Touchdowns either side of half time from Torrey Smith and Quinton Patton ensured that the San Francisco 49ers battled to a tight 25-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL this evening, ending a four-game losing streak for Jim Tomsula's charges.
This was the first time that the two sides had met since Super Bowl XLVII and it was the 49ers who went in front early in the first, thanks to Phil Dawson's field goal from 53 yards out.
San Fran continued to be the more efficient of the two sides despite some close battles and they soon went 6-0 out in front when Dawson returned once more to kick home from 31 yards.
Both sides remained compact after the opening 15 and the best that the Ravens could muster came via Justin Tucker, who earned his side's first three points in the second offering with an early field goal from 22 yards to make it 6-3.
San Fran proved unfazed by the move, though, and they hit straight back thanks to a combination of Colin Kaepernick and Smith, with the latter able to latch on to a memorable 76-yard pass from his quarterback to earn the touchdown at 13-3.
The first-half scoring was not up just yet, however, as Dawson came back to collect his third field goal in 30 minutes of play, before Tucker also notched his second kick of the contest to leave the scores at 16-6 going into the interval.
Things did not appear to be going the Ravens' way in the first half and they conceded early in second, and it was Dawson again who proved clinical with the boot from 49 yards to increase the hosts' lead.
Baltimore finally made a breakthrough, however, and it came courtesy of Steve Smith who was able to get hold of Joe Flacco's pass that covered a 34-yard gap, bringing the Ravens closer at 19-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
Smith's TD left the Ravens within another perfect score of going into the lead and they continued to keep up the intensity as the sides moved into a pivotal quarter in Santa Clara.
It was San Francisco, however, who made the decisive move in the final offering when Kaepernick picked out Patton from 21 yards in order to push the 49ers home to a 25-13 advantage.
The Ravens kept on coming and they secured another touchdown when Kamar Aiken teamed up with Flacco to bring the visitors within five points, but they were unable to register again as San Fran held on for victory.
Christopher Dodd
