Super Bowl XLVII featured the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers to decide the NFL champion for the 2012 season. The Ravens defeated the 49ers by the score of 34–31, handing the 49ers their first Super Bowl loss in franchise history. The game was played on February 3, 2013 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game featured two brothers coaching against each other—Jim and John Harbaugh, head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively—earning it the nickname Harbaugh Bowl or The Harbowl. In addition, Super Bowl XLVII was the first to feature two teams who had undefeated records in previous Super Bowl games (Baltimore, 1–0; San Francisco, 5–0). The 49ers, who posted a regular season record of 11–4–1, entered the game seeking their sixth Super Bowl win in team history (and first since1995), which would have tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most by a franchise. The Ravens, who posted a 10–6 regular season record, made their second Super Bowl appearance in 12 years, having previously won Super Bowl XXXV. Ray Lewis, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) from that game, as well as the last remaining member of the inaugural Ravens roster from 1996, also played in this game, his last before his retirement from professional football.
SUPER BOWL XLVII CHAMPION BALTIMORE RAVENS
Baltimore built a 28–6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes (earning the game the added nickname of the Blackout Bowl). After play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to cut the Ravens' lead, 28–23, and continued to chip away in the fourth quarter. With the Ravens leading late in the game, 34–29, the 49ers advanced to the Baltimore 7-yard line just before the two-minute warning but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens then took an intentional safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, was named Super Bowl MVP. Flacco became the fourth quarterback in a row to receive MVP after Drew Brees at Super Bowl XLIV, Aaron Rodgers at Super Bowl XLV, and Eli Manning at Super Bowl XLVI.
Super Bowl XLVII earned many nicknames, including the "Bro Bowl", "Harbaugh Bowl", HarBowl", "Super Baugh", "Brother Bowl", and "Superbro", as this was the first Super Bowl featuring brothers as opposing head coaches: Baltimore's John Harbaugh and San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh, whose clubs previously met in a 2011 Thanksgiving Day game, which John Harbaugh's Ravens won 16–6,[25] and the first time that brothers had met as rival coaches in the NFL. Due to a power outage affecting half the stadium during the third quarter, the game has also become known as the "Blackout Bowl".
After going 12–4 and reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2011, only to lose to the New England Patriots when Lee Evans dropped a game-winning catch in the end zone and Billy Cundiff missed a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal, the Ravens advanced further in 2012 to the Super Bowl after recording a 10–6 regular season record. Under head coach John Harbaugh, who was in his fifth season with the team, Baltimore upgraded their roster with players such as defensive backs Sean Considine and Corey Graham, and wide receiverJacoby Jones. In December 2012, the Ravens fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and promoted quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, who was previously the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011, as the successor.[27] With personnel on both sides of the ball, they finished the season ranked 10th in points per game (24.9), and 12th in fewest points allowed (21.5)
In command of the offense was five-year veteran Joe Flacco, who finished the season with a career high 3,817 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions. His top targets were receivers Anquan Boldin (65 receptions, 921 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Torrey Smith (49 receptions, 855 yards, 8 touchdowns), along with tight end Dennis Pitta (61 receptions, 669 yards, 7 touchdowns). Their backfield featured two Pro Bowl selections: halfback Ray Rice and fullback Vonta Leach. Rice rushed for 1,143 yards and 9 touchdowns, while also hauling in 61 receptions for 478 yards and another score. Leach served effectively as his lead blocker and a receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes. The Ravens' offensive line was led by Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda.
On special teams, Jones returned 38 kickoffs for 1,116 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a whopping 30.7 yards per return average. He also gained 341 yards and another touchdown returning punts, and caught 30 passes for 406 yards and a score. Rookie kicker Justin Tucker ranked 7th in the NFL in field goal percentage (90.9), kicking 30/33 field goals and making all 42 of his extra point attempts.
Baltimore's defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive end Haloti Ngata, who compiled 51 tackles and 5 sacks, along with defensive tackle Arthur Jones (47 tackles, 4.5 sacks). The Ravens also had an excellent set of linebackers, such as Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, Jameel McClain, Terrell Suggs, and Ray Lewis. Kruger led the team in sacks with 9, while Ellerbe added 92 tackles and 4.5 sacks. McClain had 79 tackles. Suggs, a ten-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowl selection, who had missed the first half of the regular season with a partially torn achilles tendon, made a speedy recovery and was key in the Ravens' win over the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs with 2 sacks on Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Lewis, a 17-year veteran and 13-time Pro Bowl selection, had missed most of the season with an arm injury, but still managed to rack up 57 tackles in just 6 games. Then shortly before returning for the playoffs, he announced his plans to retire after the postseason, and promptly went on to amass 44 tackles in Baltimore's four playoff games.
The Ravens secondary featured Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed, the NFL's all-time leader in interception return yardage. Reed had another statistically successful season in 2012, recording 58 tackles and 4 interceptions. Cornerback Cary Williams was also a big contributor with 4 interceptions and 75 tackles.
The team dedicated their 2012 season to former owner and founder Art Modell, who died on September 6, 2012, four days before the first regular season game.
Baltimore finished the season as the AFC North champion and the number 4 seed in the American Football Conference. The Ravens began their playoff run at home against the number 5 seed Indianapolis Colts in the Wild-Card round in what would turn out to be Ray Lewis's final career home game. They defeated the Colts 24–9, with Flacco throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns, while their defense held the Colts to just 9 points, 13 below their regular season average.
In the divisional round, the Ravens would face the top-seeded Denver Broncos, who came into the game with an 11-game winning streak. Baltimore fell behind late in the game, but with less than a minute left on the clock, Flacco's 70-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones sent it into overtime, a play that is known as the Mile High Miracle. An interception by Corey Graham from Peyton Manning late in the first overtime period set up Tucker's 47-yard field goal to win the game 1:42 into double overtime.
Finally, Baltimore advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the second-seeded New England Patriots 28–13 in the AFC Championship Game, avenging their previous year's loss against them, forcing three turnovers, intercepting two passes from Tom Brady, and shutting them out in the second half.
As the NFC West champion and the number 2 seed in the National Football Conference, San Francisco earned a first-round bye. The 49ers started their playoff run against the number 3 seed Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. Jim Harbaugh's decision to start Colin Kaepernick for the playoffs came into immediate question when he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Sam Shields on their opening drive, but this turned out to be the only miscue he would make for the rest of the game, as well as the only interception he would throw until the Super Bowl. By the end of the game, Kaepernick racked up 444 total yards (more than the entire Packers team), including 181 rushing yards, the NFL single game record for rushing yards by a quarterback, as the 49ers went on to win easily, 45–31.
They then faced the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, where they quickly fell behind 17–0 in the first half. No team in NFC Championship Game history had ever overcome a deficit that large, but the 49ers proved up to the challenge, cutting the score to 24–21 going into the final quarter. Late in the game, their comeback hopes suffered a setback when Michael Crabtree lost a fumble on the 1-yard line as he was going in for the leading score. However, their defense forced a punt, and Ted Ginn Jr.'s 20-yard return set up a touchdown run by Frank Gore. The defense then held firm, forcing a turnover on downs at their 10-yard line to secure the victory.
In Super Bowl 47, San Francisco was hurt by penalties and turnovers early in the game as the Ravens built a 21–6 first-half lead. On their first play of the opening drive, tight end Vernon Davis' 20-yard reception was called back by an illegal formation penalty. The team ended up punting after three more plays, and Jacoby Jones returned the ball 17 yards to the Ravens' 49-yard line. Baltimore then drove 51 yards, scoring on Joe Flacco's 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Anquan Boldin. Flacco had previously thrown a third-down incompletion, but an offsides penalty against linebacker Ahmad Brooks gave him a second chance.
San Francisco responded on their next possession, moving the ball 62 yards in a 12-play drive, with quarterback Colin Kaepernick completing a 19-yard pass to Michael Crabtree and a 24-yarder to Davis. David Akers finished the drive with a 36-yard field goal to cut the score to 7–3. Baltimore responded with a drive to the 49ers' 37-yard line, featuring a 30-yard catch by Boldin, but came up empty after Flacco was sacked on third down for a 5-yard loss by defensive tackle Ray McDonald, pushing the Ravens out of field goal range.
Five plays into the 49ers' next drive, linebacker Courtney Upshaw forced a fumble from running back LaMichael James, and Baltimore's Arthur Jones recovered it on the Ravens' 25-yard line. Baltimore drove 75 yards on 10 plays, 42 of those came from a 23-yard and a 14-yard pass to tight end Ed Dickson, the second followed by a 15-yard facemask penalty on Donte Whitner. Dennis Pitta caught a 1-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the drive and the extra point made the score 14–3.
On the first play of the next drive, Ed Reed intercepted a pass by Kaepernick and returned the ball 6 yards to the 49ers' 38-yard line. This was the first interception thrown by San Francisco in any of their six Super Bowl appearances. Unnecessary roughness charges were called after the play on players from both teams so the charges offset. Baltimore reached the red zone on their next drive, but was unable to score. Following a one-yard run by Bernard Pierce and two incomplete passes, rookie kicker Justin Tucker was tackled 1 yard short of a first down while running the ball on a fake field goal play.
San Francisco was forced to a three-and-out on the drive. Jones muffed the punt, but recovered the ball and returned it 11 yards to the Ravens' 44-yard line. Two plays later, Jones made a falling catch deep down the field, then got back up and eluded two 49ers defensive backs en route to a 56-yard touchdown reception, making the score 21–3 with less than two minutes to go in the first half. On the second play of San Francisco's next drive, Delanie Walker caught a 14-yard pass from Kaepernick, which was extended by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty against Haloti Ngata. After an incomplete first down attempt, Walker received another 28-yard pass, putting San Francisco on the Baltimore 17-yard line. San Francisco reached the 9-yard line, but were unable to convert on three plays. On the last play of the half, Akers kicked his second field goal to cut their deficit to 21–6.
On the second-half kickoff, Jacoby Jones fielded the kick and promptly returned it 108[92] yards for the longest play in Super Bowl history. It broke the previous 104-yard record for the longest kickoff return in the playoffs (set by Trindon Holliday of the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoff game earlier that year against Baltimore), and it tied an NFL record already held by Jones and shared with Ellis Hobbs and Randall Cobb for the longest kickoff return. With the extra point, Baltimore was now leading 28–6.
Shortly into the 49ers' next drive, a power outage caused the lights to go out in half of the stadium, stopping play for 34 minutes. The outage was caused by equipment failure at the stadium.
After play resumed, both teams punted once. Then San Francisco drove 80 yards, with Kaepernick rushing for 15 yards and completing an 18-yard pass to Davis before finishing the drive with a pass to Crabtree, who broke through two potential Ravens tacklers on the way to a 31-yard touchdown reception. Then Baltimore was forced to punt from their own 9-yard line following Brooks' 8-yard sack of Flacco on third down, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the ball 32 yards to the 20 before being shoved out of bounds by punter Sam Koch. Kaepernick completed a 14-yard pass to Davis on the next play, and Gore followed it up with a 6-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 28–20.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Baltimore committed their first turnover when defensive back Tarell Brown forced and recovered a fumble from Ray Rice on the Ravens' 25-yard line. Three plays later, Akers missed (went wide left) on a 39-yard field goal attempt, but Baltimore's Chykie Brown was penalized for running into the kicker, and Akers' second attempt was good from 34 yards, trimming the lead to 28–23.
The Ravens responded on their ensuing possession, moving the ball 77 yards and advancing to the San Francisco 1-yard line, with Boldin catching two passes for 39 yards. But they were unable to reach the end zone and settled for Tucker's 19-yard field goal to put them back up by 8 points, 31–23. San Francisco stormed back, scoring in just five plays. Following a 32-yard reception by Randy Moss and a 21-yard burst by Gore, Kaepernick took the ball across the goal line on a 15-yard run, the longest touchdown run by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. However, the ensuing two-point conversion failed, so the 49ers were unable to break the deficit, still trailing at 31–29.
On the Ravens' ensuing drive, Boldin caught two passes for 22 yards and Rice rushed for 11 yards as the team moved the ball 55 yards and scored on Tucker's 38-yard field goal, making the score 34–29 with 4:19 left in regulation. San Francisco used up two timeouts on their next drive, but managed to move the ball to a first and goal on the Ravens' 7-yard line following a 24-yard catch by Crabtree and a 33-yard run by Gore.
With four chances to take the lead, San Francisco started out with a 2-yard run by James to the 5-yard line. Then Kaepernick threw two incompletions, bringing up fourth down. On their last chance, Kaepernick tried to throw the ball to Crabtree in the end zone, but it was too far ahead and the pass fell incomplete. Defensive back Jimmy Smith and Crabtree both made contact prior to the ball arriving, but no penalty was called and the 49ers turned the ball over on downs with 1:46 left in the game.
San Francisco managed to force a three-and-out on the Ravens' next drive, but as they had only one timeout remaining, the Ravens were able to run the clock down to twelve seconds. On fourth down, and after the Ravens then called a timeout of their own, punter Sam Koch fielded the snap in his own end zone. In an effort to kill as much of the twelve remaining seconds on the clock, Koch was instructed not to punt the ball but rather hang on to it and scramble around in the end zone. Koch was able to scramble for eight seconds before giving up an intentional safety by running out of the side of the end zone, leaving just four seconds remaining. On the ensuing free kick, Ginn returned the ball 31 yards, but was tackled at midfield by linebacker Josh Bynes as time expired.
Both teams combined for 312 kickoff return yards, a Super Bowl record. The Ravens scored the same amount of points (34) in both of their Super Bowl appearances. Meanwhile, the 49ers became just the second team to lose the Super Bowl while scoring more than 30 points after the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII; in both cases, the losing team scored 31 points. As such, these two Super Bowls are the only two times in NFL history (including the pre-Super Bowl era) in which both teams scored over 30 points in a Championship game.
For the Ravens, Anquan Boldin was the leading receiver with 6 receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown. Paul Kruger had three tackles and two sacks, while Ed Reed had five tackles and an interception. Reed's interception gave him 9 career postseason picks, tying the NFL record. Dannell Ellerbe had nine tackles, while Ray Lewis had seven tackles in the final game of his 17-season career.
Baltimore's Jacoby Jones returned 5 kickoffs for 208 yards and a touchdown, two punts for 28 yards, and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass. He tied an NFL league record and set a Super Bowl record for longest kickoff return in a Super Bowl with a 108-yard return to open up the second half. Jones also set or tied the following records: the record for most combined yards in a Super Bowl game with 290, tied the record for most touchdown plays of 50 yards or more, with 2 and became the first player to score a receiving touchdown and return touchdown in a Super Bowl.[10
For San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick completed 16 of 28 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 62 yards and another score, but had 1 interception. His 62 rushing yards were the second highest total by a quarterback in the Super Bowl, behind Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair's record of 64 in Super Bowl XXXIV. Kaepernick also set a Super Bowl record for the longest rushing touchdown from a quarterback for his 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. This beat the previous 6-yard record held by the 49ers' Joe Montana achieved in Super Bowl XIX.
Frank Gore rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown. Michael Crabtree caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, while Davis caught 6 passes for 104 yards. His 104 receiving yards tied Dan Ross' record for the most ever by a tight end in a Super Bowl. Patrick Willis was the top tackler of the game with 10, while Brooks had five tackles and a sack.
Because of the power outage in the third quarter, the game set a Super Bowl record long running time of 4 hours and 14 minutes. During the presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Hall of Fame Defensive End Richard Dent brought the trophy to the stage. Twitter announced that a record 24.1 million tweets were sent the night of the game.
