NFL Tickets
The discussion after tonight’s game will be whether or not Super Bowl XLVII is one of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. I’m not sure where it ranks, but it was at least one of the greatest halves of football of the 2012 NFL season. In the end, the dream of a miracle comeback came up short by the San Francisco 49ers, and the Baltimore Ravens are World Champions with a 34-31 win.
The story of this game, just as I said in my preview were the quarterbacks. Both quarterbacks came into this game with something to prove, and I really think both did just that. For Joe Flacco quieted a lot of his detractors with a near flawless performance. I’m not typically one to talk much on stats, but 22-33 for 287 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against what most considered the best defense in the league was masterful.
Flacco never looked rattled and he never seemed to panic, even as the 49ers were trying to mount a comeback. On Twitter during the course of the season Flacco took so much heat, and I defended him at every turn. Tonight he proved all his critics wrong with what was one of the best Super Bowl performances in recent memory including Super Bowl MVP. Flacco is going to get himself a huge new contract from the Ravens and he’s earned it.
On the other side of the football, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a tremendous effort, especially when you factor in that this was only his 10th career start. Just over 360 total yards of offense and two touchdowns was impressive, but his first half interception was a terrible throw and the Ravens took advantage of it.
This is a young man who had nearly unlimited potential. But there were two things he did wrong. First, he made a couple of bad reads, and probably should have had at least one more interception. Things he can learn from. But the other mistake I think he made was he didn’t call his own number on the zone read enough. The Ravens were crashing down the line and committing one man to him, to give that token hit. However, you could tell that defender was coming as just part of their assignment rather than really wanting to make the big hit. By my count at least for times Kaepernick had a lane to the outside and instead gave to the play side back. Another thing he’ll learn from.
I congratulate both of these teams, but in a game that was hyped as the battle of the Harbaugh brothers, it was more about the individual efforts of the players on the field than anything either coach did. Congrats to Flacco and the Ravens on the win, they definitely earned it.
This Super Bowl was exciting with lots of big plays on both sides of the football, and one of the most interesting Super Bowls in recent memory due to an extended power outage just a few minutes into the 2nd half. At that point the 49ers looked like they were going to snatch the momentum and come back and win the game, but in the end it was all Flacco all the time and the Ravens are champions because of it.
Come follow me on Twitter @nfldraftboard for more football ramblings.
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