Obviously the Superbowl has already been played and it is old news by now. However, what kind of newspaper would the Decaturian be if it didn’t cover it at all?
For those of you who were living under a rock for the last two weeks, Superbowl XLVII took place on Feb. 3 between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens would go on to win the biggest game of the NFL season 34-31.
The Ravens started off the game with a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin after only two and a half minutes of play in the first quarter. Flacco would go on to throw two more touchdown passes in the second quarter. San Francisco would only score two field goals in the first half leaving them trailing 21-6 at the end of the first half.
Then the Raven’s kickoff returner, Jacoby Jones, would end up running back the second half opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. However, as San Francisco was driving following the Raven’s touchdown the entire stadium in New Orleans had a complete power outage. The power would remain off for 35 brutal minutes. This was the only slip up after an entire week of a smooth flowing media week.
Once the power outage was over, however, the game continued and almost immediately got more interesting. The 49ers were able to hold the Ravens from scoring for the rest of the third quarter. San Francisco also put up 17 points in the remaining time in the third quarter. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw the first touchdown pass to receiver Michael Crabtree. Then San Francisco running back Frank Gore ran for six yards and a touchdown shortly after. Finally, kicker David Akers added another 3 points for the 49ers to make the score 28-23 going into the fourth quarter.
The Ravens scored first in the fourth quarter by kicking an early field goal. The 49ers scored next with a touchdown pass caught by Randy Moss. However, the 49er offense would make a failed attempt at a two point conversion in order to tie the game making the game 31-29.
Next, the Raven’s kicker, Justin Tucker, would kick one last field goal making the game 34-29 with just minutes left. The Ravens would then make a huge defensive stand forcing the 49ers to go four and out inside of the 20 yard line. There was some controversy as to whether or not there should have been a pass interference call on Michael Crabtree’s missed catch on fourth and goal.
Regardless the Ravens regained the ball with just seconds left in the game. When forced with a fourth down situation in their own end zone they made the decision to take a safety instead of risking a punt in their own end zone making the game 34-31.
Finally, the Ravens kicked off to the 49ers with only four seconds left. However, the Ravens special teams would stop the 49ers return at about the 50 yard line ending the game. In the end, Superbowl XLVII was a good game to watch in terms of entertainment. It must have been destined for the Ravens to win this season.