The NFL
Ravens beat 49ers in the battle of the brothers
Posted: Nov 24, 2011 11:24 PM by Lee Douglas
BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens sacked Alex Smith nine times and beat the San Francisco 49ers 16-6 Thursday night, giving John Harbaugh an emotional charge in the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches.
The Ravens (8-3) chased, hindered and battered Smith for much of the night despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the team's leading tackler and spiritual leader. Lewis was inactive for a second straight game with a foot injury.
The nine sacks tied a franchise record, accomplished twice previously.
San Francisco (9-2) had its eight-game winning streak broken under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh.
John, 49, and Jim, 47, grew up dueling each other in all sorts of games. Competing this time on a national stage, John got the best of his little brother.
Baltimore broke a 6-6 tie with a 76-yard, 16-play drive that last more than 7½ minutes and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta with 14:56 left. Flacco went 4 for 4 on third down during the drive.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
As Seen On News 5
