NFL Playoffs: Early Look at Super Bowl XLVII, Ravens-49ers

Super Bowl XLVII

Baltimore Ravens (13-6) vs. San Francisco 49ers (13-4-1), Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS

The buzzword talking points you’ll need to know for the next two weeks include: the “HarBowl” (brothers Jim and John Harbaugh coaching against each other), Ray Lewis’ final game in the NFL, Joe Flacco’s status as an elite quarterback and Colin Kaepernick’s elevation of the pistol formation and read-option offense.

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The matchup itself, however, dives far deeper than that quartet of issues.

 

The playbooks for the Ravens and 49ers are very, very different, but the main principles behind them are very similar. Both teams will do what they can to establish their potent run games — San Francisco with Frank Gore and LaMichael James, Baltimore with Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce — to open up other areas of the field.

 

There is an abundance of talent elsewhere, too, even if conference championship game players like Wes Welker, Julio Jones, Roddy White, Aaron Hernandez and Tony Gonzalez will be sitting home.

 

Baltimore’s complementary weapons around the Rice/Pierce duo have proven to be no slouches this playoff season. Both Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta stepped up in Sunday’s win over the Patriots, and Torrey Smith will challenge San Francisco’s secondary downfield.

The 49ers will counter with the always-dangerous Vernon Davis, as well as wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss, among others.

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