Ravens Upset Patriots To Advance to Super Bowl 28-13
The oddsmakers got this one wrong. Usually those folks are pretty accurate. In the NFC Championship Game they were dead on when they installed the San Francisco 49ers a four point favorite to beat the Atlanta Falcons. But in the AFC Championship Game, they were not even close. The New England Patriots were an 8.5 point favorite to beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl again. But the Ravens got even for last season with a 28-13 win. So the oddsmakers were only off by 23.5 points.
The Ravens reached the Super Bowl for the first time in 12 years with the win. In those previous eleven years, they have made several playoff trips and that includes two of the previous four AFC Championship Games. Ray Rice put the Ravens ahead 7-3 early in the second quarter on a two yard touchdown run. The Patriots then took over for the remainder of the second quarter on a Tom Brady one yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker and a field goal to end the half and go up 13-3. New England however could possibly have had a touchdown at the end of the half had they managed the clock better.
The second half belonged to the Ravens defense. Just as coach John Harbaugh‘s brother Jim’s team, the 49ers did earlier in the day, the Ravens shut the Patriots out in the second half. The Niners outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the second half to turn a 24-14 halftime deficit into a 28-24 win. The ravens beat the Patriots 21-0 in the second half to win 28-13. Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes in the half. The first one was to Dennis Pitta from five yards out to put them ahead 14-13 in the third quarter. He then hit Anquan Boldin twice in the fourth quarter for touchdowns for the final margin.
The Ravens defense was stellar throughout the second half. The biggest play of the game was perhaps when safety Bernard Pollard hit running back Stevan Ridley in a helmet to helmet collision. Ridley was knocked out before he hit the ground, his body going completely limp. This caused him to drop the ball and Baltimore recovered for the game’s first turnover. The score was 14-13 at the time and the Ravens quickly turned it into a touchdown. The complexion of the game totally swung in their favor from there.
So now the stage is set for the first coaching match-up of brothers in Super Bowl history. Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers will meet John Harbaugh and the Ravens in New Orleans. The Two met on Thanksgiving night in 2011 with the Ravens winning 16-6. Let’s hope there is a bit more offense in two weeks.
