49ers contest will be won in the trenches

Christmas Day game likely a throwback to NFL of the past

The Ravens’ matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night might be one of those old smash-mouth games in which both teams rely on strong running games and outstanding defenses.

The team that controls the line of scrimmage and pace of the game will probably win. As much as the NFL has supposedly changed to pass-happy offenses, this game might be a throwback.

It’s like two heavyweight fighters meeting in the boxing ring.

“Well, it’s probably an interesting term,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of it being a throwback game. “I think that’s always going to be football. It’s going to always be that at the end of the day. So yes, probably it’s going to be that kind of game for sure.

“You have two strong defenses. You have two strong offensive lines, strong running games. You have playmakers on every side also and you have strong special teams, and all these things come into play in a game like that.”

This game has other interesting angles. The Ravens (AFC) and 49ers (NFC) are the top two teams in their respective conferences with identical 11-3 records. The contest features three candidates for the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey. But that’s all part of the hype.

This game should be decided by which team is kicking the most butt in the trenches. To me, that’s entertainment. To me, that’s football.

“You work for these kinds of moments, these kinds of games,” Ravens center Tyler

Linderbaum said. “So, as a competitor, it’s certainly exciting, but also, at the end of the day, it’s two great teams going against each other, and you can’t get into the hype too much. You’ve just got to go out there and perform your best, but certainly exciting.”

The Ravens enter the game with the league’s No. 5 ranked offense and top rushing attack, averaging 163.8 yards per game on the ground. Jackson leads the team in rushing with 741 yards followed by running back Gus Edwards with 663.

But the Ravens won’t have Keaton Mitchell after he suffered a season-ending

knee injury in a 23-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 17. The Ravens don’t have another speedster or explosive runner like the undrafted rookie on their roster.

“We’re going to miss having that guy that can just take the ball from the minus10 [-yard line] all the way to the house any given play in any little, small window,” Jackson said. “But I believe our guys are just going to step up all across the board. Our brother went down. Things like that happen in the NFL, but we still have to have a level head and level heart. We still have a long season left to play.”

Of course, Jackson is the X-factor, as he is in every game. But instead of having to worry about Jackson and Mitchell breaking long runs off the edge, opposing teams can just focus on Jackson.

San Francisco has the No. 3 run defense in the NFL, allowing only 84.9 yards a game. The 49ers have the best group of linebackers in the league led by star Fred Warner (team-leading 116 tackes) and flanked by Dre Greenlaw (98) and Oren Burks (37). And then there is defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (40 tackles, seven sacks) and defensive end Nick Bosa (46 tackles, 11 sacks). Bosa is a stud and could cause problems for the Ravens’ offensive tackles, which has been a rotation of Ronnie Stanley, Morgan Moses, Patrick Mekari and Daniel Faalele. If you thought the Ravens’ defensive players could run to the ball, wait until you see this group.