It's a potential Super Bowl preview, it's a 'game of the year'. Call it what you want. The San Francisco 49ers' Christmas Day contest with the Baltimore Ravens promises to be an engrossing one.

San Francisco is a six-point favorite for this battle of the NFL's two one seeds entering Week 16, and the 49ers can move within one win of clinching a first-round bye and home advantage throughout the playoffs by vindicating that status in primetime.

Achieving that feat will be far from easy, however, and here we look at five players crucial to the 49ers' hopes of improving to 12-3 with another statement victory.

QB Brock Purdy 

This is *probably* the final hurdle for Purdy in terms of cementing his place as the NFL's MVP for the 2023 season.

Baltimore's defense is ranked second in the NFL by DVOA and does an excellent job changing the picture post-snap. Mike Macdonald utilizes the Ravens' talent at linebacker and safety superbly, with a versatile front and assignment sound secondary sure to present a huge challenge to Purdy, who has quickly become renowned for how quickly he processes information.

If he comes through it and outplays Lamar Jackson, the 49ers will be a win away from the NFC's one seed and Purdy will in all likelihood be the MVP.

RB Christian McCaffrey

Outside of Jackson, the one player who can seemingly stop Purdy winning the MVP is his own teammate McCaffrey.

Him doing so depends on voters deciding they are ready for an MVP to win the award for the first time since 2012 at the end of a stunning season in which McCaffrey has produced constant demonstrations of his value.

But it will also require McCaffrey thriving against a Ravens run defense that is middle of the pack by Success Rate but is one of the better units in the league at preventing explosives, ranking 12th by EPA per play.

McCaffrey has decimated defenses week after week as a runner and as a receiver, but it might take a more methodical effort at times against the Ravens.

OL Jon Feliciano

Feliciano has made the starting right guard spot his own with a string of impressive performances when called in to replace Spencer Burford because of his injury issues.

The veteran maintaining his strong recent form is paramount in Week 16, as he draws a matchup with Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who has finally realized his star potential in 2023 and has a career-high 11 sacks. 

Interior pass rush can derail things for a quarterback in a hurry, and Feliciano has a huge role to play in keeping Baltimore's quiet.

DT Javon Hargrave

Likely to be back in the lineup after missing the NFC West-clinching win over the Arizona Cardinals last week with a hamstring injury, Hargrave is set to start next to Javon Kinlaw at defensive tackle with Arik Armstead (knee and foot) still on the sidelines.

San Francisco gave up 234 yards on the ground against the Cardinals without Hargrave and Armstead. Allowing a similar total in this matchup is a recipe for disaster. The 49ers need Hargrave to immediately return firing on all cylinders against the run and the pass.

LB Fred Warner

Four years ago these teams met in another game billed as a Super Bowl preview and, despite their best efforts, the 49er defense had a hard time containing Jackson and the Ravens' diverse run game in a 20-17 defeat.

Warner is one of few players who was on the field that rain-soaked day in Baltimore for the defense, and the man now widely viewed as the best linebacker in football has a huge task on his hands getting the Niners ready to stop a quarterback who is just as devastating in the pocket as he is outside it.

In 2019, Warner was in just his second year in the NFL. Now he's a veteran with an unmatched blend of awareness and athleticism, and his chess match with Jackson figures to be a fascinating duel to take in.

49ers’ latest ‘game of the year’ is a Christmas present for everyone

It’s a potential classic.