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NFL Christmas Day: Ravens cap holiday slate with demolition of Niners; Raiders, Eagles also win

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens face their toughest test of the season against the 49ers. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens faced their toughest test of the season against the 49ers. They aced it. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)

The NFL's three-game Christmas slate ended with a statement from the Baltimore Ravens.

Facing the NFL's consensus top team in the San Francisco Giants, the Ravens ripped that title out of their opponent's hands with a 33-19 steamrolling. Lamar Jackson again led the way on offense, but the star of the night was a Ravens defense that hauled in five interceptions, four of them from MVP candidate Brock Purdy.

The Ravens now hold the NFL's best record at 12-3, while the Niners fall to 11-4. Baltimore can clinch a bye week in the playoffs next week against the Miami Dolphins, while the Niners now have some work to do to win the same.

Here is all the action as it went down from Yahoo Sports.

Early results: Raiders defense leads upset of Chiefs | Eagles hang on vs. Giants 

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  • It's funny how little that game actually mattered to the Ravens standings-wise (they clearly wanted this). They didn't even clinch an AFC North title, and a loss next week likely means losing that bye. Still, they just emphatically established themselves as the big dog in the NFL.

  • FINAL SCORE: Ravens 33, Niners 19.

    The Ravens walked into the Bay Area and tortured the Niners in what was supposed to be a clash of the NFL's best. The Ravens will improve their record to 12-3 with a game against the Dolphins next week that will decide the AFC's No. 1 seed. The Niners fall to 11-4 and have some work to do to hang onto that playoff bye.

  • ONE LAST INTERCEPTION.

    Marcus Williams picks off Sam Darnold for the Ravens' fifth of the night and this is basically over.

  • Darnold gets sacked on third down. Then a false start. 4th and goal from the 17-yard line with 1:13 remaining after a 10-second run-off.

  • McCaffrey gets stopped at the 1-yard line and here comes the two-minute warning.

  • Brandin Aiyuk draws DPI to push the ball to the 2-yard line. Scoring before the two-minute warning would be huge here for the Niners.

  • The Niners are down to their last reserve lineman.

  • Darnold hits Brandon Aiyuk for a 24-yard gain to reach the red zone. Levi's Stadium finding a bit of life, but we're down to two and a half minutes left. Niners still have all three timeouts.

  • Call stands. First down Niners.

  • Replay makes it looks like the Ravens will not be successful here. Of course, they weren't risking a ton here, but but the longshot reward would have basically ended the game.

  • Wow, Niners juuuuuust get the first down after going for it on fourth. Deebo Samuel fought through two Ravens to land the ball on the line. Ravens now challenging the spot.

  • ESPN broadcast reports Brock Purdy has been cleared to play. Niners are sticking with Sam Darnold, who has one more TD than Brock Purdy tonight.

  • The Ravens open the drive with a sack.

  • OK then. Niners bat down a Lamar Jackson pass at the line of scrimmage on third down and the Niners will get the ball back down 14 with 4:35 remaining. That field goal the Ravens kicked after reaching the Niners' 1-yard line suddenly looming very large.

  • That was a 12-play, 90-yard drive for San Francisco.

  • TOUCHDOWN

    Darnold hits rookie Ronnie Bell for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 33-19 with 6:19 left. It is not entirely over.

  • Sam Darnold had thrown six passes this season before today. And now he gets the Ravens defense as it's going to town on his teammates.

  • Purdy now walking off the field and into the blue medical tent after being slow to get up. In comes Sam Darnold.

  • Despite the score, the Niners seem to get a big play every other drive. They just got one from Brandon Aiyuk, who shook three Ravens defenders for 33 yards.

    And then Purdy gets sacked. We're down to about eight minutes left.

  • This would be a very bad way to sour a huge win for the Ravens. He seems to be in a lot of pain,

  • Niners fans at least got to watch this at halftime.

  • The Ravens are punting for the first time since their first drive (not counting the safety).

  • They didn't get it. Brock Purdy might go from MVP candidate to off the board in one game.

  • Down 21, gotta go for it on fourth-and-11 at Baltimore's 45.

  • Your reminder that the Niners aren't exactly Captain Comebacks under Kyle Shanahan.

  • Deebo Samuel is made out of steel. One of the best 6-yard gains you'll ever see. Niners in Ravens territory.

  • Wow, just when it looked all Ravens, Niners stop Jackson on 3rd-and-goal with 1 yard to go. The Ravens settle for a chip shot field goal to go up 33-12.

  • The Ravens are making a statement here.

  • Niners drop a pass at third down, then get called for an illegal shift. Bad bad bad.

  • This is the largest deficit of the Niners' season. The second half has been a disasterclass so far, after a not-great first half.