[Sport] NFL Playoffs 2013 - Superbowl

The last entry for my mega sports weekend will be about the conclusion of the NFL season. That’s right, the biggest show in American sport is here. It’s the Superbowl!

It’s been two weeks since the Championships games, and those weeks have been full of talking, talking, and more talking. Oh, and there was the Pro Bowl at some point, but that’s not really relevant. Last night the talking stopped, and it was finally time to see which brother came out on top in the Harbowl. I picked the 49ers to win, but was I going to be right?

This was an interesting game. It was full of momentum changes, great plays, and moments of ambition. But there were also mistakes from both teams, and some bizarre play calls. There was also a 34 minute power cut just after the start of the second half, so I’m glad that I ended up having to watch it on replay and could skip through that! Very strange, and in my opinion it had a big effect on the match.

The first half was all about the Baltimore Ravens. Joe Flacco was making difficult passes look easy all over the field, and his receivers were playing at an extremely high level. Their touchdowns looked effortless, and the vaunted 49ers defence was a mess. Their attacking force wasn’t much better. It started off with what looked like a big play on their first from scrimmage, but a penalty brought them back. After that they were ineffective. Colin Kaepernick threw one interception, which seemed to rattle him and almost led to another. He made some good throws, but looked nervous and as though he was thinking about everything a bit too much. Then the 49ers turned the ball over for a second time with a fumble, and at half time the Ravens had a lead of over twenty points.

 Woops; butterfingers! (Credit: news.ripley.za.net)

The best moment of the first half though has to be the fake field field goal (or was it a punt) that the Ravens tried. They needed 9 yards, and the kicker showed some good speed but ultimately came up 1 yard short. A gutsy call.

The second half was, in contrast to the first half, a 49ers benefit. But not before Jacoby Jones pulled a beautiful return run out of his pocket on the kickoff to go 108 yards for a touchdown. Only one 49ers player laid even a hand on him, and he accelerated away from everyone in a blinding display of speed. Then the power went off.

Sorry guys, I don't think you're going to catch him. (Credit: adweek.com)

The power cut, in my opinion, helped settle Kaepernick down, Yes, he’d already had a lot of time off as Beyoncé did her thing at half time, but this extra half an hour helped him relax, refocus, and get back into his groove. It also helped the 49ers as a team. After Jones’ return they must have been reeling, but with the break they could steel themselves, and work up their determination to at least make a game of it.

The 49ers returned to what had given them success previously, and scored on several quick drives (helped by their own return man having a good couple of plays) using a combination of rocketing long throws from Kaepernick and runs from both him and the backs. They were rolling, and were greatly helped when they recovered a fumble from Ray Rice (who has developed a serious case of slippery grip in the playoffs). Suddenly they were only 3 points behind. Then it was 6 as the Ravens woke up to get a field goal, and the 49ers last gasp effort failed after the odd decision to go with three throws. When you’ve got that much running ability, I honestly don’t know why you’d do that.

In the end though the Baltimore Ravens held on, and are this year’s Superbowl champions. Well done to them, even if I’m disappointed by the result. Lets hope that the 2013/14 season is as good as this one has been.

Can we stop talking about Ray Lewis now? Please? (Credit: articles.washingtonpost.com)