It shouldn’t. Every Super Bowl team has ugly losses
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Everyone take a deep breath. The sky isn’t falling. The 49ers lost a football game to the Baltimore Ravens. That’s the only conclusion that needs to come from this game. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes, in the NFL, it isn’t your day, and you aren’t the best team on the field. Monday was one of those days. Nothing about that loss should suggest this team still isn’t headed to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl.
Basically, every Super Bowl team has ugly losses. The 2016-17 Patriots lost to the Buffalo Bills 16-0. The 2018-19 Patriots got smoked by the Detroit Lions 26-10 and by the Tennessee Titans 34-10. The “invincible” 2019-20 Kansas City Chiefs lost back-to-back home games to the Colts and Texans. The 2020 Buccaneers fell to the Saints 38-3. The 2021 Los Angeles Rams lost three straight games to the Titans, 49ers, and Packers.
All of those teams managed to finish the job. So why the outright panic surrounding this one loss to the Ravens? Yes, the Ravens are the 49ers counterpart at the top of their conference. Yes, the two teams have the best chance of meeting in Las Vegas. But there’s no reason to jump ship or hit the panic button following a regular season loss.
For the people who are screaming the Ravens “exposed” the 49ers, that’s foolish as well. Sure, certain things will be lifted from the Ravens’ game plan, just as they lifted from other teams gameplans facing the 49ers. But teams don’t have the Ravens personnel to execute it. Let them try. There’s no “gotcha” moment in this game.
The ball bounced the Ravens way, and when you give a team that talented, easy opportunities, you will lose. The defense stayed on the field too long, and containing Lamar Jackson is exhausting in itself. There’s context to every defeat.
The answer is simply: No. Your opinion of the 49ers should not have changed. The worry is about the severity of injuries to key players, but other than that, this is still the same dominant team that has a good chance to finish the season 13-4. Think about that, the 49ers can finish 13-4, and somehow that worries people? That was a popular prediction among fans and pundits.
What do you think? Has your opinion about the 49ers winning it all changed?
About the Author: Insidethe49
