Super Bowl XLVII Recap

Ravens' WR Jacoby Jones returns the opening second half
kickoff for a touchdown.

Baltimore Ravens 34 San Francisco 49ers 31

There are a couple of questions that will linger in people's heads after this championship classic. The big one happens to come from the final offensive play from the 49ers. On fourth and goal and needing a touchdown, 49ers' QB Colin Kaepernick lobbed a pass to the corner of the end zone for WR Michael Crabtree. The ball landed a little far out of bounds. However, Ravens' CB Jimmy Smith appeared to have held Crabtree while the ball was in flight.

No flag was thrown and the game was pretty much over for the 49ers at that point. The more I look at the play, the more I come to the conclusion that a flag should've been thrown. It has to be about consistency at that point. The referees flagged CB Chris Culliver for a pass interference when it appeared he and Ravens' WR Torrey Smith were doing a good amount of hand fighting. If that's a pass interference, then a flag should've been thrown on Smith as well.

Many people can see why the referees didn't throw the flag. If you were in that position with the Super Bowl on the line, would you want to be that guy throwing the flag? More times than not, the answer is no. It's an extremely difficult situation to be in. He clearly didn't want to give the 49ers a new set of downs at the one-yard line. That's winning the Super Bowl for the 49ers right there.

The second question has to be about the power outage. Many jokes were made via social network about the cause of the power outage. However, before the outage, the 49ers were getting rolled on by the Ravens. After the outage, the 49ers flipped the script, moving the ball at will against the Ravens. Did the momentum shift in the 49ers' direction after the long layoff from the outage?

It took approximately 34 minutes to get the power completely back, potentially ending any momentum the Ravens had in the first half and after the kickoff return touchdown from WR Jacoby Jones. The Ravens were able to hold, however. It was impressive considering the 49ers got to first and goal at the 8-yard line relatively easy. After that, the 49ers suffered from suspect play-calling.

The 49ers will be kicking themselves all offseason for this loss. They simply fell behind too much and decided to play football too late. That worked in the NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons. It was not going to work in the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII Preview

49ers' QB Colin Kaepernick will try to win a sixth Super Bowl
for the franchise.

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers
CBS -- Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Sunday February 3, 2013 6:30pm

This is always the game football fans can't wait to see. However, it's bittersweet because when this game is over, there's no more football until August. So the conclusion of the football season pits John Harbaugh against Jim Harbaugh, the first brothers to coach against each other in a playoff game. It's happening in a Super Bowl. That's incredible!

Credit should be given to the Ravens and the 49ers because they were the losers in the championship games last season. The 49ers also went through a quarterback change, so that makes it even more impressive they were able to get back and get to the Super Bowl this time around. So many questions surround Ravens' QB Joe Flacco about his ability to lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl. He's finally done it, so what can he do for an encore?

Both teams have stout defenses. We all know the 49ers play an aggressive man coverage defense. Rarely do they give different looks. However, they are physical and effective because they have so many solid players on defense. The Ravens, however, struggled when they were without LB Ray Lewis and LB Terrell Suggs. Now that both are back and healthy, the Ravens have played much better football.

The offense for both teams have been playing well also. The 49ers have put up points at ease, with QB Colin Kaepernick saving his best for the postseason. It hasn't come as easy for the Ravens, but WR Torrey Smith and WR Anquan Boldin have played outstanding thus far in the playoffs, helping Flacco.

The Ravens are playing a different beast in the Super Bowl. The AFC has been exceptional at best, but the NFC possesses three other teams that could've easily been in the Super Bowl and dominate any AFC team. The Ravens have yet to face physical defensive backs, and they'll see that with CB Carlos Rogers, CB Chris Culliver and CB Tarell Brown. S Donte Whitner and S Dashon Goldson are also back there, so it will not be easy for the passing game of the Ravens.

The Ravens will look to run the ball because they know they play better that way. RB Ray Rice will find it difficult to run against a front seven that possesses four excellent linebackers. The 49ers' offense will have their hands full as well, but the 49ers will be able to muster up enough points for the victory and the crown. It will be a tough, physical game with a lot of emotions. We can't wait for Super Sunday!