Sunday afternoon gave America a glimpse of a potential Super Bowl matchup as the Ravens and 49ers duked it out on a rain-soaked field in Baltimore.
Coming off a blowout win over the Packers at home, San Francisco played smash-mouth football and lost 20-17 on a game-winning field goal from Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.
Despite the loss, NBC Sports NFL analyst Rodney Harrison explained why he was impressed by San Francisco even after suffering its second defeat of the season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“I actually gained more respect for San Francisco,” Harrison said. “Having to go on the road in tough conditions and play. They ran the ball extremely well.
“To play as physical as they played, they competed, I wouldn’t want to play them.”
It doesn’t get much easier next week, as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will try to lead the 49ers to a road win over one of the NFC’s top teams in New Orleans.
However, the conditions clearly affected both offenses and had a major impact on the game, something that hopefully wouldn’t be the case should these two teams match up again in Miami this February at Super Bowl LIV.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
[RELATED: 49ers open as underdogs for Week 14 showdown vs. Saints]
“I’d love to see that game though without weather being an issue, on a neutral site,” NBC Sports NFL analyst Mike Florio said. “To really get a feel for who the better team is, because I do think that the advantage did kind of swing toward Baltimore given the conditions.”
After seeing these two teams battle it out on Sunday, the NFL would be lucky to get a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII come early February.