Skip to content

Super Bowl analysis

Sky Sports reporter Paul Higham looks back at what was a memorable conclusion to the NFL season in New Orleans.

Well, well, well, how do you try and sum up this week at the Super Bowl in New Orleans?

The brothers

Older brother John got the better of Jim in their sibling rivalry played out in front of over 100 million. The post-game handshake was awkward at best - John described it as horrible later on - and the pain of losing a Super Bowl is going to haunt super-competitive Jim for a long time to come. Thankfully the 49ers got back into the game to avoid a rout, and both teams did credit to their coaches in their full-blooded attack of the game and their never-say-die attitudes, especially Jim's 49ers. John failed in a fake field goal attempt which didn't cost him in the end but Jim did waste a timeout which could have been crucial late on, but there was nothing really more either man could have done - apart from Jim could have come out straight away and spoken to TV instead of refusing to leave the locker room at first.

Deciding factors

You can just look at a straight Flacco/Kaepernick comparison and suggest the younger man's inexperience was the difference, but that's too simple and I though the Niners man responded well to some obvious nerves in just his tenth ever start. A slow start cost the 49ers, as did their failure to execute on some crucial big plays, all of which add up in such a big game despite their comeback which they must get huge credit for, but Jacoby Jones and Anquan Boldin can be singled out for special praise. Boldin has blossomed into an amazing receiver in the post-season, he's not tall, he's not quick, but he is as tough as they come, he can bully any cornerback and wins almost every jump ball that comes his way - he was there time and time again for Flacco during the Super Bowl and really made a huge difference. In a game which is usually decided by small margins, special teams can come into play and Jones' return speed saw him rip off a Super Bowl record 108 yards kick-off return TD at the start of the second half, such a crucial time to score. The 49ers have been poor on special teams all season, and it cost them in the biggest game of all, not only with that but with punter Sam Koch later dancing around the end zone for a safety and running valuable seconds off the clock for the Ravens. John Harbugh used to be a special teams coach and that may have just won him the Super Bowl. As for Jones, he also took a great catch, bounced back up and beat two defenders for his second touchdown, he may have only had two really big plays, but they were REALLY big plays, and won his team the Super Bowl - I'd have given him MVP.

Conclusion

If you can try and sum up the Super Bowl experience this week, you'd need a lot longer! Great weather, great stadium (when the power's on) and a wonderful game to cap it all off, out of five Super Bowls this must go down as the best so far - New York has a lot to live up to next year!

Around Sky