The 49ers and Ravens will enter Christmas Night with an 11-3 record and tied for the best record in the NFL.
Both teams currently hold the No. 1 spots in the NFC and AFC. The top seed in each conference earns the only first-round bye and home-field advantage in the postseason.
Both teams have explosive offensive units and smothering defensive personnel, with Baltimore looking to establish itself as the best team in the NFL.
With kickoff fast approaching, we’re looking at keys for the Raven’s offense against the Niner’s defense.
Attack 49ers CB Deommodore Lenoir
Charvarius Ward is a stud at cornerback and the Ravens can benifit from an all-out attack on cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Whether it’s covering Zay Flowers or Nelson Agholor in the slot, or forcing him to react to Lamar Jackson in the run-game, Baltimore has to make the other defenders in San Francisco earn their keep.
Account for Fred Warner
The 49ers is a more athletic version of Roquan Smith, and is the player Baltimore has to account for.
Isaiah Likely has 14 receptions for 193 yards and three touchdowns in the past three games, and the expectation is that Warner will look to cancel him out, while still playing spy to QB Lamar Jackson on select plays.
Warner leads the 49ers with 116 tackles, while registering 2.5 sacks, four interceptions and four forced fumbles.
Warner will play a huge role in making sure Jackson does not escape the pocket for big gains as a runner, and OC Todd Monken must force the 49ers All-Pro defender to make decisions while in traffic.
Keep it simple for Lamar
This statement is less about football accumen and more about putting Jackson in a position to be efficient and explosive in both phases of Todd Monken’s offense.
Jackson has a 19-1 career record as a starter against the NFC, a 15-4 record in primetime, and he’s 15-3 in the month of December.
The MVP candidate has the dual-threat abilities to drive this 49ers defensive front crazy, and it’ll be on Monken to over-complicate things in a hostile enviroment.
Run San Francisco out of the building
Even with Keaton Mitchell out, Todd Monken has the personnel and a formula to run the 49ers’ defense out of their building.
Baltimore’s defense is among the NFL’s best, and they’ll limit the San Francisco offense, giving Lamar Jackson and his offensive counterparts plenty of opportunities to establish the running game without falling behind.
Justice Hill is going to get more offensive touches with Keaton Mitchell going down. 😢
I've liked how Justice has run this year. Here are three runs in Jacksonville that show his:
1) Vision & quickness
2) Speed to get the edge
3) Patience & physicality pic.twitter.com/rNgBoxNqiX— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) December 19, 2023
Justice Hill averages 4.4 yards per carry this season, and Gus Edwards’ 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in the league.
Both players run with authority and explosive power, and they could be kryptonite to the 49er’s dominant defense.
