The Harbaugh brothers are just days away from their Super Bowl matchup in New Orleans, but not too long ago these two faced off in the regular season.
On Thanksgiving night in 2011, Jim and John Harbaugh met in Baltimore for the first game in NFL history to feature siblings on the opposing sidelines. Both coaches will look back on this game as they prepare for Sunday and although Jim lost, there are lessons to be learned from the matchup.
The game came during Jim's first year as head coach of the 49ers, while John had been in Baltimore already since 2008. The Ravens won 16-6 on that chilly Thursday night, notching a franchise-record nine sacks to snap an eight game winning streak for the 49ers to drop them to 9-2.
The Ravens improved to 8-3 in the game and played stifling defense, holding the 49ers to less than 200 total yards. The dynamic of the 49ers will be different on Super Bowl Sunday, as Alex Smith was the quarterback on Thanksgiving, but the Ravens have been playing stellar defense of late and could shut down the San Francisco running game in New Orleans.
"To the 49ers and to my brother, I can't tell you enough how proud I am of him and the job he's done building that football team," John said of Jim, a rookie NFL coach, following the game. "That's a football team. The way they're built, it's pretty hard to figure out a way to beat them."
The 49ers never could get comfortable on offense during the game and Alex Smith struggled despite the Ravens playing without Ray Lewis. That will be one major difference on Sunday, as Lewis is going to be playing the Super Bowl (with or without the help of deer antler spray, no one knows).
Smith completed just 15 of 24 passes for 140 yards and an interception, and San Francisco was held without a touchdown for the first time during the 2011 season. Terrell Suggs had three of the sacks in the game and allowed the Ravens to move half a game up on the Steelers in the AFC North.
It's tough to get ready for a defense like that in a short week. They do so many things," he said. "They're a great front. At home with the crowd noise, they were teeing off. That's always the game plan, to get after the quarterback, but I think the No. 1 game plan was to win the Harbaugh Bowl," Suggs said. "Coach tried to downplay it -- act like it's not me against my brother, this is the Ravens vs. the 49ers and let's get win No. 8 and make sure our destiny is in our own hands -- but it was really important to him. We as a team went out there and really wanted to win for him."
The game was tied 6-6 early after swapping field goals when Baltimore busted out with a 76-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has been fantastic in the playoffs this season, hit tight end Dennis Pitta with a touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter to put Baltimore ahead.
"When you have that kind of game plan -- your line being so efficient on third downs -- you have to come through," Flacco said.
Flacco went 15 for 23 for 161 yards and one touchdown, while running back Ray Race was solid, gaining 59 yards on 20 carries.
Billy Cundiff added the final field goal, not knowing that later down the line he would miss a kick that would have sent the Ravens to overtime against the Patriots in the AFC championship game.
The 49ers had chances throughout the game, but the defense stopped them at every turn. Smith threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn, but the play was called back due to a chop block. The win for the Ravens gave them six home wins in as many contests in 2011.
Baltimore had to take a different path to make it to the Super Bowl, defeating both the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots on the road.
After the game ended, the two brothers embraced at midfield, something that likely will happen again on Super Bowl Sunday.
"There's a saying that says, 'As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another,'" Jim said. "And I have to say my brother John is the sharpest iron I've ever encountered in my life."
