Deebo Samuel

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers locked up the No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively, on Sunday, setting up what could potentially be a Super Bowl rematch between the teams.

The Ravens did so with a stunning 56-19 win over the Miami Dolphins, moving them to 13-3 on the season.

The Niners (12-4), meanwhile, handled business against the Washington Commanders and earned the top seed after the Philadelphia Eagles shockingly fell to the Arizona Cardinals.

So the top seeds are set in each conference, the Ravens and Niners will have a bye week in the Wild Card Round and NFL fans gave both teams their flowers on Sunday:

When the Ravens and Niners met in Week 16 it was Baltimore who came away with a statement win, smacking San Francisco 33-19. The Ravens are the NFL's hottest team, with six straight wins.

But the Niners may have the most offensive weapons in football, as Brock Purdy has Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle at his disposal. Both he and Lamar Jackson are probably on the shortlist for MVP at this point.

Plenty is left to be decided in the AFC and NFC playoff picture, with only the Niners, Ravens, Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Eagles and Detroit Lions locking down playoff berths to this point.

But the top two seeds are set. The road to the Super Bowl goes through Charm City and the Bay Area. It would be a major surprise, at this point, if either team failed to reach Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas come February.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has fired back at Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons after he took a shot at 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the team's loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.

"Like, bro, we beat you [42-10] a long time ago," Samuel said on Up & Adams on Wednesday. "I don't get why he's so bothered by what we've got going on over here or whatever the case may be."

Samuel also called out former NFL MVP Cam Newton for his comments on Purdy, saying the quarterback tried to get him on his podcast despite calling his quarterback a game-manager.

Parsons also responded to a deleted tweet from Samuel, telling him not to take things too seriously:

The 49ers failed to show up in Monday night's 33-19 loss to the Ravens in what was billed as a potential Super Bowl LVIII preview. Purdy, who entered the game as the presumptive favorite for NFL MVP, threw a career-high four interceptions before he was removed from the game in the fourth quarter due to a stinger. Sam Darnold replaced him and promptly threw a touchdown pass, but he later threw the team's fifth interception.

While many took Monday's loss as an opportunity to dance on the 49ers' grave, the team is still in a good spot. At 11-4, San Francisco is tied with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the NFC but remains in the top spot thanks to its win over Philadelphia from earlier this season.

The 49ers will have the opportunity to bounce back in a winnable matchup against the Washington Commanders (4-11) on Sunday. The Commanders are entering Week 17 riding a six-game losing streak. Washington head coach Ron Rivera announced on Wednesday that quarterback Sam Howell has been benched in favor of veteran backup Jacoby Brissett for Sunday's game.

The San Francisco 49ers reached the 10-win mark in Week 14 thanks to one of the most potent running back and wide receiver combinations in the NFL.

Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel impressed fans Sunday as quarterback Brock Purdy and the 49ers won 28-16 over the Seattle Seahawks.

McCaffrey began the evening with 72-yard run that led to a 49ers touchdown on the first play of the game.

The running back went on to finish the outing with 145 rushing yards on 16 carries.

McCaffrey now has 1,117 rushing yards on 210 attempts so far this season, extending his lead as the most productive ball-carrier in the NFL.

After the Seahawks briefly took the lead in the second quarter, Deebo Samuel helped restore the 49ers' early advantage by hauling in a 54-yard touchdown catch from Purdy.

Samuel finished the victory with a season-best 149 yards on seven receptions.

Samuel and McCaffrey's Sunday performances raised some fans' confidence about the 49ers' chances of finally making it past the NFC championship, where the team's playoff hopes have been dashed for two consecutive seasons.

The 49ers have now won five games in a row following a Week 9 bye.

Now 10-3, San Francisco will look to further pad a commanding lead atop the NFC West next Sunday during a contest against the 3-10 Arizona Cardinals.

Deebo Samuel made history on Sunday.

Samuel scored the 19th rushing touchdown of his career in the third quarter of the San Francisco 49ers' matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, a mark that set an NFL record.

It broke a tie with Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell for the all-time record for touchdowns on the ground by a wide receiver, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com.

It was Samuel's second trip to the end zone during the game, beating Seahawks safety Jamal Adams downfield for a 54-yard score earlier in the first half.

The 27-year-old finished the contest with 150 all-purpose yards on eight touches, a higher total than any of Seattle's skill players. Heading into Sunday's action, Samuel had already recorded 590 receiving yards to go along with 160 more on the ground in 10 starts this season.

The Pro Bowler has now racked up six touchdowns over San Francisco's past three games, including the team's Week 13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in which he found the end zone three times.

After an injury-plagued 2022 campaign that resulted in Samuel missing four contests and averaging a career-low 48.6 receiving yards per game, the former second-round pick entered this season with something to prove.

"He's in much better condition," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said about Samuel on Sept. 19 (per NBC Sports Bay Area). "He had a much better training camp. He was able to get through it all and get better throughout it. He's in the best shape, doesn't have to come out as much, doesn't have to take as many plays off and is playing as good as I've seen him play."

The fifth-year pro passed Mitchell to earn the new record, who spent time with Cleveland and Washington throughout his 11 seasons in the NFL.

Brock Purdy's impressive play isn't going unnoticed by EA Sports.

The San Francisco 49ers' quarterback saw his overall rating bumped up by two points to an 85 overall in the latest ratings update for Madden 24.

His running mate, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, also got a bump up to 88 overall.

Other notable big movers included Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive tackle Vita Vea (plus-two, now 90 overall), Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (minus-two, now 83 overall) and Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (plus-one, now 78 overall) and wideout Jameson Williams (plus-one, now 77 overall).

A number of quarterbacks also saw changes, with Dak Prescott getting a plus-one bump to 91 overall, Jalen Hurts getting a minus-one nerf to 90 overall and Tua Tagovailoa getting a plus-one bump to 89 overall

Purdy has moved his name to arguably the top of the MVP conversation this season, and he's fresh off a dominant performance (314 passing yards, four touchdowns) in a win against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He's now thrown for 3,185 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 70.2 percent of his passes, and has the Niners looking like the team to beat in the NFC.

Prescott, at this point, might be his biggest competitor for MVP. The veteran quarterback has thrown for 3,234 yards, leads football with 26 touchdown passes and has only been picked off six times while completing 70.1 percent of his throws.

Like Purdy, he has his team looking like a significant contender.

Then there's Samuel, who talked a big game before the matchup with the Eagles and backed it up, lighting them up for 138 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Injuries, the continued emergence of Brandon Aiyuk and San Francisco's abundance of playmakers have kept Samuel as second billing for portions of the 2023 season, but that certainly wasn't the case on Sunday.

Should San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy be this year's NFL MVP?

Niners wide receiver Deebo Samuel thinks that shouldn't even be a question with how the signal-caller has played.

"My boy number one right now. It ain't even up for debate," Samuel said Tuesday on the Up & Adams show.

Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft, is in his first full season as San Francisco's starting quarterback, and he hasn't disappointed.

The 23-year-old has completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 3,185 yards and 23 touchdowns against six interceptions in 12 games, in addition to rushing for 131 yards and two scores.

The Niners are 9-3 on the season and in contention to claim the top seed in the NFC entering the playoffs, in part thanks to Purdy.

While Purdy is considered the MVP frontrunner by some, others suggest he has greatly benefitted from an insanely talented offense that includes Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey.

If Purdy is going to win the NFL MVP award, he's going to have to put up consistent numbers through the final weeks of the regular season, especially with players like Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott also in contention to win the honor.