It was a tough battle in Week 13 that ultimately favored the Baltimore Ravens. In a contest featuring two top teams in the NFL, Baltimore outlasted the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17. Jeff Deeney of Pro Football Focus provided grades for some of Sunday's top performers. Here's who stood out:
1. Marcell Harris - 91.0 overall grade
Harris earned the 49ers top-overall grade on Sunday. The second-year safety replaced Jaquiski Tartt in the third quarter who left the game with a rib injury. On his second play, Harris stripped the ball from Lamar Jackson's arm and recovered the ball, marking the first forced fumble and fumble recovery of his career. The 49ers defense has now registered at least one fumble recovery in four consecutive games, marking the longest streak of games with at least one fumble recovery since Weeks 7-11 (Week 9 Bye) of 2013. Harris also recorded four tackles in his 29 defensive snaps against Baltimore. Harris' outing against Baltimore earned him his first appearance on PFF's "Team of the Week."
"Honestly, I was just doing my job," Harris said postgame. "My name got called, and I just went in to set the edge on (Mark Andrews). I saw Lamar coming. So, I tried to stay outside. When he went back inside, I was able to get my hand on the ball and rip that thing out. I kept my hands on (Andrews) and not my shoulders so I could read Lamar [Jackson] to see if he was going to go inside or outside. By me keeping the edge, he went inside, and I got my hand on the ball."
2. Mike McGlinchey - 88.9 overall grade
San Francisco's right tackle earned best grade of his career against the Ravens. McGlinchey did not allow a single quarterback pressure on the day. He also registered an 88.4 run blocking grade, which was key in the success on the ground against Baltimore's third-ranked rushing defense. McGlinchey's stellar performance in Week 13 also earned him a spot on the "Team of the Week."
"I thought Mike had his best game of the year versus Green Bay, and I think he followed it up with his next best game yesterday," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I know Mike has been battling through some injuries to get back. I know when he did get back, it still takes some time to get back to your old self. But I saw that last week, definitely, and I think he only got better this week."
3. Fred Warner - 78.7 overall grade
San Francisco's standout linebacker led the team with 11 total tackles and four run stops. His most impressive plays were his two pass breakups on third and fourth downs. Warner has a 91.6 overall grade over the last two games, the highest of any linebacker in NFL.
4. Richard Sherman - 76.6 overall grade
The veteran cornerback allowed just one catch against the Ravens for a mere two yards. Sherman also registered seven solo tackles on Sunday. In his ninth NFL season, Sherman is allowing 0.50 receiving yards per snap in coverage, the lowest rate of any qualifying cornerback.
"Every football game you get to play is fun. It is a kid's game, you win some, you lose some, you fight, as long as you give it everything you got it's fun," Sherman said following the loss. "Fun, physical ball game we played. That's a good ball club we played. You learn a lot more from losses than wins. We will get some good corrections in, and we will be ready for New Orleans."
5. Jimmie Ward - 76.3 overall grade
Ward was credited with five solo tackles, two run stops and a pass break up on Sunday. The sixth-year defensive back allowed one catch on two targets for 12 yards.
6. Raheem Mostert - 73.2 overall grade
The fifth-year running back is coming off of a career performance, rushing for 146 yards on 19 carries to go along with one touchdown. Mostert registered four runs of 10 or more yards. He also forced six missed tackles, also a career high, which was tied for the second most among running backs in Week 13 (Kareem Hunt - 7, Ezekiel Elliott - 6). Mostert has now registered touchdown runs in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
7. George Kittle - 72.9 overall grade
Kittle only caught two passes on the day for 17 yards against the Ravens. However, the tight end earned a 78.1 run blocking grade on the day, and made several key blocks in Mostert's career performance.
"I grade my game off the run game," Kittle said. "I thought I played pretty well today. I had great battles with 99 (Ravens OLB Matthew Judon) all day. He's a great player. So, that was fun. That was really fun. I'm just looking forward to hopefully getting another opportunity again."
8. Daniel Brunskill - 71.6 overall grade
Brunskill made his first-career start at left tackle in place of Joe Staley (finger) and earned an 85.6 pass blocking grade. The third-year tackle allowed just one quarterback hurry on the day.
