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Lamar Jackson boosted his MVP chances and Baltimore made a major statement with a convincing 33-19 victory over San Francisco in a prime-time matchup Monday night that featured the NFL’s two No. 1 seeds.
“I’m honored to be in the conversation,” Jackson said about improving his bid for his second NFL MVP award. “We just have to keep winning to get to February. That’s all.”
The goal for Jackson isn’t an individual award. He wants a Super Bowl ring. The Ravens have won five in a row and can’t let up with the Dolphins coming up next.
The 49ers (11-4) were the NFL’s hottest team until they ran into Roquan Smith and Baltimore’s tenacious defense. Brock Purdy, who became an MVP favorite with a sensational stretch during a six-game winning streak, threw four interceptions and finished the night watching from the sideline after getting banged up.
Despite the loss, San Francisco is still in control of the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The 49ers would clinch the top spot with wins over the Commanders and Rams to close out the regular season.
But the rest of the NFC should have hope after watching the Ravens take down San Francisco. The 49ers, who dominated Philadelphia and Dallas in head-to-head matchups, looked vulnerable against Baltimore.
“I don’t think they’re demoralized,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said about his team. “We weren’t balanced, had too many turnovers.”
The holiday tripleheader began with a stunner when the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs gave one away, losing 20-14 to Las Vegas. The Raiders scored a pair of touchdowns on consecutive turnovers by Patrick Mahomes and won a game without completing a pass after the first quarter.
The Chiefs (9-6) have now lost five of eight and likely will have to play their first road playoff game with Mahomes if they even survive the wild-card round.
An offense that has sputtered throughout the season couldn’t do much against the Raiders and was unable to overcome the costly mistakes.
“I thought defense played a good game, just two mistakes that gave them two touchdowns there when you’re backed up in their red zone, so you just can’t do that,” Mahomes said. “Especially when defense is playing like they’re playing, but I just have to be better in that sense and not make those mistakes and try to find a way to play the game and the best way to win it.”
Kansas City still has a two-game lead over the Raiders and Broncos in the AFC West but hasn’t clinched the division title yet. The Chiefs need one win over the Bengals or Chargers to wrap it up. But their road back to the Super Bowl will look different. Mahomes likely is going to have to play the first road playoff game of his career if the Chiefs advance beyond the wild-card round.
After the Chiefs were upset, it appeared there would be a rout in Philadelphia. The Eagles jumped to a 20-3 halftime lead over the Giants that sent Tommy DeVito to the bench.
