Knee injury to sideline Skura rest of season
Ravens center Matt Skura, who was carted off the field in the first quarter of Monday night’s 45-6 victory against the Los Angeles Rams, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, according to multiple reports.
The team announced in the third quarter that Skura suffered a knee sprain and would not return to the game.
The Ravens went for it on 4th-and-1 from their 23 and quarterback Lamar Jackson picked up 5 yards on a run, but Skura appeared to injure his left knee.
Skura had started 29 straight games for the Ravens and had played every offensive snap this season before his injury. According to ESPN analyst Mike Golic Jr., the Ravens’ starting offensive line had logged the fourth-most snaps of any starting five in the league and was one of only four units with 600-plus snaps together.
Undrafted rookie Patrick Mekari entered the game for Skura and played well in the most extensive action of his career.
Mekari, a California native, said after the game that the last time he played center exclusively was in high school. He played guard and tackle in college at California but received practice reps at guard and center this season.
In a little over three quarters, Mekari played 62 offensive snaps and helped the Ravens offense run for a season-high 285 yards.
“I was ready,” Mekari said after the game. “I knew the interior three, whatever happened, I’m the next guy up. The time presented itself. I just wanted to make it happen and come out with a win and just help my team do whatever I can.”
Coach John Harbaugh praised the efforts of Mekari, as well as offensive line coach Joe D’Alessadris, after the game for the line’s dominance, even after Skura went down.
“I think it says a lot about Pat Mekari and it says a lot about Joe ‘D.’ and the job he does with those guys,” Harbaugh said. “To step in there and still play at that high level. I mean, Matt Skura was playing at a very high level. It looks [like] Patrick did the same, there was no drop off at all. Rookie, it says a lot.”
NFL Network first reported that Skura will be out of the season.
Ravens solid favorites over 49ers
The Ravens are six-point home favorites over the San Francisco 49ers ahead of their much-anticipated game Sunday, according to Las Vegas sportsbooks.
After the Ravens’ 45-6 road win Monday night over the Los Angeles Rams, their seventh straight victory, some betting lines increased by as much as two points in their favor. The Ravens (9-2) have covered the spread in their past five games, and done so with ease, outscoring opponents by a combined 202-62 and powering quarterback Lamar Jackson’s NFL Most Valuable Player candidacy.
The NFC-leading 49ers (10-1) have won two straight since a Week 10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks ruined their 8-0 start. On Sunday night, they demolished the Green Bay Packers at home, 37-8, holding quarterback Aaron Rodgers to 104 passing yards and one touchdown. San Francisco has been favored in all but one of its past nine games, a 20-7 road win over the Rams that the team entered as a three-point underdog.
Sunday’s game will pit perhaps the NFL’s best offense against its best defense. The Ravens scored six touchdowns in their six possessions Monday with Jackson, posting nearly 500 yards against a Rams defense that had been one of the league’s stingiest of late. The 49ers, meanwhile, are first in both yards per play allowed and yards per game allowed and second in scoring defense.
Neither team has fared well against nonconference opponents in recent years. The Ravens are 4-4 overall and 1-7 against the spread versus NFC foes in their past eight home games, according to CBS Sports, while San Francisco is 2-9 overall since 2014 in road games against AFC teams.
The Ravens and 49ers have met just six times in franchise history. The Ravens won four straight from 2003 to 2013, including Super Bowl XLVII, but the 49ers won their most recent meeting, in 2015.
The over-under for the game is 46 points.