The San Francisco 49ers' first Christmas Day game since 1993 was a weird one in the first half.

Brock Purdy threw three interceptions, two of them more a product of substantial misfortune than poor play, while the Niners opened the scoring with a bizarre safety that nobody saw coming in their blockbuster clash with the Baltimore Ravens.

Turnovers almost always prove costly in the NFL, however, and the 49ers trail 16-12 at the half in this battle of number one seeds. Here are our first-half observations.

Purdy's nightmare half

Though he won't have been thinking about the MVP conversation going into the game, a blockbuster Christmas clash on primetime was a potential coronation for Purdy.

Yet his hopes of claiming a remarkable MVP award in just his second season were significantly damaged by a nightmare first half in which he threw multiple interceptions for the first time in his career.

His first was read all the way by Baltimore's star safety Kyle Hamilton to take a touchdown to Deebo Samuel off the board, with two catastrophic deflections thereafter leading to 10 points for the Ravens.

Purdy might be able to reconstruct an MVP case in the second half, but the 49ers would be in a drastically better position had he taken better care of the ball.

McCaffrey makes his case

With Purdy struggling with some bad decisions and bad luck, the window was open for Christian McCaffrey to make his case to be the first running back to win the MVP since 2012.

He made a compelling argument on the 49ers' final drive of the first half, accounting for 65 yards and a touchdown as San Francisco pulled within a point, the critical play a 39-yard run that served as another devastating example of his value.

The Ravens didn't have much of an answer for McCaffrey in the first half, and the 49ers will almost certainly lean on him again to start the second as they look to turn around a halftime deficit.

Wilks gets aggressive

The 49er defense, despite allowing a 53-yard touchdown drive after the second interception, was impressive in the first half and frequently frustrated Lamar Jackson.

It did so in part by leaning on pressure looks, with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks getting aggressive and sending several blitzes that paid dividends.

The most notable came on a play that saw the 49ers score on a safety after an official inadvertently tripped up Jackson, but San Francisco also stopped the Ravens inside the redzone on Baltimore's third offensive possession on a blitz, with Ambry Thomas making an excellent tackle on Nelson Agholor in the open field.

Thomas was a standout for the 49ers in the first half, but it will be fascinating to see if the 49ers are able to stay aggressive with success against a diverse Ravens offense in the second half.

49ers get accidental Christmas gift from officials vs. Ravens

Nobody saw this coming.