Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, left, and linebacker Ray Lewis, right, embrace after winning Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

By James Williams

Quarterback Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, to win Super Bowl XLVII in the Super Dome on Feb. 3.

Flacco started off the game leading the Ravens’ offense 51 yards down the field on their opening drive for a touchdown, as he threw a pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin for a 13-yard touchdown play.

Flacco was named MVP of Super Bowl XLVII after he threw for a total of 287 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The final two touchdown passes from Flacco were also in the first half of the game.

Flacco threw for a total of 11 touchdowns in the postseason, tying him with former quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Joe Montana for the most in a single postseason.

Boldin finished the game with six catches for 104 yards along with his touchdown catch.

As for the defense, Ravens captain Ray Lewis and the defense helped seal the team’s victory with a defensive stand on the 49ers final attempt to take the lead. Lewis led all players in the postseason with a total of 51 tackles.

Lewis will retire after winning his second Super Bowl and spending his entire 17-year career with the Ravens. Lewis was a member of the first ever Ravens draft class in 1996, along with former teammate Jonathan Ogden; who was announced as a member of the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class the day before the game.

Ravens safety Ed Reed had five tackles and the only interception of the game. Reed had a scare early in the game as he had to go to the locker room to check the severity of what looked like a knee injury from a tackle on 49ers tight end Vernon Davis.

Reed also entered the history books as he tied the all-time record for most career postseason interceptions with nine interceptions.

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick led the huddle for the offense in only his 10th career start.

Kaepernick threw for 302 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had 62 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

Kaepernick set a few records during his Super Bowl performance. He set a Super Bowl record for the longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback, breaking the record set by Montana, who was also a 49ers quarterback. Kaepernick also became the first 49ers quarterback to throw for an interception in the Super Bowl.

This is only the first loss for the 49ers in six total Super Bowl appearances, but first appearance since winning Super Bowl XXIX in 1994.

Other milestones were set during the Super Bowl, including Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones returning the opening kickoff of the second half 108-yards into the end zone, which is the longest kick return in postseason history. Jones also had a 56-yard touchdown catch. The game also featured the first ever fake field goal attempt in a Super Bowl game.

Another milestone set during the game was the longest delay in Super Bowl history, which lasted 35 minutes due to a power outage during the 3^rd quarter of the game. It was not until after the power outage that the 49ers scored their first touchdown.

Among the most notable milestones was the first meeting between a pair of brothers coaching on opposite teams for the first time in a Super Bowl, as Jim Harbaugh was head coach of the 49ers and John Harbaugh coached the Ravens.

This article was featured in the Downey Patriot.