With Super Bowl 47 in the books let us look back and go over some things I learned from the biggest game of the year:

1. Trailing in the 1^st half and not taking advantage of redzone opportunities hurt the 49ers

One of the things I thought would hurt San Francisco in the long run of Super Bowl 47 came true last night. Once again the Niners were down at halftime, 21-6, and unlike the NFC Championship Game they were playing a veteran defense in Baltimore who was not willing to give up easily. While it came close to a similar result as the NFC Championship Game for the San Francisco 49ers it just wasn’t enough to become Champions on Super Bowl Sunday.

Second the 49ers just couldn’t get it done in the redzone. San Francisco would put together these great drives and then all of a sudden stall in the redzone, especially in the 1^st half. There final play in the redzone ended up costing them the Super Bowl as they were unable to convert on 4^th and goal. Sadly for the 49ers this game will prove to be a learning experience for them.

The 49ers will be Super Bowl contenders yet again next season and unlike this season they will get more time playing together as a cohesive unit rather then having a quarterback who took over midseason. I like this team because they are a focused group who isn’t going anywhere for a while. Learn from Super Bowl Sunday’s mistakes and get back at it next season as this team will be a force to reckon with in the 2013 NFL season.

2. Joe Flacco proved he deserves “elite” consideration and this defensive unit put it together one last time

Am I ready to go completely “knee-jerk reaction” and say Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback in the National Football League? No, not yet at least. But what he did prove Sunday night is all the naysayers wrong. Flacco stepped up on the biggest stage of them all as he delivered a Super Bowl MVP performance and more importantly the torch was passed from Ray Lewis to him as the new leader for this Ravens franchise.

One of the things I believed would happen for Baltimore on Sunday was that this defensive unit would “put it together one last time” and give it their all to win the Super Bowl. That’s exactly what they did Sunday night as they shut down the 49ers offense all game long, especially in the 1^st half. While not scoring in the redzone hurt the 49ers dearly, it was Baltimore stopping them in the redzone that helped them greatly. It was the perfect way for this historic defensive unit to go out as they ended it as Champions

For the third straight year in a row the Baltimore Ravens continued the trend of being the “hottest team in the playoffs” or “the team with the most momentum” to win a Super Bowl. The world of sports is changing from fundamentals to putting it together at the right time (a.k.a. momentum) and the Ravens did so at the exact right time in their season. They told a great story to end this season and deserve to be Super Bowl 47 Champions.

Congrats to the Baltimore Ravens and their fans on winning Super Bowl 47!

Check out Jeff on “The Bower Show” Monday – Friday from 3pm – 7pm ET on 97.9 in Hartford, ESPN 1300 in New Haven and follow him on Twitter: @JeffPeck979ESPN

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