Patrick Smith/Getty Images
BALTIMORE — The most difficult task in sports right now is not a single act — hitting a swerving baseball, saving a penalty kick, returning a supersonic serve — but rather a collective undertaking. It is containing the juggernaut that is the Baltimore Ravens’ propulsive offense, operated with unholy efficiency by quarterback Lamar Jackson.
As well as any team has during the Ravens’ demolition tour of the N.F.L., the San Francisco 49ers mitigated Jackson’s effectiveness on Sunday. They forced Baltimore to punt twice, for one thing. They stripped the ball from him, for another.