Just one year ago the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football Conference (NFC) and Baltimore Ravens of the American Football Conference (AFC) played in their respective conferences title games for the right to go to Super Bowl XLVI. The 49ers played their title game at Candlestick Park in front of their home fans while the Ravens were in Foxboro at Gillette Stadium. Both games were close, hard hitting, tough to the nail grind it out games. Unfortunately for both the 49ers and Ravens were on the losing end of the score as the Ravens lost 23-20 to the New England Patriots and the 49ers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants 20-17 as place kicker Lawrence Tynes kicked the game-winner. Both teams after winning their respective divisions made it back to their respective title games and while the opponent and venue may have been the same for the Ravens and different on both regards for the 49ers the result was very different two Sunday.
In the NFC Championship Game the NFC West champion 49ers (13-4-1) rallied from a 17-point deficit and a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the NFC South Champion Atlanta Falcons (14-4) 28-24.
This was the 49ers first win on the road in the postseason since the 1988 NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears who they defeated 28-3 to advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl.
San Francisco signal caller Colin Kaepernick went 16 for 21 for 233 yards and a touchdown in rallying the 49ers from the largest deficit in a conference title game ever.
“Our team played great. Our offensive line played great. Our running backs ran well and our receivers made plays and our defense battled back,” Kaepernick said after the game. “The second half they played really well. This is a great team win.”
49ers running back Frank Gore was remarkable with 90 yards rushing and two touchdowns, his second put the 49ers ahead 28-24. Tight end Vernon Davis who had just five receptions for 90 yards and no touchdowns in the last five games going back to the regular season had five catches for 106 yards and a touchdown.
The 49ers sealed the victory with a stop on 4th and 4 at their own 10-yard line when linebacker Navarro Bowman knocked down a passes from Falcons QB Matt Ryan to wide receiver Roddy White.
“Anytime you win a game like this, it’s a team effort. Everybody does a little and it adds up to a lot,” Harbaugh, who is now 3-1 in the postseason as 49ers head coach said after the game.
“Tremendous win for us. Showed the heart and resolve of the team and we move on, continue with our humility and be ready to play another game in two weeks.”
In the AFC Championship Game, the AFC North champion Ravens (12-6) who trailed 13-7 at intermission shut out the No.1 scoring offense (34.8 ppg) in the regular season in the second half and who put up 41 points in a 13-point win over the AFC South Champion Houston Texans (13-5) in their 28-13 victory over the AFC East Champion New England Patriots (13-5). It was the team’s second victory over the Pats who they beat at home back in Week 3 31-30 on the night of Sept. 23, 2012.
The Ravens advanced to their second Super Bowl in franchise history and will be looking to add another Vince Lombardi Trophy to go along with the one they captured when they beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL on Jan. 28, 2001.
Ravens QB Joe Flacco who outplayed Patriots QB Tom Brady in the title game a year ago and was spectacular going 28 for 39 for 382 yards and three passing touchdowns in that Week 3 victory was sensational in the title game going 21 for 36 for 240 yards and threw all three of his touchdowns in the second half. Two of those scores went to wideout Anquan Boldin who had five catches for 60 yards. The other score was courtesy of tight end Dennis Pitta who also had five receptions for 55 yards.
The defense who aforementioned pitched a shut out in the second half forced three Patriot turnovers in the fourth quarter. They forced Brady, who went 29 for 54 for 320 yards with a touchdown, into two interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who announced before the playoffs began that he would retire once the Ravens season ends, had 14 tackles in the title game, six solo will have a chance to win his second ring in one week from this Sunday. Not bad for a guy who had been out for a number of weeks because of a torn bicep.
“When you sacrifice something for God, he will give you anything that your heart desires… And I knew as the leader of the things I gave up. The things that I sacrificed for my team to comeback as a leader. To be counted out with a torn triceps and God just kept telling, ‘No weapon formed against me shall prosper. No weapon formed against my team shall prosper and anytime you trust in God man, man can’t tell you what you can’t do,” the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, who has an NFL postseason best 44 tackles, said to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio after the game.
So next Sunday the Ravens and the 49ers will meet in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes Superdome in New Orleans, LA for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
It will be the 2nd Super Bowl match up where the two participants lost in the title game the prior season. It will also be the first Super Bowl match up since 1997 where both teams punched their ticket by winning their respective title game on the road. The Green Bay Packers beat the 49ers 23-10 on the road at the then 3COM Park at Candlestick Point on Jan. 11, 1998 to win the NFC crown and the Denver Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21 at the then Three Rivers Stadium on the aforementioned date to capture the AFC title.
This Super Bowl will also be the first time that the two brothers will be opposing head coaches as John Harbaugh of the Ravens will take on his younger brother Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers.
This will be the second time the two teams have met with the two brothers on opposing sides. They met back in 2011 on Thanksgiving night in Baltimore and the Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6.
What also makes this match up even more special is that both men come from a football back ground in the fact that their father Jack Harbaugh, who has been married to his wife Jacqueline “Jackie” for 52 years, coached high school and college football for 45 years.
For the both of the 49ers and the Ravens, getting to this point was not easy. It has been a lot of blood and sweat to get to this point.
John Harbaugh, who was born on Sept. 23, 1962 began his football journey as Running backs coach and Outside linebackers coach at Western Michigan, where his father coached, from 1984-87.
The next year moved on to be the Tight ends coach at University of Pittsburgh and the year after that he was the Special Teams and Secondary coach at Morehead State.
From 1989-96 Harbaugh was the Special teams coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and then spent the next season in the same position as well as the Defensive backs coach at the University of Indiana, where his brother in law Tom Creen, who is married to his sister Joani coaches the men’s basketball team.
The next nine season (1998-2007) Harbaugh was the Special teams coordinator and later the defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Becoming defensive backs coach fulfilled his request that Harbaugh gave to then head coach Andy Reid and improved his chances of maybe one day landing a head coaching job in the NFL since a lot of executives viewed at the time did not view special teams coordinators as head coaching material.
That all changed on Jan. 19, 2008 when the Ravens named Harbaugh as their new head coach and while he may have been their second choice, after now head coach of the Dallas Cowboys Jason Garrett turned down the offer, he impressed team owner Steve Bisciotti and Vice President of Player Personnel/General Manager and Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome. On top of that, during the interview process, Pats head coach Bill Belichick recommended Harbaugh to Bisciotti by phone.
There is no question that beating the person that recommended him to be in the position he is in now in the biggest game of his young coaching career meant even more to Harbaugh.
Jim Harbaugh, born on Dec. 23, 1963, began his football journey at the University of Michigan, where his father was an assistant coach under Wolverines legendary head coach Bo Schembechler,fs and Jim was the quarterback for the Wolverines from 1983-86.
In his senior season, the Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines to the 1987 Rose Bowl and finished third in the Heisman Trophy race.
He was selected in the 1987 NFL Draft in the first round by the Chicago Bears. He played in the NFL for 14 seasons playing for the Bears from 1987-93, the Indianapolis Colts from 1994-97, the Ravens in 1998 and the San Diego Chargers in 1999 and 2000.
In 1995 he led the Colts to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers 20-16. The game came down to the final play where Harbaugh’s hail mary pass in the end zone to intended receiver Aaron Bailey was dropped and the Steelers moved on to Super Bowl XXX, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27-17.
Harbaugh was selected to the Pro Bowl that season and was honored as the league’s Comeback Player of the Year.
He began his football coaching journey as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University under his dad from 1994-2001.
The next year he became the quarterbacks coach for the AFC West Champion Oakland Raiders, who made Super Bowl XXXVII that season and lost to the NFC South Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-21.
Two years later, the younger Harbaugh became the head coach at the University of San Diego, where he led the team to two straight Pioneer League championships in 2005 and 2006.
The following year, he got the head coaching job at Stanford University. From 2007-10, Harbaugh led the Cardinal football team to two bowl berths, including the 2001 Orange Bowl, where they defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 40-12.
Immediately following the victory, Harbaugh followed in his older brothers footsteps and signed a five-year deal with the 49ers to be their head coach.
A signing that was met with some rolled eyes I am sure, but two seasons and a 27-8-1 record, including the playoffs and a trip to the Super Bowl later, no one is batting their eyes now.
Being one week away from winning the ultimate prize, the Vince Lombardi Trophy was not easy. Both of these teams have had to overcome a lot of adversity this season.
Entering Week 10 of the 2012 NFL campaign the 49ers were 7-2 atop the NFC West and they met their division rival the St. Louis Rams. The game ended in a 24-24 tied bringing the 49ers record to 7-2-1. The news was that then starting QB Alex Smith suffered a concussion in the second quarter. He stayed in the game long enough to throw a touchdown pass to wideout Michael Crabtree, but because his vision was blurred, he was lost for the rest of the game. He was replaced by Kaepernick, who was drafted in the second round by the 49ers in 2011.
Smith, who finished the season as the No. 3 rated passer in the league with a 104.1 rating and lead the league with a 70 percent completion percentage was lost for the next week, a Monday Night match at home against the Bears.
In his first start, Kaepernick was incredible going 16 for 23 for 243 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-7 win.
While Smith was medically cleared to play the following week, Harbaugh chose to stick with the guy who gave the 49ers the dynamic play maker at quarterback that the team was missing. They had the great defense and amazing special teams. They were missing the signal caller who can make the offense go at a pace that the opposing defense could not keep up.
That was the case the next week when Kaepernick threw for three more touchdowns and ran for another in a 31-21 victory at the New Orleans Saints.
That performance allowed Harbaugh to give the keys of the offense to Kaepernick for the rest of the season. Kaepernick in his nine starts threw 10 touchdown passes to just three interceptions and a 62.4 completion percentage. He also rushed for 415 yards and five scores.
The question now was could he do what Alex Smith did a year ago? Lead the 49ers back to the NFC Championship Game and win it.
In the 49ers playoff game in the Divisional Round versus the NFC North Champion Packers (12-6), Kaepernick overcame an interception that was taken back by defensive back Sam Shields 52 yards for a touchdown to have one of the greatest playoff performances in NFL history.
He went 17 for 31 for 263 yards and threw two touchdowns, but he also ran for an all-time NFL 181 yards. He also ran for two touchdowns. A 20-yard run in the first quarter that tied the score 7-7 and a 56-yard run that gave the 49ers the lead for good at 31-24.
Those 181 rushing yards by Kaepernick broke the playoff record which was held by Eagles signal caller Michael Vick who had 173 yards in a playoff game back in 2002.
The 49ers in the game rushed for 323 yards and gained 579 yards of total offense, which their best all-time mark in a postseason contest and the fifth time in team history they have gone for over 450 yards in total offense. The other four times they accomplished that feet came in their first four Super Bowl wins; Super Bowl XIX Jan. 20, 1985 gaining 537 yards in a 38-16 win over the Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl XXIV Jan. 28, 1990 gaining 461 yards in a 55-10 win over the Broncos, Super Bowl XXIX Jan. 29, 1995 gaining 455 yards in a 49-26 win over the Chargers and Super Bowl XXIII Jan. 22, 1989 452 yards in a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The one thing that those great 49ers teams and this current one has is the fact that they play to win. They are for one another. This group understands that they are nothing without each other.
Yes Kaepernick has added a dimension that they did not have a year ago and now they have a dynamic offense to go along side the amazing defense and solid running game.
The Ravens, who will be looking to win a second Lombardi Trophy this Sunday faced their own adversity this season.
In the team’s Week 6, Oct. 14 contest versus the Cowboys that the Ravens won 31-29, Lewis tore his triceps which he had surgery on 72 hours later. Many sources had reported that the face of the Ravens franchise would be lost for the rest of the season. There was speculation that he would be available for the team’s Dec. 16 contest versus the Broncos, which was much earlier than expected. Lewis however was inactive for the game.
After getting off to a 9-2 beginning to the season, the Ravens needed just a single to secure their second straight AFC North title. The team proceeded to lose their next three games in succession, which culminated in the firing of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, promoting quarterbacks coach and former Colts head coach Jim Caldwell to Cameron’s position.
The team rebounded with a resounding 33-14 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Week 16 on Dec. 22.
Despite winning their division, many questioned what could the Ravens do in the playoffs. The defense, which has been the anchor of this team for so long was not the same and the offense had struggled in the final weeks.
In the Wild Card Game versus the Colts on Jan. 6, the Ravens won 24-9.
Flacco went 12 for 23 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie running back Bernard Pierce rushed for 103 yards and Rice rushed for 68 yards. Boldin had five catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.
The defense held the Colts without a touchdown and Luck went just 28 for 54 for 288 yards. Lewis had 13 tackles, nine of which were solo and he capped the victory in the final home game of his amazing career with his trademark dance on the final play of the contest when he was brought back on the field.
Despite that victory, the Ravens were labeled huge underdogs coming into the Divisional Round at the No. 1 seeded AFC West Champion Broncos (13-4).
When the dust settled it was the Ravens who pulled out the victory 38-35 in double overtime back on Jan. 12.
For much of the contest, the Ravens hung tough with the high scoring Broncos, but a 104-yard kick off return by Trindon Holiday, his second return of the game gave the Broncos a 28-21.
After a 17-yard touchdown from Manning to wideout Demaryius Thomas gave the Broncos a 35-28 lead.
With the ball on their own 20-yard line and just over a minute to go. It looked like the Ravens’ dream of winning a Super Bowl were lost. However, a clutch catch by wideout Jacoby Jones, who the Ravens signed this past off-season, that he took 70 yards from Flacco to the end zone tied the score at 35.
In overtime Manning, who threw for three touchdowns in the contest, threw his second interception of the game to cornerback Corey Graham, who a return the first pick in the first quarter 39 yards for a touchdown, put the Ravens in position to kick the game winning field goal, which rookie place kicker Justin Tucker did to put the Ravens into the AFC Championship Game for the second straight season and the 3rd time in five years under Harbaugh.
For both the Ravens and the 49ers this has been a very special season that leaves both of them one victory away from winning another Super Bowl for their franchise. What has made it even more special is the fact that not only have they achieve some personal and team records, but the opponents that they defeated to get to Super Sunday.
When the Ravens defeated the Pats last Sunday, it was the 6th career road playoff win for Flacco, which is the most in NFL history. He is second only to Giants quarterback Eli Manning. His eight overall wins in the postseason are tied for the second most by a QB in his first five seasons.
Those eight win in the second season have come under the direction of John Harbaugh (8-4 in postseason career), who tied former Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Flores, who won Super Bowls XV and XVIII for the most in a head coach’s first five seasons.
The Ravens on Sunday won their 13th playoff game in team history, bring their overall record to 13-7 in the second season. That .650 winning percentage is the best in NFL history.
When Baltimore’s victory was the Patriots first defeat in 23 games under Pats head coach Bill Belichick (18-8 postseason career) that New England lost a game when they lead at intermission, which they did on Sunday when they were up 13-7. It was also the first time in the Brady era that the Pats lost a game when they lead at intermission. New England was 67-0 when leading at intermission when Brady, who is now 7-7 in his last 14 postseason starts after beginning 10-0, is the starting signal caller.
On top of that this was the first time in Patriots’ history that they did not reach the Super Bowl when they were the No. 2 seed in the AFC, which was the place they finished this season and the fourth time in team history.
“We came here last year and left with a bitter taste in our mouth. We felt like this team took something away from us and we wanted to come back and make that right,” Boldin said after the game.
“It would have been great to do it in front of our fans in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium. We thought the proper way was to come back here and to win at Foxboro.”
When the 49ers won on Sunday, they improved to 7-2 with Kaepernick under center and when they play in one week from tomorrow it will be the 3rd fewest starts by a QB prior to his first Super Bowl start. The is topped by only former Giants QB Jeff Hostetler, who started Super Bowl XXV for the Giants who defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19 and Vince Ferragamo, who started for the then Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV and they lost 31-19 to the Steelers.
This will be the 49ers first appearance in the Super Bowl since the 1994 season when the 49ers beat Chargers and gave Hall of Famer and current ESPN NFL analyst Steve Young the elusive title that made him even in the eyes of 49ers fans with fellow Hall of Famer Joe Montana. They will be looking for their six title in franchise history. They have won in their previous five opportunities.
In their two wins this postseason, the 49ers beat last season’s MVP in Aaron Rodgers of the Packers who went 26 for 39 for 257 yards and two touchdowns and MVP candidate Ryan, who had a Falcons playoff record 396 passing yards going 30 for 42 throwing three touchdowns with an interception. Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones had 11 catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. White had seven receptions for 100 yards and tight end Tony Gonzalez, who most likely played his final game in a Hall of Fame career had eight catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Who will win one week from this Sunday and what will be the deciding factors?
For the Ravens it will their ability to rise to the occasion in the second half, not beat themselves by making mistakes and their ability to effectively run the ball.
They have outscored their opponents in the second half this postseason 52-17, while they have been outscored 40-38 in the first half.
Flacco has thrown eight touchdowns this postseason and no interceptions. The team ranked higher in yards gained than yards allowed for the first time since 1997.
They have only turned the ball over just 16 times during the regular season, which was tied for second in the NFL to their opponent this Sunday, the 49ers. In the postseason, their turnover margin is a plus five and each of their three playoff wins, the Ravens defense has forced at least two turnovers.
In the 24 games that Rice has started and rushed 20 times, the Ravens including the postseason are 21-3. The Ravens as a team have averaged 155.3 rushing yards per contest with Caldwell as the offensive coordinator, a far cry from the 108.8 yards on the ground they were averaging under Cameron.
The Ravens have achieved a balance on offense by going to pass plays just 51 percent of the time under Caldwell from the going to the pass offense 60 percent of the time under Cameron.
For the 49ers it will be their ability for their offense to continue to produce explosive plays to go along with their ability to run the ball and to play great defense
They have averaged 28.6 points per contest with Kaepernick at the controls and the 49ers signal caller’s completion percentage of 54.3 on passes of 20 yards or more down the field has been the best in the NFL, including the postseason.
In the NFC Championship Game, Kaepernick averaged 11.1 yards per pass completion in the NFC Title Game at the Falcons, which was a 49ers postseason record.
Gore in four career playoff games has averaged 93 rushing yards, which is 6th best in NFL history.
Since the 2011 season, the 49ers have allowed just 15.7 points per contest, the best in the NFL.
In nearly 48 hours from now, the 49ers and the Ravens will be playing in Super Bowl XLVII. One of these teams will be holding the ultimate prize by the end of Sunday, the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
If Baltimore wins, it will not only be the second title in franchise history, it will allow Ray Lewis to end his career in the way John Elway and former Steeler Jerome Bettis were able to.
If the 49ers win, they will match the Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins with six and it will finish the journey of one of the most recognizable franchises in the NFL.
For 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, if the team wins on Sunday, he will become just the 4th former player to be selected to the Pro Bowl in his playing career to win a Super Bowl as a head coach joining current ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown host Mike Ditka, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Tom Landry and former Raiders head coach Tom Flores. He will be the first former Pro Bowl player to coach in the Super Bowl since Hall of Farmer Raymond Berry, who was the Patriots head coach in Super Bowl XX, a 46-10 loss to the Bears coached by Ditka.
Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of 1/20/12 6:30 p.m. AFC Championship Game between the Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots with Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots; 1/21/12 1:30 a.m. edition of ESPN’s NFL Primetime with Chris Berman, Tom Jackson and Trent Dilfer; Bottom Line news crawler on ESPN on days of 1/23-1/27/2013; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Ferragamo; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Hostetler;en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Ravens;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_49ers; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lewis;en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Flores; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Berry; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harbaugh; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Harbaugh; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_NFL_Season; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Baltimore_Ravens; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002-03_NFL_playoffs; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_AFC_Championship_Game; www.espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14001/colin-kaepernick;www.espn.go.com/nfl/schedule.
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