With all the attention provided to the Brothers Harbaugh, there was less discussion coming into tonight about the two talented teams taking the field. San Francisco was 9-1, winners of 8 games in a row. The 49ers had earned a reputation as a strong physical team, capable of dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the field. We saw examples of that physicality with the run defense SF employed against Ray Rice. However, the story of the game was Baltimore’s defense (without Ray Lewis) dominating the San Francisco offense. Over the prior 7 weeks, SF’s Alex Smith had only been sacked 10 times. Tonight the Ravens got to the 49ers QB 9 times. Like many RB’s before him, Frank Gore was relegated to a complete non-factor. Every major sports site had SF in their Top 5 (and most Top 3) in their weekly Power Rankings coming into this game. The Ravens held that team to 170 Total Yards, and just 2 of 11 from 3rd down.

With the 16-6 win, the Ravens should have reminded everyone that Baltimore is one of the few teams capable of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this coming February.

The Good:

1) Nice opening series for the Ravens, with Flacco hitting Boldin in stride on 3rd and 4 for their initial 1st down. Boldin would have 38 yards on that drive, and Rice added a 10 yard run. Cundiff would put the ball through the uprights from 39 yards out, and Baltimore grabbed the early 3-0 lead.

2) San Francisco would go 3 and out on their first possession with Suggs flushing Alex Smith out from the pocket on 3rd down.

3) On the 49ers 2nd series, they faced 3rd and 4 from the Ravens 22. Ngata came up with the sack, and was able to move them back. SF would convert the FG on 4th down, but the Baltimore defense stepped-up and stopped the drive.
3a) Ngata would add another sack, early in the 2nd half.

4) The Ravens got their 3rd sack of the night, when Redding brought down Smith early in the 2nd. This was a smartly designed play, with SF’s offense confused about where the pressure was coming from.

5) Beautiful pick from Webb to end the 1st half. In the 4th, Webb was brought on a corner blitz on a 3rd down which caused Smith to leave the pocket.

6) The 4th Quarter started with Flacco finding Pitta for the TD, and the Ravens grabbing the 13-6 lead. Flacco had an efficient night, moving the chains when possible, and avoiding losing yardage when plays were not there to be made.

7) Credit for the Ravens 9 sacks, goes to not only the scheme, and players up-front; but to the Secondary for their coverage as well.

8) Mike Mayock of the NFL Network was impressed with Pernell McPhee with reason. Mayock saw exactly what we have seen all year from McPhee. When ever the rookie touches the field, he makes plays.

9) Suggs needs to receive consideration for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Suggs finished with 3 sacks tonight, and it did not matter who SF tried to block him with.

10) Leach is a battering ram who could be pointed out on nearly every play for contributing something positive to the Ravens offense.

11) Baltimore was 7 of 15 on 3rd down.

The Bad:

1) Another bad Special Teams play from David Reed, who should have downed Koch’s punt to start the 2nd Quarter. Instead of SF being pinned within their 5 yard line, they were able to start at their 20.

2) The play never officially happened due to the penalty from Frank Gore’s chop block, but the pass defense from Cary Williams on the potential Ted Ginn TD reception was horrible.

3) The first half would end on Webb’s pick, but the 49ers were able to take a shot at the end zone there because the Ravens had 12 men on the field on 4th and 3 on the previous play.

4) Starting the 2nd half, the Niners went from their 20 yard line to the Ravens 34, kicking a FG to tie the game at 6. The drive consumed 7 minutes, 30 seconds and continued with SF picking up 3rd and 17 from their own 26.

5) Up 13-6 in the 4th, the Ravens faced 3rd and 1 with 9 minutes + left on clock. The 49ers got some great push, and made the stop behind the line of scrimmage. Baltimore needed to pick that 1st up, which would have taken several more minutes off the clock.

The Ugly:

1) As the 1st half ended, the Ravens were not able to find the end zone after having 1st and Goal from the 1. Baltimore would take the 6-3 lead, but there should have been 4 additional points on the board there.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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