Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has a great deal of respect for what the San Francisco 49ers are doing this season. He has had them ranked No. 1 in his power rankings for several weeks now and expects a one-sided battle on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Impressed with San Francisco's recent string of blowout victories, Florio doesn't envision anything different with the Ravens headed into town on Christmas night.
"As long as the key players are healthy, they're going to kick the [expletive] out of everybody they face," Florio said. "... The 49ers kick the [expletive] out of the Ravens on Monday night. I'm sorry. I know that's disrespectful to the Ravens, but let's be realistic. They got to fly across the country on Christmas night, and the 49ers are waiting. And the 49ers are going to dismantle the Ravens."
Understandably, the media has been billing the matchup as a Super Bowl preview. These two teams are the class of the NFC and AFC.
"If it's a Super Bowl preview, the Super Bowl's gonna suck because the 49ers, as long as those guys are healthy, they're going to run over everyone."
Oddsmakers have the 49ers as 5.5-point favorites against the Ravens. Each team owns an 11-3 record and leads its respective conference in the playoff standings. The showdown at Levi's Stadium is crucial in the race for home-field advantage for both squads.
After the Ravens, the 49ers close out the season against the Washington Commanders and the Los Angeles Rams. Florio adds that even if the 49ers have home-field advantage wrapped up, they should not rest their starters against the Rams, who are very much in the playoff hunt.
"If they have the bye locked up, I would not rest against the Rams," Florio stated. "I would knock the Rams the [expletive] out of the playoffs if I was the 49ers because I don't want the Rams showing up."
