Yes, it took a few days, but breaking down the San Francisco 49ers’ loss in Super Bowl XLVII required such a digestion period.
Why? In a game rife with the proverbial coulda, woulda, shouldas, it’s best to sit back, reflect and adhere to the tenets of journalistic objectivity.
The 47th installment of the NFL’s ultimate game nearly spiraled out of control for San Francisco. The Baltimore Ravens generated a 22-point lead through the first two-plus quarters before the 49ers mounted a valiant comeback in the second half. They ultimately fell short.
(Take the unfortunate 34-minute power outage in the third quarter for what it was—an unprecedented interruption in Super Bowl history. We cannot unequivocally say how much it hurt the Ravens or aided the 49ers.)
San Francisco made critical errors and shot itself in the foot from start to finish. There were missed opportunities throughout the game. That said, don’t infer that we’re taking away one iota of credit from Baltimore. At the end of the day, it earned a win behind the stellar quarterbacking by Joe Flacco and an opportunistic defense.
Casting aside the Ravens’ winning merits, let’s break down how the 49ers beat themselves and lost a chance at securing the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl title.
Special Teams Coverage?
Does Jacoby Jones deserve a crown for his second 108-yard kickoff-return touchdown and third overall in 2012? Or does the 49ers’ coverage unit belong in the doghouse for allowing Jones’ third TD return in the same season?
Perhaps it’s a case of 50 percent praise and 50 percent blame.
We’ll go with a majority of the latter.
Turnovers
San Francisco turned the ball over twice. Both proved costly despite only one leading to Baltimore points.
The 49ers began the second frame with a productive, big-play series. Colin Kaepernick and Vernon Davis quickly burned the Ravens for 40 yards on the first two plays. LaMichael James and Frank Gore then registered two drive-advancing carries for nine and seven yards, respectively.
Just four yards outside of the red zone, James got greedy. He pressed the issue when stopped around right end behind the line of scrimmage. The first-year running back’s insistence on pushing the pile allowed Courtney Upshaw to punch the ball lose and halt a 49ers’ scoring drive.
It was one of those unnecessary rookie mistakes that cause sleep deprivation and painful ulcers for both fans and coaches alike. It also helped lead to a Ravens’ touchdown and 14-3 advantage, putting the 49ers behind the eight ball just when things were starting to go their way.
When the 49ers needed to respond on their next offensive series, Kaepernick overthrew Randy Moss on a deep pass over the middle. His interception to Ed Reed epitomized what Kaepernick detractors fretted over all year long—the second-year quarterback’s arm strength and lack of touch getting the best of him.
Luckily, the Ravens did not score on their ensuing possession. San Francisco’s special teams unit bailed out Kap when it stifled a fake field goal attempt just 14 yards outside the end zone.
Yet, Baltimore increased its lead to 28-6 (via Jones TD) shortly after the 49ers went three-and-out near the end of the second quarter. Kaepernick’s interception played a serious part in this harmful four-drive sequence.
Penalties
Referees flagged the 49ers five times for 33 yards. While neither the frequency nor total yardage appears significant, first four most definitely were.
49er Fandom grimaced when San Francisco committed its first penalty on the very first play of the game. Davis mistakenly lined up on the line of scrimmage when he clearly needed to situate himself behind it. The unforced error negated a pivotal 20-yard gain on the opening down (one the tight end himself produced).
The 49ers punted three plays later. Davis had absolutely no business costing his team on a play every NFL squad prepares for countless times before each game, let alone the Super Bowl.
San Francisco’s following gaffe occurred less than five minutes later on Baltimore’s opening series. On 3rd-and 9 from the SF 18, Ahmad Brooks jumped offside. While most could appreciate his aggressiveness in getting to Flacco, the Ravens’ quarterback received a free play and an unnecessary five yards. He threw a touchdown to Anquan Boldin shortly thereafter.
The first two penalties stifled San Francisco’s chance at securing early momentum and helped spot Baltimore seven points.
We now present the Donte Whitner series of unfortunate events. The strong safety committed an egregious facemask at the 7:15 mark of the second quarter. It exacerbated his already blown coverage on tight end Ed Dickson and pushed the Ravens to the SF 4. Whitner then blew his next assignment when he broke to the outside as Dennis Pitta broke in for a one-yard TD catch.
The Ravens led 14-3, and the route was on.
Finally, the 49ers had forced a 3rd-and-9 in the fourth when Chris Culliver committed a devastating pass interference on Torrey Smith. The 14-yard infraction kept alive a Ravens’ offensive series that resulted in a Justin Tucker field goal. San Francisco was down by just two at that point (31-29) and ultimately lost when it had to score a TD instead of a mere chip-shot FG on its final drive of the game.
No single 49er penalty cost the team a win. But it could be argued that the sum total did.
Scoring, Pass Protection, Play-Calling Issues in Red Zone
The 49ers experienced great difficulty scoring in the red zone. They punched in only two touchdowns out of six chances. Failed pass protection, some apprehension by Kaepernick and a lack of creativity in play-calling doomed them.
Before addressing those issues, Baltimore deserves credit for stopping one drive inside its 20-yard line. The Ravens’ No. 1 cornerback Cary Williams deflected a deep end-zone pass intended for Ted Ginn Jr. on the 49ers’ final series of the third. Williams broke up the accurate throw at the very last second before it landed in Ginn’s hands.
Let us now move to the 49ers’ self-inflicted scoring obstructions.
Paul Kruger, the Ravens’ most disruptive pass-rusher, torched right tackle Anthony Davis on the outside for a 10-yard sack. It occurred on 3rd-and-8 from the BAL 8. A potential game-tying TD quickly turned into a David Akers field goal on Davis’ inability to protect Kaepernick (Akers’ need for a calm-inducing successful kick notwithstanding).
Kaepernick later missed a first-down opportunity when he failed to hit Michael Crabtree in the left flat. He hesitated and ended up scrambling for a zero-yard gain to the BAL 9 (officially ruled a sack by Kruger). Kap’s hesitance prevented a chance at a TD and reducing Baltimore’s lead to 21-10 instead of 21-6 at the end of the first half.
The second-year dual threat QB did his part to make up for that mistake. He hit Crabtree for a 31-yard score (technically outside the red zone), helped facilitate Gore’s subsequent six-yard TD run, and ran one in himself with his blazing speed from 15 yards out. That brought the 49ers within 31-29.
Unfortunately, nobody accounted for Reed when Kap was forced to throw it away just seconds later on the tying two-point conversion attempt. Praise Baltimore’s coaching staff for the blitz call, but one still must question the 49ers’ protection schemes.
As any observer should for San Francisco’s play-calling on the offensive side of the ball when it mattered most.
With 2:47 remaining, Gore captivated the 49er Faithful in attendance with a 33-yard run to the BAL 7. Kaepernick made the correct call on the read-option and the 49ers’ leading rusher handled the rest.
But that’s where the fun ended. The ever-reliable fullback Bruce Miller missed his block on Ray Lewis as the middle linebacker stuffed James for a minimal two-yard gain.
Then, for the next three downs, Jim Harbaugh authorized three-consecutive pass plays called by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Worst of all, each was designed for Crabtree to the right portion of the end zone. Baltimore successfully defended all of them.
Cornerback Jimmy Smith aggressively interfered with Crabtree on the final play. But, since we’ll refrain from casting blame on the refs, culpability lies more so with the 49ers’ coaching staff’s lack of offensive ingenuity. Predictability was not a weakness attributed to this staff during San Francisco’s playoff run.
Three straight passes to the most targeted receiver? 49er fans will be asking themselves this for the foreseeable future (poor officiating aside).
Third-Down Pass Defense
Successful pass defense on third down apparently wasn’t so high on San Francisco’s agenda.
On the one hand, Flacco did evade a smothering initial pass-rush and 49er coverage during his 30-yard conversion to Boldin in the first. Boldin himself also beat perfect coverage by Carlos Rogers using the NFL’s strongest set of hands at wide receiver.
Those plays aside, Flacco was still 7-of-10 for 158 yards and two touchdowns on third down passes. He was 4-of-4 when targeting his No. 1 wideout. That is simply unacceptable for any NFL defense, not to mention a top-five contingent.
Culliver was particularly complicit for his aforementioned pass interference on Smith that led to Tucker’s 38-yarder and Baltimore’s 34-29 lead. Boldin also ran unabated on the gridiron for 30 yards on Culliver’s earlier coverage mishap. That led to another Tucker FG.
Worse yet, he completely let Jones beat him over top for a 56-yard score when he mistakenly relied on Whitner who had coverage responsibility elsewhere. The Ravens opened up a dominant 18-point advantage during the first half.
Speaking of Whitner, the strong safety broke the wrong way on Boldin’s first-quarter TD that provided Baltimore with its 7-0 lead. It was emblematic of Whitner’s season-long difficulties in coverage.
Conclusion
The 49ers ultimately hurt themselves the most because two members of their secondary couldn’t cover quality receivers or tight ends, whether on third down or not. For a team with so much outward pride in its usually top-flight defense, losing the Super Bowl largely due to deficiencies in said unit is a tough pill to swallow.
Let’s hope offseason doctoring turns that into a non-issue in time for next season.
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