OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens will be playing their fourth primetime game in their last five matchups when they visit Levi’s Stadium on Christmas for a Monday Night Football showdown against the 49ers.
It’s a good thing the Ravens play their best under the lights.
The Ravens own an NFL-best 38-17 (.691) primetime record since 2008 when John Harbaugh became the head coach.
Lamar Jackson is 15-4 as a starter in primetime games during his career, including 4-2 on Monday Night Football. In those games, he has produced 3,840 yards passing with 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions (99.2 rating). He’s also added 1,372 yards rushing with another seven scores.
The Monday night game against San Francico marks the third time in franchise history the Ravens will play on Christmas Day. The other times were in 2016 at Pittsburgh (a 31-27 loss) and in 2005 against Minnesota (a 30-23 victory).
The Ravens and 49ers are each 11-3 and currently hold the No. 1 for the playoffs in their respective conference.
“You can’t ignore it; it’s two great teams going at it on Monday night,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “We’re on Christmas Day; it’s kind of as big as it gets. But we have to be where our feet are, and that’s Wednesday meetings, right now. [We] can’t look forward to the game right now, because we want [to] prepare ourselves the correct way. I think we all know what’s up, but at the same time, we just have to go out and play our game.”
For only the second time since the 1970 merger, teams with a share of the league’s best record will meet in Week 16 or later. The only other game in that period involving teams that shared the league’s best record this late in a season was January 2, 1994, when Dallas defeated the New York Giants en route to victory in Super Bowl XXVIII.
Some pundits are dubbing the game between the Ravesn and 49ers a Super Bowl preview.
The Ravens say they are not thinking that way.
“[The] Super Bowl is in February. We’re in December right now,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “We have to focus on Monday night. I’m not worried about what people are saying.”
The Ravens are 4-2 all-time against the 49ers, including its Super Bowl XLVII victory during the 2012 season. The teams last faced each other in 2019, when the Ravens won, 20-17, with a last-second, 49-yard field goal by Justin Tucker at M&T Bank Stadium.
