Summarizing a Christmas in the Bay

Twas the night before Christmas, and Bay Area teams were feeling confident and hopeful. The Golden State Warriors were on a 5 game winning streak, heading in hot with their match up against the Denver Nuggets. Rookies Trayce Jackson Davis and Brandin Podziemski had emerged as bright spots for a roster that desperately needed a spark. The 49ers were widely considered the best team in the NFL, gawking at the amount of talent on one team. It was the eagerly anticipated match up with the Baltimore Ravens, both juggernauts of the NFL. Brock Purdy, a chance to prove himself as the MVP.

Both teams lost. Both games were nationally televised, the Warriors lost in disappointing fashion and the 49ers were humiliated. 

It was certainly disappointing for the Warriors, who had fought so hard to get above .500 only to be knocked back. But it was filled with encouragement. Stephen Curry had an atrocious game, recording just 18 points despite averaging 27.9. Klay Thompson had just 9 points on 3-12 shooting. And yet the Warriors were only 6 points away from upsetting the reigning NBA champions. Andrew Wiggins showed some promise returning from his injury. Despite his poor play throughout the season, hopefully this serves as a reminder of what Wiggins can do. The rookies showed out again, with Podziemski recording 5 steals. Without Draymond Green or Gary Payton II, two of the Warriors best defenders, this roster proved they can remain competitive no matter the circumstances.

And then there was the 49er game. An absolute disaster. Brock Purdy threw 4 interceptions, with 3 of them coming in the first half. Once the front runner for MVP, it seems to be a long shot for him to win MVP with his performance on MNF. Lamar Jackson absolutely smoked the expensive defensive line, with them recording just 2 sacks. He threw for 252 yards while running for 45. The team had a mediocre game, and was defined by Purdy’s 4 interceptions. 

It seems when the 49ers are in the lead, they seem dominant and absolutely in rhythm. But as soon as they reach any type of adversity, they collapse. The 49ers have to learn to play through challenges and pull out a win with any means necessary. As seen in their 4 losses, they struggle to play well when playing from behind. If they continue this trend, this team will not win the Super Bowl. Hopefully this humbling experience will give them the realization that they need to fight for every win. 

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the 49ers. The first interception was on Brock Purdy, but many of the balls just took an unlucky bounce. The game could have been different had they been avoided. The 49ers still have Christian McCaffrey and all the touted skill players that made them so feared. This is still a good team that just needs to fix some issues. They got humbled for Christmas, but if the 49ers can bounce back, then maybe this will be what they need to win the Super Bowl.