NEW ORLEANS -- Baltimore was almost done in Sunday by a reign delay.
With the Ravens routing the San Francisco 49ers through two-plus quarters, a 35-minute power outage cast the Superdome in dusky darkness and put Super Bowl XLVII on hold.
When the lights came back on, the 49ers came alive -- but it wasn't quite enough.
Baltimore, which saw its 22-point lead dwindle to two, barely hung on and came away with a 34-31 victory, becoming the first franchise to beat San Francisco in a Super Bowl.
"It's never pretty, it's never perfect, but it is us," Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh, who was coaching against his younger brother, Jim, said beating his brother "was the hardest thing I ever experienced."
Said John: "I told him I loved him. He told me, 'Congratulations.'"
The Ravens finally finished the job after being the NFL's only team to make the playoffs each of the last five years.
Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and Jacoby Jones scored on a 56-yard reception and a record-tying 108-yard kickoff return, as the Ravens hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in their history.
The game, nicknamed the Harbowl, was marked by a bizarre power outage that suspended football's marquee event and had players lying on the dimly lit turf, stretching to stay loose.
Baltimore, which had built a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter, emerged cold from the extra halftime -- or maybe it was just San Francisco getting ultra-hot.
The 49ers went on a 23-3 run, capped by a touchdown on a 15-yard run by Colin Kaepernick -- the longest scoring run by a quarterback in Super Bowl history -- that trimmed the deficit to 31-29. Kaepernick might have tied it there, but his conversion pass was incomplete.
Baltimore stemmed the bleeding in the fourth quarter, widening the edge with a field goal and keeping San Francisco out of the end zone on the final decisive drive.
The pivotal play came on fourth and goal at the five-yard line with 1:50 to play.
Kaepernick, with his team trailing by five, tried to hit favorite receiver Michael Crabtree in the right back corner of the end zone. But the ball fell incomplete. 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh complained angrily that Crabtree had been held by cornerback Jimmy Smith. There was no flag.
The Ravens took over on downs, then, when they couldn't budge, intentionally took a safety by having punter Sam Koch hold onto the ball as long as possible, then step out of the end zone.
Before the power problems, the Ravens were playing lights-out football. They led at halftime, 21-6, and scored on the second-half kickoff when Jacoby Jones ran it back 108 yards, tying a league record he tied earlier in the season.
Anquan Boldin caught a touchdown pass on the Ravens' opening possession, his fourth touchdown of the postseason, matching his regular-season total.
The scoring pass was an 18-yarder floated to him over the middle as he split a pair of defenders.
The 49ers thought they had the Ravens stopped on the drive when Flacco's pass fell incomplete, but an offsides penalty gave Baltimore another chance.
With the Ravens routing the San Francisco 49ers through two-plus quarters, a 35-minute power outage cast the Superdome in dusky darkness and put Super Bowl XLVII on hold.
When the lights came back on, the 49ers came alive -- but it wasn't quite enough.
Baltimore, which saw its 22-point lead dwindle to two, barely hung on and came away with a 34-31 victory, becoming the first franchise to beat San Francisco in a Super Bowl.
"It's never pretty, it's never perfect, but it is us," Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh, who was coaching against his younger brother, Jim, said beating his brother "was the hardest thing I ever experienced."
Said John: "I told him I loved him. He told me, 'Congratulations.'"
The Ravens finally finished the job after being the NFL's only team to make the playoffs each of the last five years.
Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and Jacoby Jones scored on a 56-yard reception and a record-tying 108-yard kickoff return, as the Ravens hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in their history.
The game, nicknamed the Harbowl, was marked by a bizarre power outage that suspended football's marquee event and had players lying on the dimly lit turf, stretching to stay loose.
Baltimore, which had built a 28-6 lead early in the third quarter, emerged cold from the extra halftime -- or maybe it was just San Francisco getting ultra-hot.
The 49ers went on a 23-3 run, capped by a touchdown on a 15-yard run by Colin Kaepernick -- the longest scoring run by a quarterback in Super Bowl history -- that trimmed the deficit to 31-29. Kaepernick might have tied it there, but his conversion pass was incomplete.
Baltimore stemmed the bleeding in the fourth quarter, widening the edge with a field goal and keeping San Francisco out of the end zone on the final decisive drive.
The pivotal play came on fourth and goal at the five-yard line with 1:50 to play.
Kaepernick, with his team trailing by five, tried to hit favorite receiver Michael Crabtree in the right back corner of the end zone. But the ball fell incomplete. 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh complained angrily that Crabtree had been held by cornerback Jimmy Smith. There was no flag.
The Ravens took over on downs, then, when they couldn't budge, intentionally took a safety by having punter Sam Koch hold onto the ball as long as possible, then step out of the end zone.
Before the power problems, the Ravens were playing lights-out football. They led at halftime, 21-6, and scored on the second-half kickoff when Jacoby Jones ran it back 108 yards, tying a league record he tied earlier in the season.
Anquan Boldin caught a touchdown pass on the Ravens' opening possession, his fourth touchdown of the postseason, matching his regular-season total.
The scoring pass was an 18-yarder floated to him over the middle as he split a pair of defenders.
The 49ers thought they had the Ravens stopped on the drive when Flacco's pass fell incomplete, but an offsides penalty gave Baltimore another chance.