It was a rare treat to see our hometown Baltimore Ravens in action on Thanksgiving night. It was even more special to see coach John Harbaugh‘s team square off against his brother Jim Harbaugh‘s San Francisco 49ers in the first-ever brother-against-brother match-up in NFL history.
You know what’s even better still? The Ravens winning at home AGAIN, sending the 49ers to 9-2, while the Ravens move to 8-3.
The Ravens were firing on all cylinders in a 16-6 victory over the 49ers in front of 71,435 screaming fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to give the elder Harbaugh bragging rights.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco‘s TD pass to tight end Dennis Pitta on the first play of the fourth quarter broke a 6-6 tie and was all the Ravens defense would need. Playing their second consecutive game without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the Ravens tied a team record by recording nine sacks on 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and held running back Frank Gore to just 39 yards rushing.
Linebacker Terrell Suggs, who knew this was going to be an intense sibling rivalry, had three sacks and defensive end Cory Redding had a career-high 2 1/2 sacks.
The Ravens now take sole possession of first place in the AFC North pending the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
Baltimore is 6-0 at home and have won 16 of their last 17 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Could we see Harbaugh Bowl II at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis? Only if the 49ers can get past the unbeaten Green Bay Packers.
Check out more below.
Related articles
- 49ers vs. Ravens: Beating Ravens Will Make 49ers Legit Super Bowl Contenders (bleacherreport.com)
- Rapid Reaction: Ravens 16, 49ers 6 (football.rawsignal.com)
- Slideshow: Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers lose ‘HarBowl’ to Baltimore Ravens (mercurynews.com)
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