And now they must play on a short week at their hated rival, the Ravens – who used to be the Browns before fleeing to Baltimore in 1996.

Baltimore was floundering, losing four in a row before beating Pittsburgh, another hated rival for both the Ravens and Browns. A win over Cleveland could give the Ravens sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

It’s a benefit for John Harbaugh’s team that it is taking on Hue Jackson’s squad Thursday night. And no, not only because the Browns have the league’s worst record.

”You just have to get right to the next opponent, which we did being Cleveland,” Harbaugh said. ”Fortunately, I think for both teams probably, they are opponents that we both have familiarity with, being a rivalry game and in the division, and we played each other once already this year. So that helps the preparation mentally, but things change, Cleveland has changed scheme and personnel a little bit, so we really have to look at that.

”More than anything, it is getting back physically. The guys will be emotionally ready to play. It is a big game for both teams. … It is a national game. Everybody is going to be excited.”

The Ravens (No. 16 in AP Pro32) are 10-point choices over the beleaguered Browns. Is this the time to go out on a limb – way out on a limb – and take Cleveland to finally win? Nah, because Pro Picks is pretty beleaguered these days, too.

RAVENS, 20-13

KNOCKOUT LEAGUE

Cowboys came through last week, counting on ARIZONA to do the same this week.

No. 5 Seattle (plus 7 1-2) at No. 1 New England

Everything points to Patriots coming off bye as Seahawks travel cross-country after Monday nighter.

BEST BET: PATRIOTS, 30-13

No. 6 Atlanta (plus 2) at No. 13 Philadelphia

Falcons get Eagles at the right time.

UPSET SPECIAL: FALCONS, 23-20

No. 2 Dallas (plus 3) at No. 15 Pittsburgh

Steelers need to turn it around soon. Won’t start Sunday.

COWBOYS, 27-23

No. 31 San Francisco (plus 13) at No. 20 Arizona

Cardinals need to turn it around. Might start Sunday.

CARDINALS, 31-17

No. 4 Kansas City (plus 3) at No. 24 Carolina

Panthers have begun their turnaround. Statement win here.

PANTHERS, 26-20

No. 9 Minnesota (plus 2) at No. 10 Washington

Vikings are too injured and too unreliable on offense right now.

REDSKINS, 20-14

No. 7 Denver (plus 1 1-2) at No. 21 New Orleans

Until the Broncos find more balance …

SAINTS, 27-19

No. 18 Cincinnati (plus 2) at No. 8 New York Giants, Monday night

Could be a shootout at MetLife Stadium.

GIANTS, 30-27

No. 14 Green Bay (minus 2) at No. 25 Tennessee

It’s time for A-Rod and the Packers to wake up.

PACKERS, 28-24

No. 12 Houston (minus 1 1-2) at No. 30 Jacksonville

At some point, the Jaguars figure to get it right.

JAGUARS, 29-28

No. 19 Miami (plus 4) at No. 17 San Diego

Both teams have come on after weak starts.

CHARGERS, 26-17

No. 27 Los Angeles (plus 2) at No. 28 New York Jets

Hard to pick Jets right now. Impossible to pick Rams.

JETS, 20-13

No. 29 Chicago (OFF) at No. 26 Tampa Bay

Look and listen for lots of Bears fans at game.

BUCCANEERS, 28-27

—

Last Week: Against spread (6-5-2). Straight up: (8-5)

Season Totals: Against spread (60-65-6). Straight up: (75-55-2)

Best Bet: 5-4 against spread, 6-3 straight up.

Upset special: 5-3-1 against spread, 5-4 straight up

—

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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When the game resumed 34 minutes later, the San Francisco 49ers were the ones playing lights out.

Instead of a blowout, the blackout turned the big game into a shootout.

The Ravens survived the frenzied comeback by the 49ers for a thrilling 34-31 win at the Superdome on Sunday night and their second NFL championship in 11 years.

“How could it be any other way? It’s never pretty. It’s never perfect. But it’s us,” coach John Harbaugh said after winning the sibling showdown with younger brother Jim. “It was us today.”

Barely.

Leading by 22 points when most of the Superdome lights and the scoreboards went dark early in the third quarter, the Ravens used a last-gasp defensive stand to hold on after the momentum strangely swung to the 49ers. San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree was bumped in the end zone on the 49ers’ final offensive play — the contact appeared incidental — but coach Jim Harbaugh insisted a penalty should have been called.

“There’s no question in my mind that there was a pass interference and then a hold,” Jim Harbaugh said.

As for the foul-up at America’s biggest sporting event, officials revealed that an “abnormality” in the power system triggered an automatic shutdown, forcing backup systems to kick in. But no one was sure what caused the initial problem.

Everything changed after that, though, until Ray Lewis and Co. shut it down. But there were plenty of white-knuckle moments and the Ravens (14-6) had to make four stops inside their 7 at the end.

“I think it speaks to our resolve, speaks to our determination, speaks to our mental toughness,” John Harbaugh said. “That is what wins and loses games.”

For a Super Bowl with so many subplots, it almost had to end with a flourish.

Flacco’s arrival as a championship quarterback coincides with Lewis’ retirement — with a second Super Bowl ring no less. The win capped a sensational month since the star linebacker announced he was leaving the game after 17 Hall of Fame-caliber years.

At 4 hours, 14 minutes, it was the longest Super Bowl ever.

The loss of power left players from both sides stretching and chatting with each other. It also slowed Baltimore’s surge, and that was considerable after Jacoby Jones’ 108-yard kickoff return and Flacco’s three touchdown passes made it 28-6.

Flacco’s big start boosted him to the MVP award.

“They have to give it to one guy and I’m not going to complain that I got it,” said Flacco, who soon will get a rich new contract. His current deal expired with this win.

Down by three TDs, back came San Francisco (13-5-1) in search of its sixth Lombardi Trophy in as many tries.

“As far as the power going out, that didn’t change anything for us,” tight end Vernon Davis said.

Yet they got back in the game almost immediately.

Michael Crabtree’s 31-yard touchdown reception on which he broke two tackles made it 28-13. A couple minutes later, Frank Gore’s 6-yard run followed a 32-yard punt return by Ted Ginn Jr., and the 49ers were within eight.

Ray Rice’s fumble at his 24 led to David Akers’ 34-yard field goal, but Baltimore woke up for a long drive leading to rookie Justin Tucker’s 19-yard field goal.

San Francisco wasn’t done challenging, though, and Colin Kaepernick’s 15-yard TD run, the longest for a quarterback in a Super Bowl, made it 31-29. A 2-point conversion pass failed when the Ravens blitzed.

Tucker added a 38-yarder with 4:19 remaining, setting up the frantic finish.

Kaepernick couldn’t get the 49ers into the end zone on the final three plays, and Ravens punter Sam Koch took a safety for the final score with 4 seconds left. Koch’s free kick was returned by Ginn to midfield as time ran out.

The Harbaughs then met at midfield amid the Ravens’ confetti-laden celebrations.

“It’s very tough,” John Harbaugh said, referring to their conversation. “It’s a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. It’s very painful.”

Only one other championship game in the NFL’s 80-year title game history, Pittsburgh’s 35-31 win over Dallas in 1979, featured both teams scoring at least 30 points.

In the first half, Flacco was as brilliant as Tom Brady, Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw ever were in the NFL’s biggest game. The only quarterback to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons — his coach holds the same distinction — was nearly perfect. Overall, Flacco threw for 11 touchdowns to tie a postseason record, and had no interceptions.

The Ravens stumbled into the playoffs with four defeats in their last five regular-season games as Lewis recovered from a torn right triceps and Flacco struggled. Harbaugh even fired his offensive coordinator in December, a stunning move with the postseason so close.

But that — and every other move Harbaugh, Flacco and the Ravens made since — were right on target. Just like Flacco’s TD passes of 13 yards to Anquan Boldin, 1 to Dennis Pitta and 56 to Jones in the first half, tying a Super Bowl record.

New Orleans native Jones, one of the heroes in a double-overtime playoff win at Denver, seemed to put the game away with his postseason record 108-yard sprint with the second-half kickoff.

Soon after, the lights went out — and when they came back on, the Ravens were almost powerless to slow the 49ers.

Until the final moments.

“The final series of Ray Lewis’ career was a goal-line stand,” Harbaugh said.

Lewis sprawled on all fours, face-down on the turf, after the end zone incompletion.

“It’s no greater way, as a champ, to go out on your last ride with the men that I went out with, with my teammates,” Lewis said. “And you looked around this stadium and Baltimore! Baltimore! We coming home, baby! We did it!”

It was a bitter loss for Jim Harbaugh, the coach who turned around the Niners in the last two years and brought them to their first Super Bowl in 18 years. His team made a similarly stunning comeback in the NFC championship at Atlanta, but couldn’t finish it off against Baltimore.

“Our guys battled back to get back in,” the 49ers coach said. “I thought we battled right to the brink of winning.”

The 49ers couldn’t have been sloppier in the first half, damaging their chances with penalties — including one on their first play that negated a 20-yard gain — poor tackling and turnovers. Rookie LaMichael James fumbled at the Baltimore 25 to ruin an impressive drive, and the Ravens converted that with Flacco’s 1-yard pass to Pitta for a 14-3 lead.

On San Francisco’s next offensive play, Kaepernick threw behind Randy Moss and always dependable safety Ed Reed picked it off. A huge scuffle followed that brought both Harbaughs onto the field and saw both sides penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

Reed, also a New Orleans native, tied the NFL record for postseason picks with his ninth.

Baltimore didn’t pounce on that mistake for points. Instead, Tucker’s fake field goal run on fourth-and-9 came up a yard short when Chris Culliver slammed him out of bounds.

The Ravens simply shrugged, forced a three-and-out, and then unleashed Jones deep. Just as he did to Denver, he flashed past the secondary and caught Flacco’s fling. He had to wait for the ball, fell to the ground to grab it, but was untouched by a Niner. Up he sprang, cutting left and using his speed to outrun two defenders to the end zone.

Desperate for some points, the 49ers completed four passes and got a 15-yard roughing penalty against Haloti Ngata, who later left with a sprained knee. But again they couldn’t cross the goal line, Paul Kruger got his second sack of the half on third down, forcing a second Akers field goal, from 27 yards.

When Jones began the second half by sprinting up the middle virtually untouched — he is the second player with two TDs of 50 yards or more in a Super Bowl, tying Washington’s Ricky Sanders in 1988 — the rout was on.

Then it wasn’t.

“Everybody had their hand on this game,” 49ers All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis said. “We point the fingers at nobody. We win together and we lose together, and today we lost it.”

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Harbaugh’s message to the team was simple: This is the way we got to the Super Bowl, and this is the way we win the Super Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers’ final meeting Saturday night, meanwhile, featured speeches from coach Jim Harbaugh and wide receiver Randy Moss, who knows the emotional pain of losing the Super Bowl, as he did with the Patriots in failing to complete a perfect season in 2007.

Jim Harbaugh also introduced the 49ers to Col. Jim Minnick, a friend he’s had since the eighth grade. Minnick encouraged the players to leave it all on the field for their teammates, play together and be prepared to overcome adversity because nothing ever goes as planned, offering examples from his military career.

Visitors for the Ravens included New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and newly-inducted Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden, who played for the Ravens from 1996 to 2007.

Christie met with quarterback Joe Flacco in the team hotel. Both are New Jersey natives and graduates of the University of Delaware. Ogden’s visit generated a lot of excitement in the lobby from fans and players alike.

One 49ers player told ESPN that everybody is well prepared and ready for the game.

“There is nothing but pure excitement,” the player said.

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The team will hold practice at the Saints’ facility at 5 p.m. ET, after the San Francisco 49ers complete their practice.

The Ravens will leave the team hotel at 2:45 p.m. ET and head to Tulane to get dressed and gather their equipment. The Ravens will then conduct their walk-through, which they call AACT (Alignment, Assignment, Cadence, Technique), outdoors for approximately 20 minutes.

After that walk-through, the Ravens will board the buses, in their practice uniforms and gear, and travel to the Saints indoor practice facility to conduct a full practice and special teams work.

“This wouldn’t have worked out if the coaches didn’t know each other,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh told ESPN.

Brother Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers practiced Wednesday at the Saints’ facility.

“The field at Tulane University was a little hard. The wind was OK, but we would rather be inside for the timing of our passing game,” Harbaugh told ESPN.

The Ravens practiced for nearly two hours on a makeshift 80-yard field stretching across the outfield at Tulane’s Greer Field baseball stadium and dealt with wind gusts up to 24 mph.

Besides getting approval from the 49ers, the NFL also had to give the Ravens approval to make this arrangement. After negotiations between the two teams and the league, the accommodations were made for Thursday and Friday. There is less of a conflict on Friday because both team’s practices are shorter.

Quarterback Joe Flacco told ESPN that the wind didn’t bother him too much, but said “If we are going to be playing in a dome we might as well practice inside.”

Rather than the heavy wind, Flacco said the “major issue” was the “pounding on the turf” the Ravens’ receivers and defensive backs were taking.

Baltimore had the option of working at the Saints’ indoor facility late in the afternoon or early Wednesday evening, after the 49ers finished. But John Harbaugh said Wednesday he and the players preferred to practice on schedule in mid-afternoon.

The post Ravens moving practice indoors appeared first on IdealCapper.

“He’s ready to go,” Harbaugh said. “He’s going to play in this game and he should be full speed.”

It’s uncertain how much Lewis — who has missed the last 10 games since suffering the injury on Oct. 14 — will play.

It’s possible that Sunday could be the final game of Lewis’ storied career. The two-time defensive player of the year and former Super Bowl MVP announced Wednesday that he is retiring after this season.

Sunday will also likely be Lewis’ final game in Baltimore even if the Ravens win because of their No. 4 seed entering the playoffs. He is also close to signing a multiyear contract with ESPN to join the network as an NFL analyst, according to an SI.com report.

Lewis, 37, returned to practice on Dec. 5. For him to be eligible for the playoffs, the Ravens added him to the active roster later in the month.

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