Monday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers was billed as a few things: The game of the year, a game between the NFL’s two best teams, and a Super Bowl preview. All possibly true, but the one thing it was not billed as was a total domination on the Ravens’ part. But in the 33-19 beatdown that was not as close as the score indicated, a Baltimore Beatdown was exactly what happened. Lamar Jackson was amazing against a 49ers defense that had risen from 12th to first overall in DVOA, completing 23 of 35 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.9. Jackson also had 45 rushing yards on seven carries, which bolstered his Most Valuable Player candidacy.
What else bolstered Jackson’s Most Valuable Player candidacy was what the Ravens, and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, did to the 49ers’ offense and quarterback Brock Purdy, another possible MVP. That discussion seems to change from week to week this season, but Purdy did himself no favors, completing 18 of 32 passes for 255 yards, no touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 42.6. Running back Christian McCaffrey, another MVP candidate, gained 103 yards and scored a touchdown on 14 carries and might have done even more on the ground had the score not gotten out of hand in the third quarter, but this was really about how Macdonald’s defense got after Purdy both with pressure and coverage.
The coach was clearly fired up about this one, and for good reason.
I LOVE YOU MIKE MACDONALD pic.twitter.com/m3GNBzv3Zl
— 🏜️ (@SimplyAS10) December 26, 2023
Macdonald has said before that he likes his defense to lie to the quarterback as much as possible, and he expounded on that last Wednesday as he was preparing for this game.
“[Someone] in my introductory press conference asked about aggressiveness. You’re trying to put pressure on the offense. That’s something that’s seminal to hear. That’s a Raven principle on how we want to operate. I think the way that you see the game has evolved, being so pass heavy – especially in critical situations – and the offenses are so good, and the quarterbacks are so good, how do you consistently put pressure on them to make them make grave decisions in real time? I think that’s what the thought process was.”
Macdonald also discussed last week how the 49ers’ use of motion throws so many defenses off, and how he was not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe.
“A lot of the formations are condensed. How you count, and who you relate to – and things like that – [are] definitely testing your eye discipline, definitely testing your communication – which is obviously one of the reasons why they do it – [and] changing the run fits. Every play [and] every motion really should have a rhyme or reason why they’re doing it, based on what they’re trying to achieve. You just don’t know in real time until after the play. But yes, having the condensed formations make it easier, because the numbers change faster, rather than being spread out. You have longer to react.”
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar.” the guys got deep into the ways in which Macdonald’s defense was able to win — both with scheme, and with pure player effort.
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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring tape and advanced metric analysis of all Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups (including Ravens-Dolphins, of course), right here:
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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
…and on Apple Podcasts.