Baltimore Ravens thrilling win over 49ers: Take home points

The Baltimore Ravens got a big win against the San Francisco 49ers:

The Baltimore Ravens topped the San Francisco 49ers on a rainy Baltimore day, moving to 10-2 on the season courtesy of the trusty right foot of Justin Tucker. This was an epic heavyweight fight that some had opined could be a preview of this season’s Super Bowl.

If so, count me in.

Lets take a quick look back at some of the interesting parts of this game, knowing there will be plenty more conversation on this game in coming days.

• “Quarterback wins are not a stat.” I get it. A good team can carry a middling quarterback, while a less-talented team can derail even the greatest of signal-callers. But Lamar Jackson and Jimmy Garoppolo are winners, plain and simple. They make clutch throws for first downs, get tough extra inches on quarterback sneaks and generally seem to will their teams to extend drives. The numbers today for both don’t stand out, but their leadership skills and poise were on display.

• Jackson has justifiably gotten tons of love this season, but Justin Tucker boomed a reminder that he is, indeed, an active legend with ice water in his veins.

• George Kittle and Nick Boyle proved that they are without peer as far as blocking tight ends. Boyle’s ability to block downfield is remarkable, and Kittle destroyed the Ravens edge time after time, leading the way for Raheem Mostert’s 146 yards on the ground.

• Mark Andrews had a great touchdown catch, using his body to gain separation, while high-pointing the ball. Is it just me, or does he seem to get interfered with a ton, without drawing flags?

• The Ravens had a few opportunities to take control of this game, but couldn’t capitalize. The fumble by Jackson after the long run hurt, as did some missed passes and the defense’s inability to get the 49ers off the field on some long drives. This was a great game, though. The 49ers refused to give in, as well,

• Chris Moore made a great special teams play to prevent Sam Koch’s punt from going into the end zone. He has been somewhat quiet on special teams this year, but that was a terrific effort.

• Hayden Hurst is going to explode up the seam for a 50-plus-yard gain one of these games. Mark my words.

• It was a rainy day, against a top-shelf team, in the midst of a gauntlet against some of the league’s best teams, and the Ravens didn’t okay their sharpest game today. But they won. They have the ability to win any number of ways, in any venue, and that is a nice club to have in your bag when the playoffs come around. The Ravens might just be the team to beat.