Like so many times before when they were youngsters, John Harbaugh turned out the lights on his younger brother Jim.
Neither the high-powered offense of the San Francisco 49ers nor the strange 34 minute power outage at the Superdome could deny the Baltimore Ravens a win. Led by game MVP Joe Flacco, the Ravens held off the 49ers 34-31 to capture Super Bowl XLVII.
Flacco, voted the MVP, threw three first-half touchdown passes to finish an 11-TD, zero-interception postseason. Jacoby Jones returned the second-half kickoff 108 yards, a Super Bowl record, to give Baltimore a 28-6 lead. Flacco finished 22 of 33 for 287 yards in the game.
Rally comes up short
Following the power outage, Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers seem to be energized. They scored 17 consecutive points to get within 31-29. After Justin Tucker’s second field goal of the night made it 34-29, the 49ers still had time to make one last push.
A 24-yard pass play to Crabtree was quickly followed by a 33-yard run by Gore, setting the 49ers up at the Ravens’ seven-yard line with over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. However following a short gain by Gore on the first down, three attempts from Kaepernick to Crabtree would fall incomplete, turning the ball over to the Ravens. Why didn’t Gore get another chance at the goal line or even have Kaepernick try to improvise with his legs? I’m sure that Harbaugh deciding to throw three consecutive passes to Michael Crabtree will be analyzed to death.
Pay the Man
Those were the words of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh when reporters asked him about Flacco, the free agent to be. It has been one outstanding game after another for a guy who has never commanded the widespread respect usually accorded a star player — but now will head into an offseason that could bring him a $20 million-per-year deal in free agency.
During this postseason, which included wins against Andrew Luck and the Colts, Peyton Manning’s Broncos in Denver and the Patriots in New England, Flacco threw 11 touchdowns with zero interceptions. As it turns out, San Francisco could not do enough to stop him either.
The Ravens (14-6 SU, 10-9-1 ATS) are now 2-0 in the Super Bowl. They also won the championship in 2001.
Young Gun
Kaepernick finished with 302 yards passing and one touchdown and ran for 62 yards and another TD. (San Francisco 13-5-1 SU, 11-8 ATS) lost for the first time in the NFL title game. They went 5-0 during the Joe Montana/Steve Young era. With the talented Kaepernick at the helm, the 49ers figure to be back again.
Betting Review
Not only did Flacco help the underdog Ravens get the cover on Super Sunday, but he also assisted in cashing a few future tickets.
Chronologically, here’s a look at Baltimore’s prices on a month-by-month basis;
Open: 16/1
July: 18/1
August: 14/1
September: 9/1
October: 14/1
November: 18/1
December: 22/1
January 15/1