RAY LEWIS RAISING THE TROPHY -A PERFECT RETIREMENT
Baltimore 34 - San Francisco 31
"How could it be any other way?" Ravens coach John Harbaugh told CBS. " We talk to our guys all the time. It's never pretty, it's never perfect."
As for playing against his brother, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, John said, "It was really hard."
"I told him I loved him," John said of the postgame handshake. "He said congratulations."
Two field goals by rookie kicker Justin Tucker in the fourth quarter provided the only six points the Ravens would get after the delay, as compared to the 23 points the Niners put up. But that's all Baltimore needed thanks to a 28-6 lead provided by Joe Flacco's three touchdown passes and Jacoby Jones' 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half.
It was as if only an unforeseen event would stop the Ravens' momentum and Ray Lewis' attempt to end his 17-year career by going out on top.
That event came in the form of the power outage, which halted the Ravens' momentum after defensive end Arthur Jones celebrated his ankle tackle of a sack of Colin Kaepernick that backed the Niners up into a third-and-13 less than two minutes into the second half. It looked bleak for San Francisco, which trailed 28-6 at the time.
The rally then commenced and didn't stop until the Niners made one last push for a go-ahead touchdown as time wound down.
But the Ravens are champs because of a stop on a two-point conversion that could've tied the game after a 15-yard touchdown run by Kaepernick and a perfect back-shoulder throw from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin to set up Tucker's second field goal.
The 49ers' "Quest for Six," as the team called it, failed. For the first time, the franchise has felt what it's like to lose a Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers remain the only team with a half dozen Lombardi Trophies.
JOE FLACCO THE MVP
