Sunday's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens has the feel of a heavyweight bout between two of the best teams in the NFL. It also has another very familiar feel to it.
The two teams met in a Super Bowl nearly seven years ago. A lot has changed since then. The 49ers have been through three coaches since that championship run, one that ended just yards away from a sixth Lombardi trophy.
San Francisco had an exciting playmaker at quarterback in Colin Kaepernick with offensive coordinator Greg Roman running the offense, and Baltimore boasted a stout defense.
Roman is now calling the offensive plays for the Ravens, who own the league's top-scoring offense, averaging 35.1 points per game. It also ranks No. 1 in rushing yards (210.5 per game) and No. 2 in total yards (433.3 per game).
Baltimore has an exciting playmaker of its own at quarterback, now, in MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. He has been a problem for opposing defenses and will be a handful for the 49ers on Sunday.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh jumped on a conference call with Bay Area reporters on Wednesday and discussed how those past 49ers teams he faced, coached by his brother, Jim Harbaugh, influenced Baltimore's 2019 squad.
"Obviously Greg Roman is here," Harbaugh told reporters. "He was a huge part of that there with my brother. I always admired what they did; the physicality of it, and the creativity of it were something that I always kind of felt good about probably because Jim and I were both kind of raised that way. All the way back, I think that's my dad's (Jack Harbaugh) approach to the game. It always was, so we probably see it through the same lens. Yeah, that probably had a part of it."
Harbaugh was asked if he thought about those past 49ers squads coached by his brother when deciding to bring in Roman as an assistant in 2017.
"Yes," Harbaugh responded. "And also because Jim thought so highly of him, too. And I've known Greg, also, over the years just through league circles and stuff, and respected him, and knew what kind of good guy he was."
While many have discussed the 49ers' task of dealing with Jackson and the Ravens, Harbaugh has to figure out a way to hold back a ferocious 49ers defense, the best in the league (yards allowed), which also ranks No. 1 in passing yards allowed (136.9 per game) and No. 2 in points allowed (14.8 per game).
Harbaugh was asked to describe that defense in three words.
"Tough, physical, pursuit, I would say," he responded.
