Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl XLVII Champions
Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens, your Super Bowl XLVII Champions. The Ravens earned their title while hanging on over the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 to cap off an improbable playoff run including road wins against Peyton Manning and the top seeded Denver Broncos and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The Ravens jumped out to a 21-6 halftime lead and padded it to 28-6 when Jacoby Jones returned the second half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. Then the power went out. In one of the strangest playoff moments since the Bears and Eagles played in the Fog Bowl back in 1988, the power in half of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome went out and caused a 34 minute delay.
Following the delay, the 49ers came surging back with 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to narrow the Ravens lead to a slim 28-23 margin. After a Justin Tucker FG took the score to 31-23, Kaepernick and the Niners marched down the field to cut it to 31-29, but a failed 2-point conversion kept the Niners trailing.
The Ravens added another field goal to take it back to a 5 point lead, 34-29. The Niners were able to take the ball down the field behind Kaepernick and Frank Gore to get it down to the 5 yard line, but the Ravens defense was able to stiffen and keep the Niners out of the end zone. A strategic safety as time wound down iced a victory for the Baltimore Ravens.
Joe Flacco won the MVP award and it’s hard to argue. He finished up the day 22 of 33 for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. Another couple of worthy candidates were wide receiver Anquan Boldin with 6 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown and Jacoby Jones with a 56 yard touchdown reception and a 108 yard kickoff return TD.
This also marks the end of Ray Lewis’ storied career. The surefire first ballot Hall of Famer declared his intention to retire after this “last ride” and he rode it all the way to a Super Bowl title, his second championship which didn’t come without controversy. Lewis was caught using deer antler spray, which contains a banned substance.
Super Bowl XLVII turned from a flop to one of the most memorable Super Bowls in recent memory. The power outage all but assures that this game will go down in history and that’s before you consider the game was coached by siblings on opposing sidelines. Big brother John won the battle as older siblings usually do.
What was your favorite memory of the game? Were you surprised by the outcome? Let’s see your comments.