Baltimore Ravens defeat San Francisco 49ers 34-31 to win Super Bowl XLVII

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco silences critics by earning MVP honors after throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns

By Alex Bullock
SPORTS EDITOR

Big brother prevailed again. John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens defeated brother Jim and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Feb. 3 to win the Super Bowl XLVII 34-31. At one point the Ravens led by 22 points, but Baltimore had to hold off a second half charge by the 49ers. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco led the way for the Super Bowl champions, throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns on his way to earning MVP honors.

After stopping the 49ers’ first drive, the Ravens moved the ball down the field efficiently, resulting in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The 49ers responded with a field goal, but turned the ball over on their next two drives via a fumble by running back LaMichael James and an interception by quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The Ravens scored two more touchdowns, and the 49ers kicked a field goal which made the score 21-6 at halftime.

After the break, Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones returned the opening kick of the half an NFL-record 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to make the score 28-6 in favor of the Ravens.
The 49ers’ next drive was interrupted for 34 minutes as the power in half of the stadium went out. After play resumed, the 49ers appeared reenergized, scoring 17 unanswered points to make the score 28-23 at the end of the third quarter.

The Ravens kicked a field goal to start the fourth quarter, and the 49ers responded with yet another touchdown, this time by way of a 15-yard run by Kaepernick, the longest touchdown run by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. They failed to complete the two-point conversion, however, making the score 31-29.

After a drama filled drive that included two crucial third down conversions, the Ravens kicked another field goal to extend their lead to 34-29.

Kaepernick, who finished the game with 364 total yards and two touchdowns, led San Francisco to the five yard line, but the drive stalled on fourth down and the 49ers failed to take the lead.

The Ravens ran the ball three straight times to run the clock down to 12 seconds. Punter Sam Koch ran eight more seconds off of the clock by running out of the back of the end zone to take an intentional safety, making the score 34-31. Time ran out for the 49ers as wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. was taken down on the ensuing punt.

The Ravens sent all-pro linebacker Ray Lewis into retirement as a champion for the second time in his career, all of which was spent in Baltimore.