Jerry Coleman: Ravens Win It All; Locker Room Reaction
The Ravens were an unstoppable force that, even a power outage in the biggest game of the year, could not stop; slow down maybe, but that is it. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. The purple and black have battled everything this year and now they bring home the Lombardi trophy for a second time and first since 2000. The team bent but did not break in the game. They held a 22-point lead before the power outage but watched it dwindle in the second half. Quarterback Joe Flacco would not let it happen after he threw three first-half touchdown passes to cap an 11-TD, zero-interception postseason which ties Joe Montana and Kurt Warner for most TD passes in a single postseason.
How is that for Elite folks? When Flacco was interviewed on the NFL Network about being the general of the team now, he stressed it is a team effort, yes he is a huge part of it but the Ravens would not be in the situation if they did not have great teammates and coaches. Flacco took home the Super Bowl MVP, which is well deserved and he did have elite game.
The AFC champion Ravens (14-6) have improved to 2-0 in the big game. They also won the championship in 2001 when linebacker Ray Lewis was the game's MVP. Lewis was not a major factor this time, but he was a center of attention, playing in the final game of his 17-year career before retiring.
The "mighty"49ers struggled in the first half and Baltimore led 28-6 after Jacoby Jones opened the second half with the longest kickoff return in a Super Bowl, his eyes glancing up at the video board to watch himself sprint to the end zone. The 49ers showed they were capable of a comeback in their previous game: They trailed by 17 against the Atlanta Falcons before winning the NFC championship game.
Now the final bell rings on Lewis' storybook ending, an ending that could not have been any sweeter than with this Super Bowl victory. The difficulties they had experienced created a true team tightness within the locker-room, and now it has paid off… The Ravens are the 2013 Super Bowl Champions.
