For Earl Thomas, the Super Bowl is a matter of who, not if -- as in, who will Baltimore play?
Four days before two of the four winningest teams in the NFL face off, the veteran safety was asked if 49ers-Ravens was a possible Super Bowl preview.
He said that's at least half-right.
"You think the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl? It could be, let's see," Thomas told reporters, per The Baltimore Sun. "We'll just go out there and try to play the best football we can possibly do. And when the Super Bowl comes, whoever we play, they're going to be in trouble."
The former Seahawk speaks like a man who has been there and done that, which he has, against the 49ers and on the biggest stage -- just not with his current team. The Ravens (9-2), of course, can continue backing up their bulletin board material in Baltimore this Sunday against the NFC's top seed. To Thomas' point, his team is already playing like a Super Bowl finalist, winning seven in a row and boasting the league's largest point margin (plus-184). That includes convincing decisions against the Patriots and Seahawks, who are responsible for the 49ers' lone setback this season.
San Francisco itself is coming off a blowout win against a division leader in the Packers. In fact, both the 49ers (10-1) and Ravens head into their Week 13 showdown just days removed from wins of at least 28 points against winning teams, which is a first in NFL history. Each team also ranks in the top five in both scoring offense and defense.
Perhaps they actually will meet again in Miami in about two months.
"These guys are the best team in football," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the 49ers after Monday night's win, per ESPN. "They're playing at the highest level right now. I don't know. Nobody's crowned, like I said. They're the best team in football right now. February's when they make that decision still."
