Can anyone derail Lamar Jackson and the white-hot Baltimore Ravens?

Don’t be fooled that the margin of victory was just 14 points. By annihilating the San Francisco 49ers on the road on Christmas night, the Baltimore Ravens emerged as the best team in the NFL, and their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, reclaimed his standing as the league’s best player.

Monday’s bold step forward by the swashbuckling Ravens (12-3), who have won nine of their last 10 games and now have the NFL’s best record, may come as a bit of a surprise to folks who have paid more attention this season to the Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys and 49ers.

But Baltimore’s defense, which hounded San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy into four interceptions Monday before he left the game with a nerve injury, is as ruthless as Ravens’ defenses were in the days when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed roamed the earth.

The 49ers (11-4) entered the game as six-and-a-half-point favorites and Super Bowl frontrunners, but the Ravens, apparently incensed by a perceived lack of respect from the bookies, rolled up a three-touchdown lead and exposed San Francisco’s flaws on a weekend in which the Chiefs (9-6) and Cowboys (10-5) also lost, and the Eagles (11-4) barely scraped by the lousy Giants.

The Baltimore defense was supposed to be stout, because, under coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens’ defense has been snarly going on two decades. The surprise may be the return of Jackson, the quarterback from Louisville in his sixth NFL season, who has eclipsed other QBs, even Patrick Mahomes, who, believe it or not, is actually subject to funks.

“I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight,” Harbaugh said after the game. “It takes a team to create a performance like that, but it takes a player to play at that level, to play at an MVP level. Lamar was all over the field.”

Jackson, 26, has electrifying speed and always has thrown the ball much better than he was given credit for. He won the league’s MVP award in his second season, 2019, but lost some luster when the Ravens were dismal and eliminated in their playoff opener that year – at home.

As mobile as the guy seems to be, knee and ankle sprains caused him to miss 10 games in the last two seasons. Jackson has won only one playoff game, that coming nearly three years ago against the Titans (a game that was followed by a listless loss to Buffalo).

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson’s return to MVP form has Ravens fans dreaming big as the playoffs draw near. Photograph: Loren Elliott/Getty Images

Nevertheless, the Ravens signed Jackson to a five-year, $260m contract extension in April. Only the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($450m), the Bengals’ Joe Burrow ($275m) and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($262.5m) have fatter contracts among NFL QBs.

Besides awarding him an enormous raise, the Ravens also figured that Jackson could use some help. Harbaugh, 61, in his 16th season as the Ravens’ head coach, brought in a new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, who most recently filled the same position at the University of Georgia, the two-time national champs – and had eight years of NFL experience.

The Ravens had a superb veteran tight end, Mark Andrews, who proceeded to suffer a cracked fibula and an injury to his ankle ligament in a November victory over Cincinnati. But Baltimore added other receivers, including veterans Odell Beckham Jr and Nelson Agholor.

Further, the Ravens used their first-round draft pick in April on the wide receiver Xavien ‘Zay’ Flowers, who caught 200 passes for 3,056 yards and 29 touchdowns in four years at Boston College. Flowers had nine catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on Monday night.

Flowers, Beckham and Agholor have combined for 122 receptions for 1,513 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Tight end Isaac Lively has 23 receptions and two touchdowns since replacing Andrews. The running back Gus Edwards has also stepped up his production.

But Jackson is still very much the focal point. He has 786 yards rushing this year, including a ridiculous, twisting and delightful (well, delightful if you were not the 49ers) 30-yard open-field dash through the San Francisco secondary that set up a field goal late in the first half.

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That gave Baltimore a 16-12 lead. Purdy had already thrown three interceptions. But Jackson’s best stuff came in the third quarter, even though the 49ers still had a shot to win the game. Baltimore’s three drives ended with two touchdowns and another field goal.

One of those drives was only one play and nine yards long, because it came right after Purdy’s fourth interception. Jackson, who does not throw the ball as much as he zips it, whipped a touchdown pass to Flowers. Baltimore had a 33-12 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Gus Edwards of the Baltimore Ravens stiff-arms Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter of Monday’s game at Levi’s Stadium. Photograph: Thearon W Henderson/Getty Images

Sam Darnold, the Jets’ QB Flop before Zach Wilson became their latest QB Flop, replaced Purdy after he was injured and threw a touchdown pass to make the game more interesting. But the Ravens sacked Darnold twice, then intercepted him on the Niners’ last drive.

And that was it. Jackson was soon being asked about the Ravens’ next big game, which comes Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins (11-4), who beat the Cowboys on the last play of the game Sunday. He downplayed being included on the NFL MVP shortlist.

“It’s cool,” he told ESPN. “I’m honored to be in the conversation. I have one [MVP]. Man, we’ve got to keep winning, keep doing what we need to do to get to February. That’s all.”

Later, he said: “We got the W. I don’t really care about [personal] performance. I just want to win. That’s what happened tonight. On Christmas, I got my gift.”

Christmas night did not start well for Jackson. Baltimore went three-and-out on their first drive, and their second drive ended miserably when Jackson, trying to avoid being tackled in the end zone, bowled over an official, Alex Moore, before being called for a safety by intentional grounding.

Jackson has only won 12 starts in one season just one other time in his NFL career – in 2019, when he won the MVP award. That season did not end so well, and Jackson has been waiting a while for another chance to propel a real contender. Now he appears to have one.