The marquee game of Week 13 is unquestionably the matchup between the 10-1 49ers and the 9-2 Ravens at Baltimore’s M & T Bank Stadium. Nobody has been able to deal with Baltimore’s offense over the last two months — in fact, through their previous three games, Baltimore hadn’t even punted when Lamar Jackson has been on the field.
So, when facing fourth-and-2 from the Baltimore 33-yard line on their opening drive, the 49ers knew they had to be bold and go for it. Kicking a field goal against a team that’s scored more than 40 points in each of its last three games would be the first step on the road to failure.
So, head coach Kyle Shanahan kept his offense on the field with 12:00 left in the first quarter. The Ravens dropped into coverage, rookie receiver Deebo Samuel bullied cornerback Marcus Peters throughout his vertical route, and just like that, San Francisco was up, 7-0.
More good news for Shanahan’s team: On their opening drive, the Ravens wound up punting with Jackson on the field for the first time since 1:51 left in the first half of their Week 9 win over the Patriots.
