Super Bowl LVIII will be held in the capable hands of Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
Baltimore and San Francisco in the Super Bowl?
It makes sense, right? The two top-seeded teams advance through the playoffs to meet on the NFL’s biggest stage. Surprisingly, it hasn’t happened that often.
Philadelphia and Kansas City were both No. 1 seeds last season and faced each other in the Super Bowl. Before that, however, the last time the top seeds met in the final game was 2017, when the Eagles beat New England.
The pairing of the two No. 1 teams has happened 13 times since the 1975 season, when the league implemented playoff seeding.
Read more: Rebuilt Rams remind Sean McVay of team that was bound for Super Bowl
As for the Ravens and 49ers this season, their first tests come Saturday against a pair of upstarts. Baltimore plays host to Houston, which features rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, and the 49ers host Green Bay, which was 3-6 through 10 weeks before getting hot.
A look at those two Saturday divisional games:
NFL honors — Houston at Baltimore
Quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) led the Ravens over the Texans in the season opener, 25-9. (Nick Wass / Associated Press)
The quarterbacks will be center stage when Houston plays at Baltimore, with the Texans’ Stroud, the likely offensive rookie of the year, sharing the stage with the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, on track to win his second NFL most valuable player award.
Even though his team was a league-best 13-4 this season, Jackson still is looking to carry over that success into a postseason, where he is 1-3 as a starter.
“Just keeping my mind focused on the assignment,” Jackson told reporters this week. “Not letting anything enter into my mind that would mess up my thoughts for the game.”
The Ravens are looking to host the AFC championship game for the first time, something the Kansas City Chiefs have done in each of the last five seasons.
In a sense, Baltimore is back where it started,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-49ers-no-1-priority-111553666.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-01-19 11:15:53
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