Baltimore Ravens Win Super Bowl XLVII

The Baltimore Ravens have just been crowned Super Bowl XLVII champions for the second time in franchise history. Baltimore got off to a hot start and never looked back.

Joe Flacco led the Ravens offense to near perfection during the first half and took his team into the half with a 21-6 lead.

San Francisco had a chance to jump back into the game, but they would first have to stop Baltimore on the opening drive of the second half. That didn’t happen. Kick returner Jacoby Jones took the opening kickoff of the second-half 109 yards for a score and extended the lead to 28-6 right out of the gates.

Jones’ kickoff return set a record for the longest play in NFL history and the longest kick return in league history. Immediately after the play, fans were calling for him to earn MVP honors on Twitter, though Flacco played like the MVP in the first half.

It was at that time that it appeared the spirit of Don Meredith entered the Superdome and the lights were literally turned off, but the party was not over just yet. The power outage caused a delay of over a half hour.

San Francisco took advantage of the break and came out firing. Kaepernick was able to find Michael Crabtree for a touchdown that capped off an 80-yard drive. It cut the lead to 15. San Francisco seemed to pick up all of the momentum.

The 49ers defense played with some new energy and was able to force a quick punt. After an impressive punt return from Ted Ginn Jr., Frank Gore turned the corner and ran untouched for the touchdown. The 49ers made it a ballgame and closed the gap to eight points with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Hope was restored.

San Francisco kept up the momentum and forced a Ray Rice fumble. 49ers defensive back Tarell Brown forced the fumble and recovered it himself. The turnover led to a 49ers field goal that cut the lead to five heading into the fourth quarter.

Baltimore opened scoring in the final frame with a field goal, but Colin Kaepernick quickly answered with a rushing touchdown to bring the 49ers within two points. San Francisco went for the two point conversion to attempt a tie, but Kaepernick sailed the ball over the receivers heads and the Niners still trailed.

Despite a Ravens field goal, the 49ers kept their eyes on the prize. After some big time throws from Kaepernick and a run deep into the redzone from Frank Gore, the 49ers saw their hopes come down to a fourth and goal. Unfortunately for the 49ers, Kaepernick was rushed as soon as the ball was snapped and Kaepernick sailed the ball out of the endzone.

It was a great effort by the 49ers, but their slow start was just too much to overcome.

It was a nail biter, like you would hope any Super Bowl would be, but the Ravens and Flacco were able to hang on and end Ray Lewis’ career with another Super Bowl title.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens. Your Super Bowl XLVII champions.