Ravens soar under Lamar

The Baltimore Ravens posted a huge Christmas Day message to the rest of the NFL with a dominant victory at the San Francisco 49ers in the heavyweight meeting of the league’s top two teams.

Baltimore won 33-19 as San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, a potential most valuable player candidate, endured his worst game since joining the league.

Monday was a triple-header day of pulsating games. The Kansas City Chiefs - watched by Taylor Swift - earlier missed the chance to win their division as they were stunned 20-14 at home by the Las Vegas Raiders after making a host of errors throughout.

After three straight defeats, the Philadelphia Eagles got back to winning ways, although they had to work hard for their 33-25 success over the New York Giants.

The Ravens emerged as the league’s finest and their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, reclaimed his standing as the league’s supreme player.

Monday’s bold step forward by the swashbuckling Ravens (12-3), who have won nine of their last 10 games and now have the NFL’s best record, may come as a surprise to folks who favoured more this season from the Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys and 49ers.

But Baltimore’s defence, which hounded Purdy into four interceptions before he left the game with a nerve injury, is as ruthless as celebrated Ravens’ defences were in the past.

The 49ers (11-4) entered the game as clear favourites and Super Bowl frontrunners, but the Ravens, apparently incensed by a perceived lack of respect from the bookies, rolled up a three-touchdown lead and exposed San Francisco’s flaws on a weekend in which the Chiefs (9-6) and Cowboys (10-5) also lost, and the Eagles (11-4) barely scraped by the brittle Giants.

Jackson, 26, is elusive and is underrated for his throwing skills. He won the league’s MVP award in his second season, 2019, but lost some lustre when the Ravens were poor and eliminated in their playoff opener that year.

As mobile as Jackson appears, knee and ankle sprains caused him to miss 10 games in the last two seasons. He has won only one playoff game - coming nearly three years ago against the Titans.

Nevertheless, the Ravens signed Jackson to a five-year, $260m contract extension in April. Only the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($450m), the Bengals’ Joe Burrow ($275m) and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($262.5m) have fatter deals among elite QBs.

Besides awarding him an enormous raise, the Ravens also decided that Jackson could use some help. Coach John Harbaugh, 61, in his 16th season as the Ravens’ head coach, brought in a new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, who had a wealth of top level experience.