49ers vs. Ravens: Beating Ravens Will Make 49ers Legit Super Bowl Contenders

Anybody who claims to have predicted the San Francisco 49ers would have just one loss at Thanksgiving is lying.

Nobody saw this coming. Nobody.

That's the beauty of it. Success stories don't get much better than this, and they certainly don't get much more surprising.

Even a longtime Oakland Raiders fan like myself can't help but pull for the 49ers.

Now is when I say "But..."

As great as the 49ers are, they still have some things to prove. What I think we all want to know is whether or not they are truly one of the NFL's elite teams, and people can be forgiven if they are still a little skeptical.

The 49ers will never get a better chance to prove they are elite than tonight's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Jim Harbaugh vs. John Harbaugh is the big story, but what this game really boils down to is the new kid on the block going up against a kid who's been on the block for a while now.

In other words, it's easy to believe the Ravens are as good as they look. It's not as easy to do that with the 49ers.

As far as how these two teams match up, it's actually a little uncanny how similar they are. Neither the 49ers nor the Ravens will be mistaken for an elite offensive team any time soon, but they are probably the two best defensive teams the NFL has to offer right now.

I have a feeling we're going to see a defensive slugfest in the spirit of the Ravens vs. Steelers games we've seen in recent years.

Ultimately, this is a game I have the 49ers winning by a nose at 13-10. Not much offense is going to be played on either side, but I give the edge to the 49ers because you at least know what you're getting with their offense.

The Ravens' offense, on the other hand, is a wild card every time it takes the field.

If the 49ers walk out of Baltimore with a win—whether by my final score or another—I will be of the opinion that they will have passed all tests.

Their winning streak will be sitting at nine games in a row, and we will know that it's not a fluke.

I'll also be 100 percent ready to believe the 49ers are capable of challenging the Green Bay Packers for supremacy in the NFC. One way or another, the road to the Lombardi Trophy goes through the Packers, and it's going to take a truly special team to knock them off.

The way I see it, if the 49ers can beat a team as good as the Ravens on the road, they can beat anyone. That includes the Packers.

It also includes whichever team meets them in the Super Bowl if and when they get there.

I'm not saying it's going to happen, mind you. All I'm saying is that the sky will be the limit for this 49ers team.