BALTIMORE — The most difficult task in sports right now is not a single act — hitting a swerving baseball, saving a penalty kick, returning a supersonic serve — but rather a collective undertaking. It is containing the juggernaut that is the Baltimore Ravens’ propulsive offense, operated with unholy efficiency by quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose affinity for the magnificent is matched only by his ability to produce points, stacks of them.
As well as any team has since mid-October, when the Ravens’ demolition tour of the N.F.L. went into overdrive, the San Francisco 49ers mitigated Jackson’s effectiveness on Sunday. They forced Baltimore to punt twice. They stripped the ball from him. And they held the Ravens to their fewest points all season.
But the later it got, with the score tied in the fourth quarter amid the driving rain at M&T Bank Stadium, the nature of San Francisco’s mission evolved. The 49ers needed one more stop and could not get it. Jackson converted two critical short-yardage runs — including one on fourth down on Baltimore’s side of the field — on what proved to be the winning drive in the Ravens’ 20-17 victory. As time expired, Justin Tucker kicked a 49-yard field goal, sending his teammates rushing onto the field, another contender vanquished.
“I think this whole team is living in the moment, for these moments,” Tucker said.
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By BY BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/35YcQW5New York Times