Super Bowl firmly placed in players’ minds already
Thomas says Ravens’ opponent is ‘going to be in trouble’
Sunday’s game between the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers is being billed by many as a potential Super Bowl preview, but safety Earl Thomas III is thinking bigger.
The Ravens and 49ers (10-1) enter Sunday’s matchup coming off resounding victories in front of national television audiences: The Ravens’ routed the Los Angeles Rams 45-6 on “Monday Night Football,” while the 49ers blew out the Green Bay Packers 37-8 on “Sunday Night Football.”
When asked how he feels about Sunday possibly being a sneak peek into February’s championship game, Thomas responded: “You think the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl? It could be. Let’s see.
“We’ll just go out there and try to play the best football we can possibly do. And when the Super Bowl comes, whoever we play, they’re going to be in trouble.”
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has stated his desire to win a Super Bowl since the night he was selected No. 32 overall in the 2018 draft, and the team has followed his lead while also tempering expectations by declaring the need to take their season — one with elevated expectations in the midst of a seven-game winning streak — one game at a time.
“[Jackson] brought that vision since he got drafted,” wide receiver Willie Snead IV said. “When you have a guy at the helm that has that vision … if the guys around him ain’t got that vision, we’ve got the wrong guys in the huddle.
“I feel like everybody in the huddle has that same vision. All 11 guys see the Super Bowl in our near future.”
Ravens sign center Brendel
The Ravens have signed center Jake Brendel, the team announced Wednesday, adding depth to the interior offensive line after center Matt Skura’s season-ending knee injury.
Brendel, 27, spent training camp with the Denver Broncos. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 as an undrafted free agent and started three games for the Miami Dolphins in the 2018 season.
A three-year captain at UCLA, Brendel made a school-record 52 starts at center.
Undrafted rookie Patrick Mekari filled in for Skura after he was carted off in the first quarter of Monday night’s 45-6 win over the Los Angeles Rams and is expected to make his first NFL start Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens held a walk-through Wednesday, and Skura was snapping passes to quarterback Lamar Jackson. Brendel was snapping to backup Robert Griffin III.
Jackson makes ‘Madden’ history
When Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick graced the cover of “Madden 2004” as a 24-year-old, his virtual self became one of the most legendary players in sports video game history. With a 95 speed rating and 97 throw power rating, he could evade defenders with ease and chuck the ball nearly the length of the field, becoming almost as unstoppable as Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl.
One day, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson might be remembered just as fondly in Madden lore.
On Tuesday, Vick announced that Jackson would be given a 96 speed rating in the next “Madden 20” update, surpassing Vick as the fastest quarterback in the game’s 31-year history. In a video posted on Twitter, Vick revealed a pair of cleats he would present to Jackson, depicting the
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words “95 overall speed” with a red Nike swoosh on one side, representing Vick, and “Not bad for a RB” — a reference to Jackson’s famous postgame refrain after a 59-10 win over the Miami Dolphins in the season opener, in which he had a perfect passer rating — with a purple swoosh on the other.
“Lamar’s the modern-day, new-era quarterback, and well deserving of it,” said Vick, who was in attendance Monday night at LA Memorial Coliseum to watch Jackson throw five touchdown passes in the rout of the Rams.
“The changing of the guard is all good, man. All records are made to be broken. The next generation are supposed to be better than us. Got to give credit where credit is due. I say it’s your turn now.”
Jackson is on pace to break another record of Vick’s. With 876 rushing yards in 11 games, Jackson is 164 away from surpassing Vick’s single-season record for a quarterback, which he set with 1,039 in 2006.
Before the season started, Jackson was ranked 24th among quarterbacks in “Madden 20” with a 76 overall rating, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston and right behind the Washington Redskins’ Alex Smith. But as Jackson’s star has grown, becoming the frontrunner for NFL Most Valuable Player, the game’s rating adjusters have made changes, rating Jackson 87 overall, seventh among QBs.
With this week’s update coming on the heels of Jackson’s historic “Monday Night Football” performance, in which he became the first player with at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards in his first two seasons in NFL history, expect that number to creep even higher.
Extra points
Jackson was named Week 12 AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday. It’s the fourth time he has received the weekly honor this season and third time in the month of November.
Nowthe front-runner to win NFLMVP, Jackson is the first player to win four or more Player of the Week awards in a single season since Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in 2015. Newton and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (2007) hold the record for most Player of the Week awards in a single season, receiving the honor five times. Both players were named AP NFL MVP for their respective seasons.
Jackson was also named the Week 12 NFL FedEx Air Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday. It’s his third such honor this season. He was also the first quarterback to be named FedEx Ground Player of the Week in October after he set a career high with 152 rushing yards on 19 attempts and one touchdown in the Ravens’ 23-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.