Super Bowl power outage leads to exciting battle as Ravens hold on to beat 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers tried to make light out of the third-quarter darkness, but the Baltimore Ravens played superb defense late in the game, holding on for a 34-31 win in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans went dark 1:38 into the third quarter, with the Ravens having dominated the game up to that point. The Ravens led the 49ers 28-6 when the Superdome lights went out at about 7:36 CST, giving the 49ers a chance to change the momentum and get back into the game.

Following a 35-minute power outage, the 49ers took advantage of the unscheduled break, cutting the Ravens’ lead to 31-29 with 9:57 to play in the fourth quarter. The Ravens added a field goal with 4:19 to play, making the score 34-29. The 49ers had first and goal with under two minutes to play but could not get the ball across the goal line. After the Ravens took over on downs, they ran the clock down to 4 seconds in the process of taking a safety in the endzone.

Had the 49ers won, they would have set a record for the largest comeback in a Super Bowl. No team has ever come back from a deficit greater than 10 points in a Super Bowl. The Washington Redskins trailed 10-0 against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII [Unlink] and the New Orleans Saints trailed the Indianapolis Colts 10-0 in Super Bowl XLIV. The Redskins, led by quarterback Doug Williams, went on to beat the Broncos 35-10, and the Saints, led by quarterback Drew Brees, beat the Colts 31-17.

According to CBS announcer James Brown [Unlink], a power surge knocked out a large portion of the lighting at the iconic facility, which was renovated to the tune of $185 million following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. CBS correspondent Steve Tasker [Unlink] later said a problem with an outside power feed to the Superdome caused the outage.

Eric Eagan, Superdome spokesman, issued the following statement: "We sincerely apologize for the incident," NFL.com reported.

Sources: CBS broadcast

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/9673908/1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_Bowl_champions