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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has one request for the oddsmakers.

“I don’t want them to pick us,” he said. “I like being the underdog.”

Jackson is getting his wish for the Ravens’ Monday night showdown against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif. Baltimore is a 5 1/2-point underdog in a matchup of 11-3 teams that, if the playoffs started now, would be the top seeds in the AFC and NFC and favored to meet in the Super Bowl.

The Ravens have been favored in every game but one this year, a 27-24 win in Cincinnati on Sept. 17, when the Bengals were favored by a field goal.

“We feel a little disrespected by that,” Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton said of the point spread for the 49ers game. “I feel like we are the best team in the league, and we have an opportunity in front of the country to show it.”

The Ravens did nothing to disprove their belief last week in Jacksonville. They faced a team in need of a victory to stay atop the AFC South and won 23-7. Jackson threw for 171 yards and ran for 97 while the Baltimore defense forced a pair of key turnovers and allowed only 75 yards on the ground.

Jackson is enjoying his best season since 2019, when he threw for 36 touchdowns and ran for 1,206 yards in an MVP season. His completion percentage is a career-high 66.3 percent. He has thrown for 17 touchdowns, and he has a chance to finish with 1,000 yards on the ground for the third time in his career.

While Jackson wows casual fans with amazing mobility and an uncommon ability to make strong throws in heavy traffic, San Francisco’s Brock Purdy does his job almost in anonymity. Such is the life of a guy whom detractors consider a “system quarterback.”

However, the numbers Purdy is producing in coach Kyle Shanahan’s system can’t be ignored. He has completed 69.8 percent of his attempts for 3,795 yards and a league-high 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. The 49ers are a top-five offensive team in points, rushing yards and passing yards.

Little wonder, then, that Purdy has joined Jackson atop the Most Valuable Player candidates list.

“I heard he’s the MVP front-runner, but I know my real MVP front-runner is in this locker room,” Baltimore defensive tackle Justin Madubuike said.

Some might say 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey should get MVP consideration, although that award rarely goes to anyone aside from a quarterback anymore. His league-leading 1,292 rushing yards and 57 catches for 509 yards make a compelling case.

“Everybody knows where we want to be, and we know each week you have to bring your best ball,” McCaffrey said. “We’re going to get everyone’s best shot, so the standard has got to continue to rise.”

McCaffrey accounted for 187 yards from scrimmage last week in a 45-29 win at Arizona that allowed San Francisco to clinch the NFC West title. He caught two of Purdy’s four touchdown passes.

The Ravens have won five of seven meetings between the teams, including a 20-17 decision four years ago in Baltimore. The franchises’ most famous matchup was the Ravens’ 34-31 win in Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season.

–Field Level Media