Sunday, February 03, 2013

RAVENS HOLD OFF NINERS RALLY FOR SECOND SUPER BOWL TITLE; JOHN BESTS JIM IN HARBAUGH BOWL; RAY LEWIS GOES OUT A CHAMP; JOE FLACCO NAMED GAME MVP

At New Orleans:

Quarterback Joe Flacco, named the game's Most Valuable Player, completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns ( 13 yards to Anquan Boldin, one yard to Dennis Pitta, and 56 yards to Jacoby Jones---who later ran the opening kickoff of the second half for a Super Bowl-record 108 yards for a TD) as the Baltimore Ravens held off the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII, contested on Sunday at the Mercedes Benz Superdome.  Justin Tucker kicked two fourth-quarter field goals (19 and 38) as the Ravens held off a furious comeback by the 49ers, which started after the game was suspended for 34 minutes early in the third quarter due to a power outage at the stadium.

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree and ran 15 yards for another score (with a Frank Gore six-yard run for a TD sandwiched in-between).  David Akers made all three of his field goal attempts (35, 27, and  34 yards).

As was the case back on Thanksgiving night in 2011, John Harbaugh's Ravens topped brother Jim's Niners.

(Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)

This game marked the conclusion of Ravens' veteran linebacker Ray Lewis' 17-year NFL career (that's him, with the Vince Lombardi Trophy).  He was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, which was played in Tampa in January, 2001, when the Ravens mauled the New York Giants.

Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

No comments: