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The city of New Orleans and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome take center stage as they host Super Bowl XLVII between the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens and the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers.
It's been dubbed the Har-Bowl or the Super-Baugh by some but from our point of view it might as well be known as the "Irony Bowl". It's quite ironic that two of the NFL's most well established defensive brands will face off in this particular Super Bowl. A Super Bowl being played in a stadium where offense reigns supreme and defense seems to crawl into the fetal position.
All signs would seem to point to a defensive struggle between these teams, but maybe there's something in the Superdome air that turns this game into an offensive showdown. I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
The Ravens defense has been mostly living off of reputation for a few years now. They're stout, but not dominant. On the other side, the Niners pass defense has been hemorrhaging yards since before Christmas. They've been adept at making necessary adjustments after falling behind but have been playing on the edge this postseason.
This one should come down to the offenses and which one plays the best in both halves of this game. Colin Kaepernick's "Pistol" offense and Joe Flacco's deep passing game have gotten all of the attention but this game may very well come down to Ray Rice and Frank Gore. Gore will absolutely be the key to a San Francisco victory should he dominate tonight. Ray Rice will attempt to do his best Pierre Thomas impersonation in the Superdome and keep the Niner defense honest, opening up Torrey Smith and company deep.
Okay, prediction time!
Wallace's Prediction:
This is the most complete team SF has faced this postseason and the Ravens are riding a wave that will lead them to the title. Kaepernick cools off in this one while Joe Flacco passes for 300 yards. David Akers misses a late field goal to secure victory for the Ravens.
Final Score: Ravens 26 - 49ers 24
Super Bowl XLVII MVP: Torrey Smith
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Drop your predictions in the comment section. You'll need to at least do a final score and an MVP to see if you match me, but feel free to embellish, elaborate, and pontificate to your heart's content.