Following the San Francisco 49ers’ dominating 41-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they might be the new favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII.
If so, there’s a strong possibility they could be headed toward a collision with the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated them 34–31 in Super Bowl XLVII more than ten years ago.
According to FanDuel, the 49ers are currently the team with the best odds to win the Super Bowl (+350). The Ravens and Eagles are tied for third-best odds (+600), just behind the Kansas City Chiefs (+470), who dropped to 8-4 after losing 271-9 to the Green Bay Packers on “Sunday Night Football.”
There are a few things that the 49ers and Ravens have in common: they are both 9-3, the No. 2 seed in their respective conferences, and two of only six teams with five road victories this season.
Both teams have defenses ranked in the top five (Baltimore No. 2, San Francisco No. 5), offenses ranked in the top ten (San Francisco No. 3, Baltimore tied for No. 10), and turnover differential ranked in the top ten (San Francisco No. 1, Baltimore tied for No. 6). Their quarterbacks, Brock Purdy and Lamar Jackson, are leading contenders for MVP.
The 49ers have outscored opponents 352-189. The Ravens have outscored opponents 324-187. They’re the only two teams that have allowed fewer than 200 points this season.
The 49ers still have two games against the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) and one against the Seattle Seahawks, whom they defeated 31-13 on Thanksgiving, as well as a game against the Washington Commanders (4-9). The Ravens are the toughest team remaining on their schedule.
On the other hand, in addition to the 49ers, Baltimore also plays the Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Los Angeles usually struggles against strong defenses like Baltimore’s, and the Jaguars gave up five sacks and four turnovers in their game against the 49ers a few weeks ago.
The Ravens held the Steelers to just 289 yards of total offense and one touchdown, despite the fact that they lost their first meeting with them due to a defensive collapse in the fourth quarter. Since then, the Ravens have a 6-1 record. Despite San Francisco, Miami remains Baltimore’s only true test remaining on the schedule.
On Christmas Day, the 49ers and Ravens square off in a Week 16 “Sunday Night Football” game. In addition to possibly deciding both teams’ playoff seeds, that game might provide fans with a sneak peek at what to expect on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium.