Lamar Jackson caught a tough break early in the Baltimore Ravens’ game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday when a referee tripped him in the end zone, but those who are superstitious may tell you it saved the star quarterback’s season.
Jackson was trying to avoid the pass rush on Baltimore’s second drive when he tripped over an official in the end zone. He then tried to throw the ball away, but the pass did not get back to the line of scrimmage. Jackson was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which is a safety.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
Lamar Jackson appears to trip over the official, leading to an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone.
SAFETY! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nBQRgeDAJK
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2023
In the long run, the play didn’t matter. The Ravens dominated San Francisco en route to a 33-19 victory. However, one wild theory that went viral on TikTok raised the question of whether the trip will make Jackson immune to the “49ers curse.”
What is the “49ers curse,” you ask? Prior to Week 16, the 49ers had lost three games this year. All three of the teams that beat San Francisco — the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals — have since lost their starting quarterbacks for the season.
But wait, there’s more. The Niners scored exactly 17 points in all of those games. Had it not been for the safety, there is a chance the 49ers would have scored 17 in their loss to Baltimore. By now you can probably see where this is headed, but here’s the video that went viral:
THIS SHIT IS CRAZY… Every time a team beats the #49ers their starting QB gets injured, but it has to be they only scored 17. pic.twitter.com/T05Ncv0jVu
So the #NFL ref that tripped Lamar for a safety and the score 33-19 instead of 33-17 so he does not get injured.
Craziest…
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 28, 2023
Deshaun Watson, Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow all suffered season-ending injuries at some point after their respective teams defeated the 49ers. Ravens fans who believe in the curse are now hoping it is directly tied to San Francisco scoring exactly 17 points. If so, Jackson should be safe.
