As expected, the Thanksgiving nightcap has entailed a lot of defense and little points.
The Ravens lead the 49ers at halftime of the Har-bowl, 6-3.
The 49ers looked to be in position to at least tie the game late in the second quarter, but Baltimore cornerback Lardarius Webb intercepted a deep pass from San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith to receiver Braylon Edwards. Replays suggested that Edwards was trying to disrupt the play, to the point of offensive pass interference, but it couldn’t keep Webb from making the catch.
On the prior drive, a pass interference penalty on 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown gave the Ravens 50 yards of field position and, eventually, the go-ahead points. Coach Jim Harbaugh objected to the call, apparently because Brown made the interception. But it was obvious that Brown had grabbed the arm of Ravens receiver Torrey Smith.
Earlier in the quarter, another big play was wiped out due to a penalty. 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and receiver Ted Ginn hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown pass, but a chop block by Frank Gore wiped it out.
It hasn’t been particularly pretty, but it’s what we expected -- a close, hard-fought game that should go down to the wire.