The "HarBowl." The "SuperBaugh." Whatever you call it, the clash between the Harbaugh brothers - Jim and his San Francisco 49ers against John and his Baltimore Ravens - makes for an interesting Super Bowl XLVII. The following is a Madden simulation of the big game.
First quarter
The 49ers received the ball first, but wouldn't hold onto it long. Tight end Vernon Davis fumbled the ball, giving the Ravens excellent field position. Justin Tucker kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Ravens the early 3-0 lead.
After another Tucker field goal made it 6-0, the 49ers offense was finally moving down the field when they turned it over again, this time by a fumble from running back Frank Gore.
Second quarter
The Ravens again took advantage of a turnover, moving the ball down the field effortlessly. After breaking a couple tackles, running back Ray Rice found his way into the end zone on a 17-yard score, extending the Ravens lead to 13-0.
The 49ers had enough of that. On the next drive, the offense finally got things going. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick found Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree for some big receptions, and Gore hurled himself into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run to get the 49ers on the board, 13-7. Kaepernick was stellar again with minutes remaining in the half, quickly moving the offense down the field on more big pass plays. He fired a bullet to Moss in the end zone from 17 yards out for the touchdown, and the 49ers entered halftime with the 14-13 lead.
Third quarter
Not much happened early in this quarter with both teams punting the ball. That changed quickly after a big hit on Ray Rice, causing a fumble. Not only did 49ers' Aldon Smith recover it, he took it back for the touchdown to give his team a 21-13 lead.
Ray Rice would redeem himself later in the quarter on a short touchdown run from the goal line to make it 21-19. John Harbaugh decided to go for two points to tie the game, but quarterback Joe Flacco's pass was knocked away.
Fourth quarter
With a small lead the 49ers looked to take as much time off the clock as possible, and at the same time put the game out of reach. However, Kaepernick threw an easy interception to Ravens' Dannell Ellerbe, giving his offense great field position. Tucker kicked another field goal to give the lead back to the Ravens, 22-21.
The 49ers quickly punted the ball after a 3-and-out, and the Ravens punished them for it. Flacco found tight end Dennis Pitta downfield on a 3rd-and-long to extend the drive, and Anquan Boldin hauled in a 4-yard pass for a touchdown to extend the Ravens' lead to 29-21 with a few minutes remaining.
The 49ers needed to answer quickly - and they did. Moss was able to break free along the sideline and Kaepernick found him for a monstrous 71-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead back to two points. But just like earlier with the Ravens, the 49ers' two-point conversion failed.
Instead of attempting an onside kick, Jim Harbaugh took his chances the defense would get the job done and kicked it off instead. It wasn't looking good until the most nightmarish scenario happened to Ravens fans. Rice fumbled the ball away for a second time with under two minutes to go, giving the 49ers new life.
It all came down to kicker David Akers, facing a 46-yard attempt for the championship. He nailed it, and the 49ers defeated the Ravens 30-29 to win Super Bowl XLVII.
For the 49ers, Kaepernick threw 16/23 for 259 yards and two touchdowns, Gore rushed for 48 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown, and Moss caught six passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Ravens, Flacco threw 22/26 for 245 yards and one touchdown, Rice rushed for 62 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns, and Boldin caught five passes for 35 yards and one touchdown. In his final game, Ray Lewis was credited for eight tackles.
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