49ers vs. Ravens: Rest of NFL Now Knows How to Beat 49ers

It took a while for it to happen, but the San Francisco 49ers finally met their match on Thursday night.

In the event you somehow missed it, I'll recap very quickly what happened in last night's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams played incredible defense all night, but the 49ers just weren't able to conjure any offense. The Ravens struggled with their own offense for much of the night, but they were able to break through in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points to secure a 16-6 victory.

As far as 49ers fans should be concerned, the 49ers' first loss since mid-September should not be deemed the end of the world. That the 49ers lost on the road to a very good team should help ease the pain. There's no shame in losing to the Ravens in Baltimore.

If there is one thing to be concerned about, it's how the Ravens won. Essentially, what they did was expose all the flaws that the 49ers have been able to overcome for the better part of the year.

All of these flaws are on the offensive side of the football. It's no secret that the 49ers' offense is not an elite unit, but the Ravens basically made it out to be a nonexistent unit. 

The first thing the Ravens did was neutralize Frank Gore and the 49ers rushing attack. This was to be expected, of course, as the Ravens have been stuffing the run all season. That they were able to stuff Gore was pretty much par for the course.

When Alex Smith was called on to throw the ball, he never had a chance. The Ravens brought the heat seemingly every single time Smith dropped back to pass, and they ended up sacking him nine (nine!) times.

Assuming you're into such things, the ferocity of Baltimore's pass rush was a sight to behold. Some fans are going to blame Smith for losing this game, but even Aaron Rodgers would have been doomed under the circumstances. Smith was powerless against Baltimore's oncoming rushers.

So there you go, NFL. Now you know how to beat the 49ers. All you have to do is take your lumps from their defense, stuff their running game, and crush their quarterback into bits of dust.

So why is this not the end of the world for the 49ers, you ask?

Because shoot, how many teams in the NFL are actually capable of doing what the Ravens did?

In my estimation, not many. Maybe three or four, but certainly no more than that. Rush defenses don't come much tougher, and pass rushes don't come much fiercer.

The 49ers got exposed, make no mistake about that, but they got exposed by one of the few teams in the league that is built to expose them.

So buck up, 49ers fans. Your team is going to be just fine.

At least until they run into the Green Bay Packers.

Hint: that's a hint.