfl/1686763/lamar-jackson-ravens-vs-49ers-super-bowl-preview/
