Super Bowl XLVII Recap
The Baltimore Ravens scored on their first possession of the game and never looked back as they beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in the longest Super Bowl ever.
Heading into halftime with an imposing 21-6 lead, the Ravens began the second half the same way they ended the first, by scoring touchdowns. Jacoby Jones started off by catching the opening kickoff eight yards deep in his own end zone and running through 11 49ers like a gazelle dodging lions across the African plains. His touchdown took the Ravens to a ghastly 28-6 lead when an abnormality in the power system put the Superdome into an eerie state of darkness.
The power outage lasted for more than 30 minutes and when the 49ers came out of the darkness, they played lights out. The 49ers scored 17 unanswered points in just over four minutes on touchdowns by Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore as they closed the gap and got within five points of the Ravens.
However, that was the closest the 49ers would come to victory as Baltimore punter Sam Koch ran out of his own end zone and took a safety. It was a smartly designed play to take time off the clock and left the 49ers with four seconds to return the ensuing free kick and at the end of it all, left the score at 34-31.
The game’s MVP award went to Joe Flacco who threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came in the first half. His offensive line played a huge role as well and held the 49ers defense to just two sacks for a loss of 13 yards.
There were some other notable performances by the Ravens and Ray Lewis had one of them. It’s been well documented that this game was Lewis’ swan song and the emotional leader of the Ravens’ defense chipped in with seven tackles. Jacoby Jones and Ed Reed also had big games as they returned to their hometown. Jones, of course, scored a touchdown on that amazing kick return and caught a 56-yard bomb by Joe Flacco. After that catch he fell down, got back up, spun around and dodged a couple of 49ers for another score. Once again, Ed Reed proved that he’s one of the best at his position to ever play the game as he picked off a Kaepernick pass in the second quarter. He now sits tied atop the NFL record books with nine postseason interceptions.
Despite the loss, the 49ers also had some prime performers. Colin Kaepernick proved that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with for years to come after throwing for 308 yards, a touchdown and a rushing score. Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis both combined to rack up over 200 yards receiving and a touchdown, but it was the 49ers’ pass defense or lack thereof that did them in on sport’s biggest stage.
Super bowl XLVII represented the first time in NFL history that two brothers coached against each other in the big game. Harbowl I went to the elder of the two; John said that shaking his younger sibling’s hand at the end of the game was tougher than he thought it would be. That may have been rough, but holding the Lombardi Trophy over his head was undoubtedly one of the sweetest moments of his professional career.
