Ravens Matchup With 49ers on Monday Will Make History

The Ravens and 49ers will take the field on Monday night in a historic matchup between two of the best teams in the NFL.

The Ravens and 49ers will take the field on Christmas Night in a rare late-season duel between arguably the two best teams in the league.

How rare?

Ravens vs. 49ers / FanStreamSports.com

Monday night's game will be just the second time since the 1970 merger that two teams holding the best record will meet in Week 16 or later. The last time that happened was in 1993 when the 11-4 Cowboys met the 11-4 Giants in Week 18. 

Want something of a note from that game that bodes well for the Ravens?

The visiting Cowboys won 16-13 that day. On Monday, the Ravens will be the visiting team in Santa Clara. But I digress.

This game could very well be a defensive struggle just as the Cowboys vs. Giants game was 30 years ago. The Ravens allow just a league-low 16.1 points per game this season. They're even stingier on the road, allowing only 14.1 points per contest.

Baltimore has allowed a touchdown on just 18 of 160 drives by opposing teams which is 11.3 percent. That's tops in the NFL, with the league average being 20 percent.

San Francisco is right behind Baltimore in points allowed per game at 16.7 overall and 16.5 at Levi's Stadium.

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If you're looking for an offensive shootout, you're probably going to be disappointed. The Ravens are No. 2 in the league allowing just 287.9 yards per matchup while the Niners allow a bit more at 310.1 per game, good enough for No. 9 in the NFL.

The Ravens and 49ers are the two betting favorites to make the Super Bowl in February in Las Vegas. The winner will have a clear inside track to the No. 1 seed in their respective conference, making that path easier.

Baltimore and San Francisco matchup on Christmas Night at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC.