Thanks to numerous mistakes by the San Francisco 49ers and some great plays by quarterback Joe Flacco, the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII 34-31. The Ravens were able to rush out to a lead in the game, led early in the third quarter 28-6 and looked as if they were ready to turn the lights out on the 49ers.
Actually, the lights did go out, but in the Superdome. A power outage caused a 36-minute delay in the third quarter and the Ravens lost a bit of their momentum. Once the delay was over, the 49ers quickly put 7 points on the board and ended up scoring 17 straight points overall to cut the Baltimore lead to 28-23.
The teams battled in the fourth quarter, but with the score 34-29 the 49ers mounted a last drive that brought them to the Baltimore five yard line with just under two minutes left in regulation.
San Francisco tried to penetrate the end zone on four consecutive plays but the Ravens defense held strong and would not allow a touchdown. One play was controversial when the officials did not call an interference call against Baltimore.
The Ravens took over possession of the ball and ran the clock down. An insignificant safety taken by Baltimore with two seconds left ended the scoring and the game at 34-31.
The very American spectacle was watched by millions on television around the world and by over 71,000 at the Superdome. The win by Baltimore gave Ray Lewis his second Super Bowl ring that he can take home with him, as he earlier announced his retirement.
The game was also historic because it was the first time any championship game in the NFL, MLB, or the NBA has been coached by two brothers. Jim and John Harbaugh are the head coaches of the two teams and this time John came out on top.
