This Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens will meet in the 47th Super Bowl, this year to be contested in the Superdome of New Orleans, Louisiana.  Here is a look at the two teams who will be contesting it, along with my prediction for who will win the Lombardi Trophy.

History

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers were the first professional sports team to be based in San Francisco, with the franchise coming into existence in 1946, 11 years prior to baseball’s New York Giants moving to the West Coast.  Their most successful era came in the 1980s, when they had legendary quarterback Joe Montana under center, as they won Super Bowls in 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989.  After Montana had been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, his replacement, Steve Young, led the team to a 5th title in 1994 but since then, the franchise had not returned to the Super Bowl until this year.  San Francisco’s nickname of the 49ers is a reference to the California Gold Rush of 1849, which helped the city grow both economically and in population.

Baltimore Ravens: The city of Baltimore lost their first NFL franchise in 1983, as the Colts moved to Indianapolis after 30 years in Maryland, during which time they achieved one Super Bowl victory – in 1970 – with a team that featured one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Johnny Unitas.  Following the bolting of the Colts, the city went without football until 1996, when Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns franchise there, though upon their creation, the Ravens – named for the famous poem by one-time resident of Baltimore, Edgar Allen Poe – were treated as an expansion team rather than a relocated one (and Cleveland got a new iteration of the Browns just three years later, so no fan base was left without a team).  In 2000, the Ravens made their only Super Bowl appearance against the New York Giants, with linebacker Ray Lewis – who has been with Baltimore since 1996 and will play his final game before retirement this Sunday – with the Most Valuable Player award in a 34-7 win.  Joe Flacco was drafted to be the new quarterback in 2008 and he was the first rookie to win a road playoff game and his total of six career victories in such contests is an NFL record.

Road to the Super Bowl

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers earned the NFC West title – and a first round bye in the playoffs – with an 11-4-1 record in the regular season, with the turning point of their year being the 24-24 tie against the St. Louis Rams in Week 10.  During that contest, they lost first choice QB Alex Smith to a concussion and his replacement, Colin Kaepernick, has not relinquished the starting job since he took over against the Bears the following week, leading the 49ers to a 32-7 victory over Chicago and five wins in their final seven games.  It was in their playoff matchup with the Packers that the value of Kaepernick over Smith became truly apparent, as he threw two touchdowns and ran for 181 yards and two scores – the best ever rushing performance by a quarterback in the postseason.  Two weeks ago in Atlanta against the top seeded Falcons, Kaepernick led San Francisco back from a 17-0 deficit to claim a 28-24 victory and a trip to New Orleans, where the 49ers have the opportunity to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for most ever Super Bowls, with what would be their sixth title.

Baltimore Ravens: Although several of their performances had not been impressive – notably the 9-6 and 16-13 victories over the Chiefs and Chargers respectively – Baltimore had a 9-2 record heading into Week 13 of the regular season and were in contention for a first round bye.  However, defeats in four of their final five games saw them slip to the number 4 seed and that dismal run of form made it seem unlikely they would be serious contenders in January.  Nevertheless, after a slow start against the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens took care of business in that matchup and then beat the top two teams in the AFC on the road, winning in Denver and New England.  The 28-13 defeat of the Patriots in the AFC Championship game was revenge for Baltimore, who had lost to the same opponents, at the same stage and in the same stadium last year.  During the postseason, Flacco has thrown for 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, while he also racked up a road victory for the fifth consecutive season, at least one in each of the years he has played in the NFL.

The Head Coaches

I am somewhat surprised that none of the major sports networks or websites have picked up on this story, but the head coaches of the two teams who will meet in the Super Bowl are actually brothers.  Unlike the Mannings, who timed their appearances in the NFL’s showpiece game for different years, the Harbaughs will now face off against each other for the first time since their infamous 1975 Christmas Day ABC’s Monday Night Football board game marathon that ended in a 98-91 victory for younger brother Jim Thanksgiving 2011, when John’s Ravens defeated Jim’s 49ers, 16-6. Continue reading →

In last week’s Divisional Round, Colin Kaepernick – in just his 8th NFL start – set a record for rushing yards by a quarterback (181) in the postseason, as he led the 49ers to a 45-31 victory over the Packers in San Francisco.  Green Bay were unable to defend the zone-read option offense their opponents employed but, despite that, they still had an opportunity to build a resounding lead early on that could have sent the game in a completely different direction.  During the 49ers first drive, Kaepernick threw an interception that Sam Shields returned for a touchdown, then after the two teams had traded scores, the Packers forced San Francisco to punt the ball away at 14-7 down.  However, instead of having the chance to drive down the field and extend their lead, Green Bay allowed the score to be tied after Jeremy Ross fumbled the kick and C.J. Spillman recovered the ball for the home side, leading to Kaepernick’s first passing touchdown (of two) for the day.  On their next possession, the Packers once again turned the ball over, as Aaron Rodgers made an uncharacteristically sloppy pass that was intercepted, after which Kaepernick and San Francisco took over and ran away with the game.  While Rodgers did not have his most impressive outing, the 31 points that Green Bay registered (although 7 of those were in garbage time, when the result was beyond doubt) represents the third highest total an opponent has recorded against the 49ers this year and it was the lack of any coherent defense that led to the Packers exiting the playoffs at the Divisional Round stage for the second consecutive year.

The other NFC matchup saw the Atlanta Falcons advance thanks to another last-minute comeback, something they achieved despite having led 27-7 heading into the fourth quarter.  Seattle were kept off the board in the first half, despite having been deep in Atlanta territory on two occasions – the first of which led to a turnover on downs after a failed run attempt on 4th & 1; while the second came to an abrupt end as the clock ran out before the field goal unit could get setup following a sack on Russell Wilson.  The rookie QB led the Seahawks back into the game in the second half, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another, then a 1 yard run from Marshawn Lynch appeared to have completed the comeback for Seattle with just 31 seconds remaining.  Nevertheless, that was enough time for Matt Ryan to earn the first playoff win for the Falcons since they drafted him in 2008, as he completed two long passes to put his team in field goal range, then watched as Matt Bryant made the kick – following a failed attempt which had been nullified by a Seattle timeout – that sent Atlanta to the NFC Championship game.

Over in the AFC, Baltimore provided the upset of the postseason thus far, as they beat the top seeded Broncos in the second period of overtime.  The two teams had traded touchdowns throughout the game, both putting up 14 points in the first quarter, followed by 7 in each of the next three, though Denver will be disappointed that they were unable to maintain the 35-28 lead they held with less than a minute remaining, as Joe Flacco was able to find Jacoby Jones with a 70 yard TD pass over safety Rahim Moore’s head to tie the score.  The Broncos ran the final 30 seconds off the clock rather than attempt their own final minute drive – seemingly because the cold weather was inhibiting Peyton Manning’s ability to throw deep – and neither side could find a breakthrough in the first fifteen minutes of extra playing time, but when Manning threw an interception towards the end of that period, he gifted the Ravens great field position that they ultimately converted into the winning field goal.  Baltimore will now head to New England for the AFC Championship game for the second year in succession, as the Patriots took care of the Texans 41-28, with Tom Brady throwing three touchdown passes en route to securing his 17th playoff victory as a starting quarterback, beating former 49ers QB, Joe Montana for most all time.  The only bad news for New England came in the form of another injury to Rob Gronkowski, with the tight end now ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with a broken arm. Continue reading →

In last weekend’s NFC Wild Card round playoff matchups, the Seattle Seahawks overcame an early fourteen point deficit to defeat the Redskins, 24-14, in Washington.  They were helped enormously by an injury to the home team’s quarterback, Robert Griffin III, which badly hampered the rookie’s ability to move and thus severely limited their offense.  Despite the Redskins being unable to score again after the opening 15 minutes, Seattle did not take the lead until midway through the fourth-quarter, as both teams struggled to move downfield in the first part of the second half.  In the end, RG3’s troublesome knee – which had forced him to wear a brace for the last few weeks, as well as in this encounter – gave way and with it went the hopes of the Redskins, though if he can recover from this injury in time for next season, they can expect to qualify for the playoffs on a regular basis.  The Seahawks will now face the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round, as the Green Bay Packers took care of business at home against the Vikings, holding Adrian Peterson to 99 yards rushing and QB Joe Webb – who was a late replacement for Christian Ponder, due to an elbow problem – to 180 yards passing, more than a third of which came on a late touchdown drive when the result was already beyond doubt.  The number 3 seed Packers now face a trip to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, with a place in the NFC Championship game at stake.

Over in the AFC, Indianapolis’ fairy tale season came to an end, as they fell 24-9 in Baltimore – a fixture that also represented the final home appearance for the Ravens’ Ray Lewis, who is due to retire at the end of their playoff run.  It had been a close fight in the first half, with the Colts trailing 10-6 heading into the break, but two touchdown passes from Joe Flacco ensured that Baltimore would advance to face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos; while Indianapolis can look forward to building around rookie QB for many years to come, following an impressive first season.  In the other game in the AFC – and the least entertaining of the four that were played last weekend – the Texans beat the Bengals 19-13, which marks the second year in a row that Houston has knocked out Cincinnati, while they remain winless against all other opponents in the postseason.

Weekend Preview and Predictions

Last week, 2-2; Regular Season 135-120

4. Baltimore Ravens @ 1. Denver Broncos – Saturday 4:30pm ET

The Broncos won their last 11 games of the regular season, while the Ravens stumbled into the playoffs, so this matchup is widely expected to go to the home team, who have seasoned postseason veteran, Peyton Manning at the helm.  Further evidence for Denver’s advantage is that when the two sides met in Colorado in Week 15, the Broncos prevailed 34-17 – a result that actually flattered Baltimore.  However, the Ravens have had several starters return on defense and should have a better pass rush this time around, while Denver enjoyed the second easiest regular season schedule, suggesting their record may be somewhat flattering.  In both of the AFC Divisional Round fixtures, the home sides are heavily favoured to advance, setting up another showdown between Tom Brady and Manning, who sparred frequently during his time in Indianapolis, but I think Baltimore – perhaps because they were my Super Bowl pick prior to the start of the year – will upset that and win outright in Denver this Saturday.  The Pick – Baltimore +10 over Denver Continue reading →

Week 17 Roundup

Only 9 of the 16 NFL fixtures in Week 17 had anything riding on them and two of those – the Giants 42-7 demolition of the Eagles, and the Bears’ 26-24 win in Detroit – were rendered irrelevant by Minnesota’s 37-34 victory over Green Bay, which clinched the 6th seed for the Vikings and eliminated New York and Chicago in spite of their successes.  The Packers loss opened up the 2 seed for either San Francisco or Seattle if either of them could win – which they both did, as the 49ers overcame the Cardinals 23-17 and the Seahawks ended up with a perfect home record, but had to settle for the 5 seed, as they beat the Rams 20-13.  The results earlier in the day meant that Sunday night’s matchup between the Cowboys and Redskins would give the victor the NFC East title, while the losers would be done for the year.  Washington prevailed, 28-18, with a big hand from Dallas QB, Tony Romo, who threw three interceptions, the last of which clinched the game for the Redskins.

In the AFC, Indianapolis won Chuck Pagano’s first game back after receiving treatment for leukemia – his cancer thankfully now in remission – and in the process ended the chances of Houston of gaining a first round bye.  The defeat for the Texans allowed Peyton Manning’s Broncos to claim the 1 seed, as they beat Kansas City 38-3 for their 11th victory in a row, and the Patriots grabbed the 2 seed with a 38-0 whitewash of the Dolphins in New England.  With all of the other playoff places and positions confirmed, the rest of the games were largely irrelevant – the Bengals defeated an understrength Ravens team in Cincinnati; the Jets lost in Buffalo; Tampa Bay inflicted Atlanta’s only home loss of the year, despite the Falcons not resting their starters having clinched top spot in the NFC; the Titans overcame the Jaguars; New Orleans had their first losing season since 2007 after falling at home to the Panthers; the Steelers beat the Browns; and the Chargers edged the Raiders.  The day after the regular season had ended, seven coaches were fired (including Andy Reid from the Eagles, Lovie Smith from the Bears and Norv Turner from the Chargers), while five General Managers also lost their jobs.  In contrast, the Saints signed Sean Payton to a long-term contract and will welcome him back next year after he was suspended for all of 2012 following the bounty scandal.

Weekend Preview and Predictions

Last week, 10-6; Regular Season, 135-120

6. Cincinnati Bengals @ 3. Houston Texans – Saturday 4:30pm ET

The Bengals have become the popular upset pick this week, as the Texans stumbled into the playoffs and missed out on a first round bye after they lost three of their final four games.  By contrast, Cincinnati won seven of their last eight, their only defeat being by a single point against the Cowboys in week 14, thus they appear to be the team with momentum heading into the postseason.  Nevertheless, the four losses that Houston did suffer this year were all against teams that made the playoffs – the Packers, Patriots, Colts and Vikings – and in this same matchup on Wildcard Weekend last season, the Texans overcame the Bengals 31-10, despite being forced to start their third string quarterback, T.J. Yates.  The AFC’s third seed also has the NFL’s premier defensive player of 2012 in JJ Watt, who recorded 20.5 sacks during the regular season and whose interception of Andy Dalton that he returned for a touchdown last year, swung the game in Houston’s favour.  If the Texans can contain wide receiver AJ Green, the Bengals will struggle to move down the field and I can see them making another early exit from the playoffs.  The pick: Houston -4.5 over Cincinnati Continue reading →