NEW ORLEANS — Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens were turning the Super Bowl into a rout when, without warning, the power went off in much of the Superdome. When the game resumed 34 minutes later, it was the San Francisco 49ers who were playing lights out.
Instead of a blowout, the blackout turned the big game into a shootout.
The Ravens survived the frenzied comeback by the 49ers for a thrilling 34-31 win Sunday night and their second NFL championship in 11 years.
“How could it be any other way? It’s never pretty. It’s never perfect. But it’s us,” coach John Harbaugh said after winning the sibling showdown with younger brother Jim. “It was us today.”
The Ravens used a last-gasp defensive stand to hold on after the momentum strangely swung to the 49ers. San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree was bumped in the end zone on the 49ers’ final offensive play — the contact appeared incidental — but coach Jim Harbaugh insisted a penalty should have been called.