The Student of the GameGoing Beyond the Stats

As Thanksgiving night 2011 approached, I was excited. Don’t get me wrong, the Turkey did its job magnificently as the afternoon focus and the wine the In-Laws offer me is always very tasty. But for me I was most excited about desert. Thursday Night Football featuring the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. What – you expected some speech about Pumpkin Pie?
A game coined by many in the media leading up to the event as the Harbaugh Bowl, it featured not only a stout Ravens team who defense is the stuff of nightmares (with or without LB veteran Ray Lewis on the field) against a group of upstarts in the 49ers that are altering perceptions of West Coast teams being soft, but also a coaching clash between the Harbaugh brothers Jon of Baltimore and Jim of San Francisco. The Ravens ‘D’ did indeed make the difference as they won 16-6.
While several drives in the first half were only for exchanges in field position, there were occasional scores including a 73 yard TD by WR Ted Ginn from reincarnated 49er QB Alex Smth that was called back on a chop block penalty. Smith also threw an interception while the Niners were in field goal position towards the end of the 2nd Quarter. 6-3 was the half time score with the Ravens leading when it could have been 10-6 in favor of the 49ers.
The Niners tied it in the 3rd quarter on another FG, but the Ravens chalked up the games only TD in a drive that was capped off by Raven QB Joe Flacco hitting TE Dennis Pitta. With this score bringing the lead in the 4th Quarter that was later padded with a FG, the difference in performance between the two teams on the night was the number of sacks by the Ravens ‘D’ that kept San Francisco at bay on the scoreboard and on 3rd down conversions where the Red and Gold were only 2/12. The Ravens managed 9 sacks and the games only takeaway while the 49ers had 0 of either.
This result gives the Ravens a better edge in the extremely tough AFC North, but while the 49ers will still likely win the NFC West, this loss proves that San Francisco is nothing but a gilded champion beating up on a series of weaker teams in the NFC West.