Under Birds? Ravens Relish Underdog Status vs. 49ers Despite 'Disrespect'

Prominent Baltimore Ravens had mixed reactions to the early spread attached to Monday's highly-anticipated tilt with the San Francisco 49ers.

Like Michael Jordan before him, Kyle Hamilton's going to take that personally.

The Baltimore Ravens defender obviously won't be betting on his team's Monday night tilt against the San Francisco 49ers (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC). But as one of the most anticipated games in recent NFL regular season memory draws near, Hamilton was perplexed by the game's opening line, which gives the hosting 49ers a 5.5-point edge.

"We feel a little disrespected by that," Hamilton told Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "I feel like we are the best team in the league, and we have an opportunity in front of the country to show it."

Along with Hamilton and perhaps Han Solo, fellow defenders Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith don't want the odds either: Humphrey remarked that the oddsmakers' snub "hurt (his) feelings a little bit" while the latter feels like it's a case of gaming analysts desperate for a headline before a potential Christmas break sets in.

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“I think people have jobs,” Smith declared, per Gianna Han of The Baltimore Banner. “Whatever ratings or whatever betting sites there is, I think they have jobs so they have to come up with something. But, at the end of the day, I have the utmost respect and the utmost trust in every single guy I go to war with and it don’t change this (Monday).”

Per data from Pro Football Reference, Baltimore (11-3) has been a 5.5-point underdog only five times in the regular season since 2020. In that span, they've covered twice but have yet to secure a win, their last under such circumstances coming in December 2015 against Pittsburgh.

Those numbers should also be taken with a grain of salt, as franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson did not appear in any of those games in question. Jackson's legend more or less began as an underdog story: some consider his de facto breakout to be a December 2018 tilt with the Kansas City Chiefs, one where Jackson went blow-for-blow with fellow first-year starter Patrick Mahomes. Though Jackson helped cover a 6.5-point spread, Kansas City prevailed in overtime 27-24, surviving the Raven's first career multi-touchdown pass game

Ravens vs. 49ers Could Be a Display of Defense on Monday Night Football

Going into his first major underdog game since that visit to Arrowhead Stadium, Jackson said he had no interest in showing up in the "favorite" column come Monday's potential Super Bowl preview.

"I don't want them to pick us," Jackson said in Hensley's report. "I like being the underdog. I believe we play better when we're doubted and [when] people aren't choosing us to win the game. I feel like we play better all the time, so just do it all the way to February. That's all I ask."

It's unlikely Jackson will see his Christmas wish come true: Baltimore will likely be favored in their last two regular season games, M&T Bank Stadium showdowns against Miami and Pittsburgh.