The 11-3 Baltimore Ravens will face their biggest test of the season on Christmas Day when they visit the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers are favored by many right now to win the Super Bowl, and they’re also the favorites by a healthy margin to defeat Baltimore on Monday.
If Baltimore is to pull off an upset, they will need their wide receivers, particularly Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr., to be very productive against the 49ers’ stingy defense.
Both men have been banged up, but they were full participants in Friday’s practice session, per Sarah Ellison.
Ravens-49ers injury report pic.twitter.com/rpIFl4NswM
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) December 22, 2023
While Baltimore has the NFL’s fourth-best scoring offense, their passing game is lackluster, especially ever since star tight end Mark Andrews went down with an ankle injury in Week 11.
Flowers has given the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson the type of threat through the air they have never really had, and through 14 games, he has 680 yards and three touchdowns.
Beckham, who suffered two torn ACLs within a short span a couple of years ago, has started to regain a bit of his old form lately, and he has 519 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
One way to have a shot at beating the 49ers is to attack their secondary downfield, something that a few teams have had success doing to a certain extent.
Jackson may not be the prolific passer he was during his MVP campaign in 2019, but his productivity in that department is up compared to last season.
Monday’s contest in Santa Clara could very well be a preview of the Super Bowl in the Phoenix area just several weeks from now.
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