1hundredsixty8

I anticipated that the Super Bowl would be a close game and, in the end, it was, as the 49er's had a last-chance shot in the closing minutes to win. Yet, it was a strange, almost bizarre game in the way that football can sometimes be, as captured in the cliche, "a football can take funny bounces". There was, of course, the Power Outage, which, coming after the long halftime Beyonce-looza, meant that over an hour passed with nearly no football actually being played.  Then there were the Ravens getting out to a 28-6 lead pre-Darkness, then holding on as the Niners surged back (pun intended). 

Here are my take-aways:

- For me, a big play came early in the game. Wiith the Ravens up 7-0, the 49ers got their offense going and  marched downfield. On 2nd and goal, Colin Kaepernick threw high and hard through the hands of Michael Crabtree in the end zone. The Niners settled for a field goal. The complexion of the game was changed at that point.

- As I anticipated, Vernon Davis was a big factor in the Niners passing game. On the other side, Torrey Smith did not make a big-play impact I thought he might.  Ironically, it was Davis' failure to hang onto a Kaepernick pass on a out-and-up route in the 4th quarter that may have preserved the Ravens' victory.

- Antoine Bolden dominated the 49er DB's in jump ball situations. Joe Flacco was masterful as putting the ball where Bolden could make plays.

- I thought the 49ers play-calling in goal-to-go situations hurt them. Obviously, the sequence at the end of the game was key because it was their last chance. Earlier in the second half when inside the ten, they tried rolling Kaepernick to the right, but the Ravens locked up the receivers and strung the QB out laterally and prevented him from running. I was surprised when San Francisco called this play again in their final offensive sequence.

- Flacco was effective and efficient, made no poor decisions and moved just enough in the pocket to keep several plays alive. Memorable: Forced to the sideline and looking as if her were throwing the ball away to avoid a loss, he instead threw it up for Bolden to make yet another great grab.

- While Jacoby Jones' kickoff return, the fumbles by LeMichael James and Ray Rice, and the interception Kaepernick threw seemed significant at the time they occurred, they ultimately did not decide the game's outcome.

- For sanity's sake, Ray Lewis had no heroic moments during the game.

- Statistical takeaway: The 49ers outgained the Ravens in total offense by 100 yards. The Ravens were  9 for 16 on third down, the NIners,  2 for 9.

Finally, as I referenced his analysis in Friday's port, a shoutout goes to my pal Michael for getting the outcome spot-on.