Phil Dawson's adroit kicking and an efficient collection from Torrey Smith have ensured that the San Francisco 49ers hold a 16-6 half-time lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL this evening.

This was the first time that the two sides had met since Super Bowl XLVII and it was the 49ers who went in front early in the first, thanks to Dawson's field goal from 53 yards out.

San Fran continued to be the more efficient of the two sides despite some close battles and they soon went 6-0 out in front when Dawson returned once more to kick home from 31 yards.

Both sides remained compact after the opening 15 and the best that the Ravens could muster came via Justin Tucker, who earned his side's first three points in the second offering with an early field goal from 22 yards to make it 6-3.

San Fran proved unfazed by the move, though, and they hit straight back thanks to a combination of Colin Kaepernick and Smith, with the latter able to latch on to a memorable 76-yard pass from his quarterback to earn the touchdown at 13-3.

The first-half scoring was not up just yet, this time as Dawson came back to collect his third field goal in 30 minutes of play, before Tucker also notched his second kick of the contest to leave the scores at 16-6 going into the interval.