Follow The "MVP" Leader: Ravens Lamar Jackson New Favorite After 49ers Blowout Win?
The Baltimore Ravens have announced their Super Bowl credentials with a 33-19 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara.
Off the back of four Brock Purdy interceptions, the Ravens defense made life difficult for the 49ers offense and seemed to heed Cowboys legend Michael Irvin's message of roughing up Purdy.
Jackson and Purdy
But as great as the Ravens' defense was, the offense, led by Lamar Jackson, was equally effective. At one stage in the game, Jackson led the offense on seven straight scoring drives as he was the best player on the field.
NFL Network analyst Matt Okada wrote earlier in the week of a bold prediction that would see Lamar overtake Purdy as the MVP front-runner. Well, after Jackson's efforts against the 49ers as he helped put up 33 points (the most given up by the 49ers all season), he might have done just that.
Jackson completed 23 of his 35 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 45 yards in what was perhaps his best outing of the season on the biggest stage.
The Ravens scored 13 points in the second quarter and followed that up with two quick-fire knockout punches in the third as they scored two touchdowns and a field goal as they took advantage of the defense's takeaways.
He did have help as Zay Flowers (9 rec, 72 yards, 1 TD), Isaiah Likely (3 rec, 56 yards), Gus Edwards (1 rec, 39 yards), and Nelson Agholor (3 rec, 10 yards, 1 TD) all did their part to make a statement on "Monday Night Football."
But while the Ravens' defense made a statement as they picked off Purdy and Sam Darnold a total of five times and harassed the 49ers in ways they haven't seen, Mike Macdonald deserves a ton of credit for coming up with this gameplan that made San Francisco's high-octane offense look less than after making this kind of statement.
But it was Jackson who perhaps made the biggest statement of all and made Okada's bold prediction feel less "bold" after a superb performance that saw him torch the 49ers' defense.
Is Lamar Jackson the new MVP frontrunner? After his exploits vs. the 49ers, it's hard to argue.
