Baltimore Ravens win 34-31

Baltimore outplayed San Francisco in the first half, as quarterback Joe Flaco commanded the Ravens to a 21-6 lead at the end of the first two quarters.

 

The 49ers vaunted defence could not stop the Ravens long passing game, giving up several back-breaking plays in the first half to Flaco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three-touch-downs on the way to pick up the Most Valuable Player trophy.

 

Baltimore receivers Anquan Boldin and Jacoby Jones both madegame-saving plays. Boldin was Flaco's go-to receiver on third downs, hauling in one touchdown and several key receptions to keep drives alive.

 

Jones fell down as he caught a 56-yard pass from Flaco in the second quarter, but recovered his footing and managed to dodge several defenders on his way to the end zone. In one of the game's most decisive plays, he returned the opening kick-off of the second half 108 yards for a touchdown.

 

The game took a strange turn two minutes into the third quarter, when all the lights in the stadium suddenly shut off as the 49ersbegan marching down the field.

 

The power outage, which was reportedly due to an electrical problem in the stadium, delayed the game 34 minutes.

 

Players for both teams were visibly distracted while coaches urged them to stretch and run through workouts to stay loose.

 

The outage drastically shifted the momentum of the game. The 49ers team of the first half suddenly transformed into a sharp, focused unit. San Francisco picked up their interrupted drive with ease and began a comeback that would put them within striking distance in the fourth quarter.

 

The competition on the field was mirrored in the countenance of the two brothers on opposing sidelines. Ravens coach John Harbaugh's stoic face began to show signs of cracking as his team slowly gave up a large lead.

 

Across the field, his younger brother Jim became even more animated and emotional than usual, throwing his clipboard and headset on the ground at every poor play and pumping his fist violently when the 49ers executed successfully.

 

After crawling slowly back from 22 points down, the 49ers found themselves with the ball on their 20 yard line and four minutes left on the clock. They easily slashed the Ravens' secondary down the field, to put themselves in a fourth-and-goal, winner-take-all situation.

 

But Baltimore's defence, headed by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis held in an impressive goal line stand that sealed the win.

 

The 49ers would have a long plane ride back from New Orleans to think about a crucial fourth-and-goal play when a Baltimore defender appeared to hold wide receiver Michael Crabtree, preventing him from making a catch in the end zone.

 

But the day belonged to John Harbaugh and Lewis, two men who have received the lion's share of media attention over the past two weeks. For Harbuagh, the victory was bittersweet, coming at the expense of his brother in the biggest game either of them has ever coached in.

 

For Lewis, who is retiring, the aftermath will be sheer joy. The17-year veteran has been hailed by many as one of the greatest to ever play the game, and is a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Famer.

 

The Super Bowl victory will go far toward polishing Lewis's image, which was somewhat tarnished when he was charged with murder following a fight in 2004. He was later acquitted.

 

When the dust finally settled on the country's biggest sporting stage and the curtain fell, it was purple and black.