Harbaugh should have spent more time talking about his defense that allowed the Ravens to convert 56 percent of their third downs, while the 49ers only hit on 22 percent. Or how the Ravens had five possessions with at least nine plays while his defense exhibited shoddy tackling and breakdowns in the secondary.
Or how his offense came out with jitters and couldn’t even get lined up on the first play they had practiced all week. Or how Kaepernick missed Crabtree and Moss on an earlier pass inside the 10 when both were wide open.
“I thought he made good throws the entire game,” Harbaugh said. “One that got a little high. He just led a fourth-quarter comeback. In my opinion, that series should have continued.”
He delivered that shot at the officials with a sarcastic laugh.
No talk about how his team fell behind, 28-6, after also trailing the Packers and Falcons in earlier playoff wins.
“It caught up with us because we lost,” said safety Donte Whitner. “We had an opportunity to win this football game, and punch it in and go up 2 or 3 with less than two minutes left. And I bet you if we come out on defense, we stop them. But it went the other way. You have to give them credit. Three or four stops from the 5-yard line is tough, especially against a mobile quarterback. You have to give them credit.”
Harbaugh should have followed the lead of his players. They got beat, and the officiating didn’t have much to do with it.
Greg A. Bedard can be reached at gbedard@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @gregabedard.
