By: Chris Burke
Article Reprint
Even though the San Francisco 49ers failed to secure the NFC’s top playoff seed, their appearance in the Super Bowl comes as no surprise to most people. The Ravens, on the other hand, limped into the playoffs as losers of four of their last five regular season games and faced what looked like an impossible road to New Orleans.
Three weeks later, here we are.
The Ravens will be making their first Super Bowl appearance since winning it all during the 2000 season. The 49ers have not competed on the NFL’s biggest stage since the 1994 campaign — a drought during which 12 other NFC teams played for the Lombardi.
Neither team has lost in the Super Bowl: San Francisco is 5-0, and the Ravens victorious in that lone trip.
As always, there promises to be more than enough coverage of these teams to go around in the coming days. Here is what you need to know to get the ball rolling: