The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers met on Christmas Day in what was expected to be a Super Bowl preview featuring each respective conference’s best team.

In that case, you would have thought the game would have been close. Instead, it was a blowout, with the Ravens thumping the 49ers to the tune of a 33-19 score.

The game was tight at halftime, with Baltimore holding a slim 16-12 edge, but the Ravens proceeded to blitz San Francisco with 17 unanswered third-quarter points to take a 33-12 lead heading into the fourth and final period.

To say that Baltimore sent a message with the victory would be putting it lightly.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the contest.

Lamar Jackson Is The NFL MVP

Lamar Jackson went 23-for-35 with 252 yards and a couple of touchdowns while carrying the ball seven times for 45 yards in the win, further establishing himself as the league’s top MVP candidate.

In a game that featured a triumvirate of MVP hopefuls in Jackson, Brock Purdy (more on him later) and Christian McCaffrey, it was Jackson’s star that shined brightest, and it was clear that he was the best player on the field on the night.

Jackson may not have typical MVP numbers. He has thrown for 3,357 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He is going to finish far below his 2019 mark of 36 passing touchdowns which propelled him to his first MVP award. However, his overall impact cannot be questioned.

The 26-year-old’s ability to completely scramble opposing defenses cannot be understated, and even if his legs are not quite what they were three or four years ago, he remains the most athletic quarterback in football and has rushed for 786 yards on the season.

Jackson is also continuing to lead the Ravens to wins without his favorite target in tight end Mark Andrews, who is probably out for the remainder of the year due to an ankle injury.

Baltimore has the NFL’s best record at 12-3 and it just made the NFC’s best team look silly. While there is a lot of credit to go around for the Ravens’ success, it starts with Jackson.

Brock Purdy May Have Issues

Let me preface this by saying that I am not one of those people who thinks that Purdy is merely a product of Kyle Shanahan’s system, but I am also not going to ignore a concerning trend: Purdy shrinks against the league’s top defenses.

The 23-year-old went just 18-for-32 with 255 yards and four interceptions against the Ravens and looked even more lost than he did versus the Cleveland Browns back in Week 6 when he went 12-of-27 with 125 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

So, against two of the top defenses (arguably the top two) that Purdy has faced this season, he has not been up to snuff.

Small sample size? Maybe, but the playoffs in general are a small sample size, and if Purdy ends up facing a ferocious defense, it could end up being a death knell for the 49ers.

While I don’t necessarily think it’s time to panic in San Francisco, I do think it’s worth noting that Purdy has had his moments this year where he has looked like a second-rate quarterback.

One thing was abundantly clear on Christmas: Purdy is not on the same level as Jackson and should absolutely not be placed over him in any discussion for the MVP award.

The Ravens are The Best Team In Football

I will admit that I thought the Niners were the best team in the NFL heading into this matchup, but I was certainly proven wrong.

The Ravens have made it abundantly clear that they are the best team in the league. Not only do they have the best record, but they just hammered a 49ers club that was making every other team look like the junior varsity.

I was very concerned for Baltimore when Andrews went down several weeks ago, but second-year tight end Isaiah Likely has stepped up in a major way in Andrews’ absence. The Ravens also have weapons like Zay Flowers and sometimes Odell Beckham Jr. that can make up for the lack of Andrews.

Don’t get it twisted: not having Andrews still stinks and I do think it lowers Baltimore’s ceiling just a bit, but Jackson and Co. have clearly shown they can manage just fine without him.

Plus, this Ravens defense is absolutely vicious, and come playoff time, that may be the most important factor in pushing Baltimore to the Super Bowl.