In 2012, division winners in the AFC were New England in the East, Baltimore in the North, Houston in the South, and Denver in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Cincinnati and Indianapolis. In the NFC, it was Washington in the East, Green Bay in the North, Atlanta in the South, and San Francisco in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Minnesota and Seattle. In the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs, it was Houston over Cincinnati 19-13, while Baltimore took care of Indianapolis 24-9. In the NFC, it was Green Bay over Minnesota 24-10, and Seattle over Washington 24-14. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, it was the Ravens over the Broncos in a double-overtime thriller 38-35, while the Patriots took care of the Texans 41-28. In the NFC, it was the 49ers over the Packers 45-31, while the Falcons would hold offa furious comeback by the Seahawks and hold on for a 30-28 victory. In the Conference Championship Games, the 49ers would take care of the Falcons 28-24, while the Ravens would upset the Patriots 28-13, to set up the match-up for Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens defeated the 49ers by the score of 34–31, handing the 49ers their first Super Bowl loss in franchise history. The game was played on February 3, 2013 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Baltimore built a 28–6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes (earning the game the added nickname of the Blackout Bowl). After play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to cut the Ravens' lead, 28–23, and continued to chip away in the fourth quarter.
With the Ravens leading late in the game, 34–29, the 49ers advanced to the Baltimore 7-yard line just before the two-minute warning but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens then took an intentional safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, was named Super Bowl MVP. Flacco became the 4th quarterback in a row to receive MVP after Drew Brees at Super Bowl XLIV, Aaron Rodgers at Super Bowl XLV, and Eli Manning at Super Bowl XLVI.