In arguably the biggest matchup of Week 16, the 11–3 Ravens travel to the 11–3 49ers on Christmas night, looking to pick up a premier victory in a potential Super Bowl preview.
San Francisco is a 5.5-point favorite at the time of this writing, and that fact hasn’t been lost on several Ravens players around the facility this week. This is just the second time this season that Baltimore has played a game as an underdog, and at 5.5-points, it would be the second-largest spread with the Ravens as a ‘dog in quarterback Lamar Jackson’s career, according to ESPN.
“We feel a little disrespected by that,” star safety Kyle Hamilton said on Wednesday. “I feel like we are the best team in the league, and we have an opportunity in front of the country to show it.”
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Jackson, on the other hand, is embracing the underdog role.
“I don’t want them to pick us,” Jackson said. “I like being the underdog. I believe we play better when we’re doubted and [when people] aren’t choosing us to win the game. I feel like we play better all the time, so just do it all the way to February, that’s all I ask.”
The Ravens can clinch the AFC North for the first time in four years with a win and a loss or tie by the Browns, who play on the road at Houston this weekend. A victory would also keep Baltimore in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, as the Ravens enter play this weekend with a one-game advantage over the 10–4 Dolphins.
