For lots of the 108 million Americans who watched on tv and the 71,024 patrons who crowded into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Super Bowl XLVII stays the “blackout game.”
The lights dimmed for 22 minutes and play stopped for 34, an unthinkable halt to one of the crucial dependable staples on this nation’s leisure calendar. It was a technological failure tailored to spawn conspiracy theories and invite jokes about Beyoncé exploding the grid together with her luminescent halftime efficiency.
The Ravens and San Francisco 49ers additionally performed a soccer sport that evening. Improbable heroes emerged. Tactical dangers did and didn’t repay. One crew appeared unstoppable earlier than the facility failed, then the opposite bolted from the darkness — youthful, swifter and sure it could seize the gleaming silver trophy coveted by either side.
A decade after the Ravens held off surging San Francisco, 34-31, to seize the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory, lots of the narratives from that evening — the fraternal teaching showdown between John and Jim Harbaugh, Ray Lewis’ final experience, Colin Kaepernick’s scorching brilliance within the second half — have pale. But it’s rewarding to revisit the sport as simply that: an exhilarating, exhausting, twisting, turning contest between two worthy groups.
“It had a lot of rare plays,” mentioned Ravens punter Sam Koch, who crammed an surprising function within the final minute. “Everybody played a part in that game.”
So let’s revisit 10 moments, one for every of the intervening years, that made the soccer drama on Feb. 3, 2013.
1. Joe Flacco finds Anquan Boldin in the long run zone for a 13-yard landing, 10:42 first quarter.
Flacco wasted no time telling us this is able to be his evening, the end result of a four-week blitz of pristine quarterback play that also defines his profession. He had outplayed Tom Brady two weeks earlier in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The week earlier than that, he had accomplished essentially the most well-known heave in Ravens historical past to beat Peyton Manning and the Broncos in frigid Denver.
After the Ravens despatched the 49ers off the sphere three-and-out to start out the sport, Flacco accomplished his first move for 8 yards to fullback Vonta Leach. Another strike, 20 yards to Torrey Smith, put the Ravens within the purple zone, lickety-split. Then, Boldin shoved his manner onto the stage.
The Ravens had traded for him three years earlier with visions of simply such a second. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Boldin had by no means coated floor with the liquid brilliance of a Randy Moss (taking part in for the 49ers that evening). He was an influence huge receiver who would bully any defensive again silly sufficient to problem him for the ball. On this play, nonetheless, he was a technician, baiting 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman with a delicate shift of his physique and accelerating proper previous him to catch Flacco’s move in stride.
Though Boldin would make extra spectacular catches later within the sport — try his leaping 30-yard seize to bail out a scrambling Flacco within the second quarter — his first produced the primary rating of the night. Ravens followers nonetheless lament the commerce that despatched him to the 49ers a month after the Super Bowl. The franchise has by no means seen one other huge receiver like him.
“He could go up and make tough, contested catches over just about anybody,” tight finish Dennis Pitta mentioned. “That’s what separated him, certainly in that Super Bowl run. He didn’t need to be wide-open. Joe could throw the ball up to him and trust that he was going to come down with it.”
2. Paul Kruger sacks Colin Kaepernick for a 10-yard loss, 4:26 first quarter
We have a tendency to recollect the primary half as an all-out assault from the Ravens, however Kaepernick quickly answered Flacco’s salvo by driving his 49ers to the Baltimore 8-yard line. On first-and-goal, the Ravens stonewalled operating again Frank Gore for no acquire. On second down, huge receiver Michael Crabtree dropped a possible landing move from a scrambling Kaepernick. On third down, Kruger, the Ravens’ fourth-year outdoors linebacker, bolted across the outdoors shoulder of proper sort out Anthony Davis earlier than Kaepernick may even set his ft. The 10-yard loss pressured San Francisco to accept a 36-yard discipline purpose.
This was not an evening of signature moments for celebrity defenders equivalent to Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. The Ravens wanted Kruger to play the sport of his life, and he did, ending with two sacks and parlaying his efficiency right into a $41 million take care of the Cleveland Browns a month later.
3. Courtney Upshaw forces a fumble on the Baltimore 24-yard line, 12:04 second quarter
After the Ravens stalled on their subsequent drive, Kaepernick moved the 49ers into scoring place once more, counting on his fleet, highly effective tight finish Vernon Davis to catch quick passes and outrun the Ravens’ older, slower linebackers. He handed to operating again LaMichael James on first-and-10 from the Baltimore 24, and James scampered outdoors, initially evading Upshaw, the Ravens’ 6-foot-2, 272-pound outdoors linebacker.
Cornerback Corey Graham lower James off earlier than he may break away, and Upshaw, having not stop on the play, dove in to punch the ball free. Defensive sort out Arthur Jones fell on it. Instead of coughing up their lead, the Ravens headed within the different path to construct it.
Again, comparatively unsung defenders — Upshaw was a rookie who would end his six-year profession with seven sacks, Graham had began a complete of 10 video games over his first 5 NFL seasons, Jones was a fifth-round decide — made the distinction.
4. Flacco finds Dennis Pitta for 1-yard landing, 7:15 second quarter
Flacco didn’t waste the dear alternative created by James’ fumble, marching the Ravens 75 yards on 10 performs to place them up 14-3. This become the tight finish showcase. He hit Pitta for 9 yards on the fourth play of the drive, Ed Dickson for 23 yards to place the Ravens deep in San Francisco territory and Dickson for one more 14 (with a face-mask penalty thrown in for good measure) to take them to the cusp of the top zone. After Ray Rice couldn’t punch his manner in from 4 yards, Flacco completed it, fittingly, with a fast strike to Pitta between two defenders.
This was the apex of Pitta’s profession. He had develop into considered one of Flacco’s most trusted targets in his third 12 months, ending second on the crew with seven landing catches. But he would play just one extra full season due to a sequence of devastating hip accidents. His craft was on show with this quick landing.
“I was supposed to be running a corner route to the back pylon,” Pitta recalled. “Their strong safety had really strong outside leverage, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get across him. So I came out and pushed him a couple steps and then pushed off of him and sat down inside of him. And Joe knew exactly what I was doing. He read my body language and without hesitation, he fired the ball into me. … We were just two guys playing ball, finding a way to get open that was outside the script.”
5. Ed Reed intercepts Kaepernick, 7:06 second quarter
The complete week had been a candy homecoming for Reed, the Hall of Fame security who grew up in close by St. Rose, Louisiana. He damage his knee early within the sport, which might transform his final with the Ravens. He was now not the interception machine he had been just some years earlier. But he was not going to play a Super Bowl in New Orleans with out stealing a ball from the opposing quarterback.
In this case, Kaepernick tried a 25-yard fling to Moss however sailed it. Reed, taking part in a number of yards behind the nice huge receiver, simply needed to catch the ball.
“Watching him during that game, he was so locked in,” cornerback Jimmy Smith recalled.
Flacco, handed one other golden probability, drove the Ravens to the San Francisco 14-yard line however missed Torrey Smith on third down. Justin Tucker lined up for a brief discipline purpose. Like a gambler feeling his oats at close by Harrah’s Casino, Harbaugh referred to as for a pretend, the primary in Super Bowl historical past. Tucker ran free towards the first-down marker, however Dickson couldn’t end a block on linebacker Patrick Willis, who lower the kicker off a yard quick.
“Maybe if Tucker ran a little faster, it would have been beneficial,” Koch mentioned wryly. “That’s really the only thing he hasn’t done in the NFL.”
Reed’s interception went for naught, however he would relish the remainder of the night, promising to guide a celebratory second-line parade by means of downtown New Orleans and sharing a second of quiet, mutual appreciation with Harbaugh — their five-year relationship had been tempestuous — on the crew bus.
6. Jacoby Jones returns the opening kickoff of the second half 108 yards for a landing, 15:00 third quarter
No Raven, not even Flacco, completed the season on a wilder roll than Jones, the blinding return ace and deep risk who had caught the “Mile High Miracle” heave three weeks earlier in Denver. As the clock ticked underneath two minutes within the first half in opposition to San Francisco, Flacco, persevering with the gun-slinging posture that had emerged after Jim Caldwell changed Cam Cameron at offensive coordinator, went for broke. He ran ahead within the pocket and noticed Jones 5 yards past any 49er. Jones really needed to cease to catch the move, however he twirled previous one defensive again and sprinted round one other to finish the 56-yard rating, which put the Ravens up 21-3.
“That was like playing backyard football,” Jones mentioned. “Catch me if you can.”
It was simply his amuse-bouche. With the Ravens up 21-6 to start out the second half, Jones caught David Aker’s kickoff close to the again of the top zone. A coach would inform nearly any returner to kneel in that state of affairs. But Jones had simply mentioned to Harbaugh: “You’ve got to let me come out no matter what. This is a straight track meet for me.”
Sure sufficient, he took off, straight by means of the center of San Francisco’s protection unit. No one in purple got here significantly shut. Once he reached the opposite finish zone, Jones ripped off his model of Lewis’ “squirrel” dance. He was already envisioning how he would take the 49ers’ subsequent punt to the home.
“It was over for them,” he mentioned.
The New Orleans energy grid had totally different concepts.
7. David Akers kicks a 34-yard discipline purpose, 3:14 third quarter
“You can’t not remember the blackout and the effect it had on that game,” Pitta mentioned. “When that momentum is killed, you have to restart everything. We were trying to hold on.”
It’s tough to select one play that sums up the counterattack Kaepernick and his teammates unleashed after the lights flickered again on within the Superdome. Was it the 31-yard landing move to Michael Crabtree, who ran by means of Ravens security Bernard Pollard? Maybe the 32-yard punt return from Ted Ginn Jr. that arrange a two-play landing drive?
“That’s when the veterans on the sidelines started getting a little more edgy,” Smith remembered. “It did seem like it happened out of nowhere. We knew we needed to pick it up, but we couldn’t, really. … They definitely were the younger, faster team.”
The 49ers did their half, and the Ravens helped with a little bit of imploding. First, Rice fumbled on the Baltimore 23. The Ravens stood agency, leaving the 49ers with a 39-yard field-goal try, which Akers pushed huge left. But Chykie Brown was flagged for operating into the kicker, and Akers didn’t miss once more. In three possessions and a bit greater than seven minutes of sport time, the 49ers had slashed their deficit from 22 to 5.
“As far as the feel on the sideline?” Koch mentioned. “We’d been through so many of those situations, so we don’t lose faith.”
8. Justin Tucker kicks 38-yard discipline purpose, 4:23 fourth quarter
The Ravens stopped hemorrhaging with a 12-play, 72-yard drive that straddled the top of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. They stalled on the 1-yard line and settled for a Tucker discipline purpose to push their result in 31-23. The 49ers hit proper again with a five-play landing drive. Kaepernick wouldn’t join with Moss on a 2-point try, leaving the Ravens with a 31-29 lead and the data that they wanted to maintain scoring to carry off San Francisco.
The drive that adopted was hardly their most spectacular of the night, however they floor greater than 5 minutes off the clock, with Rice and Bernard Pierce combining for 5 carries and Flacco finishing an important third-down strike to Boldin.
They put Tucker in place to widen their lead once more. The undrafted rookie kicker was an important character within the 2012 crew’s story. He had received the job from Billy Cundiff in coaching camp and had already proven his playoff mettle with a 47-yard kick to eradicate the Broncos in arctic Denver. He would make dozens of tougher discipline targets in subsequent years. But this was the second he’d at all times aimed for — an opportunity to supply his crew with a profitable margin within the Super Bowl.
Tucker break up the uprights. “The rookie from Texas delivers the goods,” Jim Nantz mentioned on the CBS broadcast.
9. Jimmy Smith stops Michael Crabtree on fourth down, 1:50 fourth quarter
But the 49ers weren’t buried. Of course they weren’t. Kaepernick ran 8 yards for a primary down, then discovered Crabtree for one more. Running again Frank Gore busted free for 33 yards to place the 49ers within the purple zone with nearly three minutes left. After a 2-yard run on first-and-goal, it was time for Kaepernick to take his pictures at glory.
He threw huge of Crabtree within the nook of the top zone on second down. On third down, he threw to Crabtree once more and this time, Smith surged ahead to knock the quick move free. The Ravens’ 2011 first-round decide had began simply two video games in his second season due to a sports activities hernia, however Harbaugh had pulled him apart someday and mentioned: “If you stick with this, by the end of the season, you’re going to make the play that’s going to win us the Super Bowl.”
“That’s not a lie,” Smith recalled. “I didn’t believe him.”
Smith’s dimension gave him a leg up on most receivers, and on fourth down, he lined up on the 6-1 Crabtree. They jousted for place as Kaepernick launched his throw. “Usually, every receiver does the same thing; they want to push off, especially a big, strong guy like Crabtree,” Smith mentioned. “We got into a little grabbing match right there. In my mind, I was trying to hold him up as long as possible. … I’d rather have them throw a flag than give up on a play like that.”
Jim Harbaugh would erupt on the lack of a pass-interference name, however Crabtree couldn’t break away shortly sufficient, and the ball sailed lengthy.
10. Sam Koch takes a security on objective, 0:12 fourth quarter
The Ravens couldn’t fairly run the clock out with 4 kneel downs, so Harbaugh employed one final little bit of technique when he requested Koch, the crew’s veteran punter, to run round so long as he may on fourth down earlier than taking a security. He figured these treasured seconds would deprive the 49ers a final probability at a Hail Mary.
Koch didn’t anticipate the decision: “Typically, I don’t pay attention to the clock until it’s all zeros; I try to keep my head out of the emotion of how time plays into the game.”
But he noticed it as yet one more job to execute, no huge deal. “We’ll just say that with the Ravens, no stone is unturned,” he mentioned. “Every special situation that could probably be thought of, we’re probably prepared for it.”
“In the moment, when you run it in practice, you’re like, ‘When is this ever going to happen?’” Pitta mentioned. “And then of course, in the biggest game of your life, it comes up. And we were situationally ready.”
The ploy labored as designed. Koch, quietly top-of-the-line all-around athletes on the crew, killed eight seconds as he danced alongside the again of the top zone. He left the 49ers simply 4 seconds to do what they may along with his ensuing free kick. With Josh Bynes’ closing sort out on Ginn, the Ravens completed portray their masterpiece of resilience and resourcefulness.
How did they do it after their AFC championship setback in Foxborough the earlier 12 months and after the humiliating losses that had practically derailed their season in December? The 2012 Ravens have been bonded as a lot by tough occasions as by success, so the stress of the Super Bowl felt like nothing new.
“Of course, Peyton [Manning’s] Broncos were a good team, Brady’s Patriots, San Francisco with Kaepernick — they all were,” Lewis mentioned. “But they just didn’t have what we had from the inside, out, where it was all about sacrifice for each other in that one year, that one stretch that we went on. We had a commitment to each other that was unbreakable, and that’s why I think that team prevailed.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com