Ray Lewis is partying all the way to retirement. The Ravens linebacker fought hard with his teammates in New Orleans Sunday evening as the Baltimore Ravens topped the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII.
The game featured two young quarterbacks looking to jumpstart their careers, as well as a rivalry between brother coaches Jim and John Harbaugh.
In the first half, the Ravens torched the overmatched 49ers defense with Joe Flacco’s big arm and an array of receivers who reeled in nearly 200 yards. Flacco continued his tremendous postseason accuracy and success, tossing three passing touchdowns to give Baltimore a 21-6 halftime lead.
Flacco went deep on a monster 56-yard bomb to Jacoby Jones, who scrambled past two defenders to score the third TD pass. Down by as many as 18 points before their closing field goal, the 49ers had a deep hole to climb out of in the second half.
The halftime show featured Beyoncé, who rocked the crowd and entertained CBS viewership with dazzling effects and an assortment of songs.
She was joined on stage by Destiny’s Child members Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland. They performed three songs as a group, including “Single Ladies”, before Beyoncé capped the show with “Halo.”
Back to the game, a 15-point deficit was far from out of reach for 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, as they had plenty of time to stage a monumental comeback.
However, the chance at the fresh start was wiped away by a 109-yard touchdown return by Jacoby Jones off of the kickoff. The Ravens led 28-6, and the game seemed completely out of reach for a 49ers offense desperately seeking a spark.
Or perhaps utter darkness? The 49ers were driving when half the lights in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome went out. Play was delayed for about a half-hour, but it may have been just the reset San Francisco needed.
The 49ers furiously rallied with 17 points with just over 4:10 of game time remaining. They took advantage of a Ray Rice fumble and found themselves down just 28-23.
In between field goals by Baltimore, Kaepernick scrambled into the end zone for yet another San Francisco touchdown, but the team missed a two-point conversation attempt for the tie.
Trailing 34-29 with only 4:19 remaining in regulation, a few zipped throws by Kaepernick and a huge run by Frank Gore put the 49ers within ten yards of their first lead of the night.
But Lewis and the Baltimore defense stood tall against Kaepernick. Three downs later, Kaepernick fluttered a pass into the back-right corner of the end zone, just out of the reach of receiver Michael Crabtree, turning the ball over on downs.
After defending a clock-killing strategic safety, the Ravens were soon celebrating an incredible and bizarre victory.