BALTIMORE _ Sunday's game between the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers is being billed by many as a potential Super Bowl preview but safety Earl Thomas III is thinking bigger.
The Ravens and 49ers (10-1) enter Sunday's matchup coming off resounding victories in front of a nationally televised audience: The Ravens' routed the Los Angeles Rams on "Monday Night Football," 45-6, while the 49ers blew out the Green Bay Packers on "Sunday Night Football," 37-8.
When asked how he feels about Sunday possibly being a sneak-peek into February's championship game, Thomas responded, "You think the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl? It could be, let's see. We'll just go out there and try to play the best football we can possibly do. And when the Super Bowl comes, whoever we play, they're going to be in trouble."
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has stated his desire to win a Super Bowl since the night he was selected No. 32 overall in the 2018 draft, and the team has followed his lead, while also tempering expectations by declaring the need to take their season _ one with elevated expectations in the midst of a seven-game winning streak _ one game at a time.
"(Jackson) brought that vision since he got drafted," wide receiver Willie Snead IV said. "When you have a guy at the helm that has that vision ... if the guys around him ain't got that vision, we've got the wrong guys in the huddle.
"I feel like everybody in the huddle has that same vision. All 11 guys see the Super Bowl in our near future."
