Quarterbacks: Joe Flacco finished off a terrific postseason with a great performance in the Super Bowl. He demonstrated his superior arm strength on several occasions and was never bothered by the big stage. If you give him a good offensive line and an offensive system that caters to his abilities, he can be deadly. Grade: A
Running backs: Ray Rice yet again fumbled in a big game, and the turnover really helped to change momentum and get the 49ers back into it. He is still dangerous in the open field, but he doesn't hit holes as hard as he used to and isn't able to run through tackles anymore. Maybe he just had a bad year, maybe he is worn down from a heavy workload the past few seasons, but Bernard Pierce seems to be the better running back right now. Grade: C
Wide receivers: Anquan Boldin continued his terrific postseason with another big game. He is going to make $8 million next year, but it's hard to see how the Ravens could cut him with the way he has played since Jim Caldwell took over as offensive coordinator. Dennis Pitta is emerging as one of the top tight ends in the league, and Torrey Smith continues to improve. Jacoby Jones is another player that could be on the chopping block, but the Ravens would like him back. He came up with a big play for a touchdown that featured a terrific run after the catch. Even Ed Dickson managed to catch two passes that came his way. Grade: A-
Offensive line: There was a lot of concern heading into the game that the Ravens would lose badly on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but the offensive line did its job. Flacco was sacked just twice and rarely felt pressure. Bryant McKinnie letting a rusher take a free shot at Flacco was really the only major mistake made the entire game. It was tough sledding on the ground, but that was to be expected. Grade: B
Defensive line: Paul Kruger and Arthur Jones both had big sacks in key situations. Jones played a really good game and has been one of the team's most improved players. The Ravens did a decent job stopping the run and rushing the passer until Haloti Ngata left the game in the third quarter, at which time things started to fall apart. Terrell Suggs was pretty quiet after a fine performance in the AFC title game. Grade: C
Linebackers: Ray Lewis really struggled in his final game, especially early in the contest. He missed a couple of tackles and was being burned in pass coverage trying to chase down Vernon Davis. He played much better in the second half and is still above average at his position, but it appears he is retiring at the right time. Dannell Ellerbe also had a quiet game. Courtney Upshaw did force a fumble that was recovered by the Ravens. Grade: C-
Secondary: The Ravens had their issues late in the game, but give the secondary credit for coming up with some big plays when they were needed the most. Cary Williams had a big pass breakup and should have had an interception. Corey Graham also had a couple of key pass breakups, and Jimmy Smith was actually a big factor in the second half. Ed Reed had an interception and could have had at least one more, but it does appear that he has lost a step. Grade: C+
Special teams: Jacoby Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown to start the second half and had a couple of decent punt returns. Justin Tucker made all of his field goal attempts, and the coverage units were solid. The fake field goal didn't work, but was well-executed. Grade: B+
Coaching: John Harbaugh had his team ready to play, though he had a tough time getting them going after the power outage. The fake field goal was a good idea, but shouldn't have been run on 4th and nine. That's a long way to ask a kicker to run when the other team has some of the fastest linebackers in the game. The three points would have been very valuable later in the game. At the end of the day, the Ravens won a Super Bowl despite losing their best cornerback, pass rusher and top two linebackers for major stretches of the season, and Harbaugh deserves a ton of credit for that accomplishment. Grade: A
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