Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has tied an NFL postseason record with 11 TD passes in these playoffs. (Keith Allison/Creative Commons)

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a sparkling first half, helped by his defense swiping two takeaways from the 49ers, to lead Baltimore to a 21-6 halftime lead in Super Bowl XLVII.

Flacco completed 13 of 20 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He distributed to seven different receivers and was aided by some good runs from Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce. Given time from his offensive line, Flacco executed the offensive gameplan from coordinator Jim Caldwell to give the Ravens an 15-point advantage.

The Ravens struck first on a 51-yard drive for their first possession of the game. Flacco completed three of four passes on the drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Anquan Boldin.

San Francisco followed up by pushing the ball inside Baltimore's 10-yard line. But Ravens' linebacker Paul Kruger sacked quarterback Colin Kaepernick on third down, forcing the 49ers to settle for a 36-yard field goal by David Akers. The Ravens were nearly able to respond with a field goal of their own, but decided to punt after the 49ers' Ray McDonald sacked Flacco at the 42-yard line to end the first quarter.

Baltimore's Courtney Upshaw forced the game's first turnover to prevent the Niners from scoring. As 49ers running back LaMichael James was being pulled to the turf, Upshaw came in to knock the ball out of his grasp and give possession to the Ravens at their own 25-yard line. On the ensuing drive, Flacco completed all four passes (including a 23-yarder that Ed Dickson hung on to after a hard hit) and Bernard Pierce ran for two first downs en route to the one-yard TD pass to Dennis Pitta to put the Ravens ahead 14-3.

Ed Reed intercepted the first pass from Kaepernick on the next drive, marking back-to-back turnovers by the 49ers. The Ravens started the following drive on San Francisco's 38-yard line. Two first downs got the Ravens into the red zone, but no further. Head coach John Harbaugh called a fake field goal run, but Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was knocked out of bounds just one yard short of the first down by Darcel McBath to keep the score 14-3.

On the bright side for Baltimore, the fake left the 49ers with awful field position. After a San Francisco three-and-out, the Ravens got the ball back at their own 44-yard line, a good place to start. After two straight incompletions, Flacco launched a bomb to Jacoby Jones, who outran two 49ers defenders, pulled in the pass and shifted field into the endzone for a 56-yard touchdown pass.

For the 49ers, Kaepernick finished the half 4-of-8 passing for 83 yards (plus 16 rushing yards), with 64 of those yards through the air going to tight end Vernon Davis. Running back Frank Gore collected only 29 yards on 10 carries. The Niners ended the half with a 27-yard field goal by Akers. Their pass defense will have to lock down better on the Ravens receivers to give their offense a chance to make it a close game.

The largest comeback in Super Bowl history is 10 points, with the Washington Redskins coming back to beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. The Ravens will receive the football to start the second half.