The 10-1 San Francisco 49ers looked to upend the 9-2 Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Week 13 amid rainy and windy conditions, while facing a red-hot Baltimore quarterback, Lamar Jackson.

The Niners started off on offense and managed to move into Ravens territory, thanks largely to a 30-yard completion from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on 3rd-and-long. But facing a 4th-and-2 in that intermediate range before a field goal would have been a good idea, head coach Kyle Shanahan elected to go for it. Instead of a short play, Garoppolo went deep and found wide receiver Deebo Samuel for a 33-yard touchdown:


Just like that, 7-0 San Francisco.

Jackson managed to pick up a couple of first downs on Baltimore's first possession. But after a key pass breakup by linebacker Fred Warner and a failed Ravens third-down try, the Niners defense managed to force a punt.


But Garoppolo fumbled on the following drive, which gave the Ravens the ball on San Francisco's 31-yard line. Jackson then hit tight end Mark Andrews for Baltimore's first touchdown to tie things up with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter.

San Francisco went 3-and-out the following drive, which saw Garoppolo nearly picked off by Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser.

Jackson and Co. went back to work on the Ravens' next possession, which extended early into the second quarter. San Francisco appeared to have a third-down stop, but linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was flagged for roughing the passer, which gave Baltimore a fresh set of downs and led to a red-zone possession. And that culminated in a Jackson 1-yard run to put Baltimore on top:


Yet the 49ers were able to respond, thanks to a breakout 40-yard touchdown run by running back Raheem Mostert to tie things up:


That was a bonus, but the Ravens continued to move the ball effectively against San Francisco's defense and moved right back into Niners territory. Facing a 4th-and-2, Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst managed to convert to keep Baltimore's drive moving into the red zone. Yet the 49ers defense managed to hold up well enough to force a Ravens field-goal attempt from 30 yards out by kicker Justin Tucker, which was good and put Baltimore up 17-14 at the two-minute warning.


Mostert was a big reason why the Niners were able to move into Ravens territory late in the half. He finished the first two quarters with 89 rush yards and the touchdown. But a 51-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with time expiring missed wide and short, and Baltimore retains its three-point lead.

And the Ravens will open up the second half on offense.

Written By:

Peter Panacy


Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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