The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII. It wasn't just a win; it was a cardiac event for anyone watching on February 3, 2013. If you're asking who won the Super Bowl 2013, the short answer is Joe Flacco and a retiring Ray Lewis, but the long answer involves a literal blackout, a sibling rivalry for the ages, and a goal-line stand that still makes 49ers fans want to put their heads through a wall.
New Orleans was the host. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome was packed. The energy felt different because it was the "Harbaugh Bowl." You had John coaching the Ravens and Jim coaching the San Francisco 49ers. It was the first time in NFL history that two brothers faced off as head coaches in the biggest game on earth. Honestly, the family dinner at the Harbaugh house that next Thanksgiving must have been awkward.
The Elite Joe Flacco and the Ravens' Dominance
Before the lights failed, this game looked like a blowout. Joe Flacco was playing out of his mind. He entered that postseason without a contract extension, basically betting on himself, and he turned in one of the most statistically perfect postseason runs in the history of the league. 11 touchdowns. Zero interceptions.
The Ravens went into the locker room at halftime leading 21-6. Then, the second half started with a literal bang. Jacoby Jones took the opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. At 28-6, people were starting to flip the channel. It felt over. The 49ers looked shell-shocked.
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The 34-Minute Blackout
Then, everything stopped. Literally. At 13:22 in the third quarter, the power cut out in more than half of the Superdome. It’s one of the weirdest moments in sports history. Players were just milling around on the field for 34 minutes, doing stretching drills and wondering if the game would even finish.
Some people think the blackout saved the 49ers. Before the lights went out, San Francisco had no momentum. After the power came back on? They were a different team. Colin Kaepernick started finding his rhythm, and the Ravens' defense—led by a 37-year-old Ray Lewis playing in his final game—started to look every bit their age.
San Francisco’s Furious Comeback
Once the juice was back, the 49ers went on a tear. They scored 17 points in the third quarter alone. Michael Crabtree was hauling in passes, and Frank Gore was finding gaps that didn't exist in the first half. It was chaos. The score narrowed to 28-23, then 31-29.
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The climax happened at the very end. The 49ers had the ball on the Ravens' 7-yard line with just over two minutes left. They had four chances to get into the end zone and take the lead.
- First down: LaMichael James run for 2 yards.
- Second down: Incomplete pass to Crabtree.
- Third down: Incomplete pass to Crabtree.
- Fourth down: A controversial incomplete pass to Crabtree where many argued there was holding.
No flag was thrown. The Ravens took over on downs. To run out the clock, the Ravens purposefully took a safety—a brilliant tactical move by John Harbaugh—leaving only seconds on the clock. The final score was Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31.
Why This Super Bowl Still Matters
Joe Flacco walked away with the MVP trophy. He proved he was "elite" for at least one magical month, leading to a massive $120 million contract. But beyond the money, this game represented the end of an era for Baltimore. Ray Lewis, the heart of that franchise for nearly two decades, retired on top. Ed Reed, perhaps the greatest safety to ever play, finally got his ring in a Ravens jersey before moving on.
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For the 49ers, it was a "what if" moment. It was the peak of the Kaepernick era. They were so close to a sixth Lombardi Trophy, but they couldn't finish the job in the red zone. The legacy of who won the Super Bowl 2013 is really a story about momentum. How a power outage flipped a game, and how a veteran defense held on by their fingernails to secure a championship.
Actionable Insights for Football Historians
If you want to truly appreciate the 2013 season, don't just watch the Super Bowl highlights. Go back and look at the "Mile High Miracle" in the Divisional Round against the Broncos. That’s where the Ravens' championship was actually won. Also, pay attention to the special teams; Jacoby Jones' contribution in the return game was arguably just as important as Flacco's arm.
To dig deeper into this specific NFL era, focus on these three things:
- Study the defensive schemes of Dean Pees (Ravens DC) during the final goal-line stand; the lack of a "holding" call is a masterclass in aggressive, physical secondary play that the league eventually clamped down on.
- Analyze the transition of the "pistol" offense used by Greg Roman and Kaepernick, which peaked during this game.
- Compare Joe Flacco's 2012-13 postseason stats against any other Super Bowl-winning QB; you'll find it's one of the few times a "non-Hall of Fame" quarterback played at a first-ballot level for four straight games.
The 2013 Ravens weren't the best team of all time, but they were the toughest team when it mattered. They survived a blackout, a comeback, and a brotherly feud to hoist the trophy.