An old, old cliché in sports says that “it is better to be lucky than good.” As antiquated as that notion seems to be, perhaps no team embodied that idea more than the 2012 Baltimore Ravens.
If you think about it, the Ravens are one of the more unlikely Super Bowl winning teams in recent memory. First off, they have a quarterback in Joe Flacco who is the greatest in the NFL in his own mind, but nobody else’s, and has been inconsistent at best over much of his career.
Flacco finished 14th in passing yards and 15th in touchdowns this season—hardly elite numbers—but in the playoffs he had the highest passer rating in the league and had a touchdown-interception ratio of 11-0. I don’t think too many people saw that coming.
They have a running back that may actually be the best in the NFL, but he is criminally underutilized in their offense.
Be honest, how many times do you remember hearing Ray Rice’s name Sunday night aside from his third quarter fumble? In the Ravens 14 regular season and playoff wins, Rice averaged 19.2 carries per game. And in their six losses? He averaged just 12 carries per game. Sunday night, Rice carried the ball 20 times and we all know how that turned out.
The Ravens also have a defense that, while immensely talented, is, as Danny Glover would say, “getting too old for this shit.”
Long regarded as one of the best defensive units in the NFL, the Ravens showed that age was catching up with them this year, as they finished just 17th in passing yards allowed and 20th in rushing yards allowed.
Hardly elite numbers there, and even though they allowed 31 points Sunday, they got the job done when it mattered most.
Baltimore shot out of the gate this season to a 9-2 start, but they stumbled coming into the playoffs, losing four of their last five. Few would have been shocked if they had made an exit in the first round this year against Indianapolis.
Most Super Bowl winning teams rely on the skill of their playmakers, but if you look at the Ravens postseason run, they really got pretty lucky.
After taking care of business at home against the Colts, Baltimore was, for all intents and purposes, finished in Denver, until Flacco somehow found Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard touchdown to send the game to overtime with 31 seconds left. Baltimore would win 38-35 in double overtime.
The Ravens then caught New England on arguably their worst performance of the season, with Tom Brady looking completely out of sorts late in the game, coming away with a 28-13 win.
Sunday night, the referees decided to swallow their flags on a Niners fourth-and-goal play in which Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith appeared to hold wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone, preventing him from having a shot at a catch and effectively ending the game.
While the play was controversial in its own right, it was even more contentious because on the previous drive, San Francisco defensive back Chris Culliver was called for pass interference on a very similar play, resulting in a Baltimore first down.
You can probably go to any sports-related website on the Internet right now and read about how the power outage induced 34-minute delay took Baltimore out of the game in the second half. Finally, Baltimore’s luck had run out, right?
I must have missed the part during that delay when the 49er players were given orange slices and Capri Suns while the Ravens players had to run wind sprints up and down the field.
Fact is, after the break, San Francisco simply outplayed Baltimore, and if it weren’t for some bad play calling near the goal line and a no-call on a defensive penalty, the Niners would be our Super Bowl champions.
But alas, luck got in the way once again.
I can’t say that Baltimore is undeserving of a Super Bowl title: after all, they did everything that was required of them and beat the four teams they were matched up against in the playoffs. What I will say though, it that the Ravens are one of the luckiest teams to bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Do you think the Ravens got lucky, or were they really the most deserving team to win the Super Bowl this year? Let Matt know what you think at sports@dailycardinal.com
