BALTIMORE – Jim Harbaugh's University of Michigan glory, his Colts comebacks and his Orange Bowl win don't count for much in the Harbaugh household today.

The family scoreboard simply reads, "John 1, Jim 0" after John Harbaugh's Ravens beat his little brother's 49ers 16-6 Thursday in a game that was every bit the slugfest that was advertised. The loss snapped San Francisco's eight-game winning streak and marked the first time the 49ers have fallen on the road this season.

Growing up, the brothers would drop to their knees for bouts of indoor football in which leverage and sheer force of will won the day. The Thanksgiving nightcap was an extension of that as Baltimore's defensive line steamrolled San Francisco's offense while the 49ers' defense had trouble pressuring Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who was not sacked.

"There's a saying that says, 'As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another,' " Jim Harbaugh said afterward. "And let's say my brother, John, is the sharpest iron I've ever encountered."

Quarterback Alex Smith, meanwhile, was sacked nine times, the most in his career, while Frank Gore finished with 39 rushing yards, leaving him 22 yards shy of Joe Perry's franchise record.

Two big penalties – 125 yards worth – marked the first half, both of them on the 49ers.

A chop-block penalty called on Gore wiped away a 75-yard touchdown pass from Smith to wide receiver Ted Ginn early in the second quarter.

Later in the quarter, cornerback Tarell Brown appeared to come up with an interception on a deep throw from Flacco to wide receiver Torrey Smith. Brown, however, was called for pass interference, a 50-yard penalty that gave the Ravens the ball at the San Francisco 10-yard line.

Baltimore turned the penalty into a first-and-goal situation from the 4-yard line but could not punch the ball in against the 49ers' stout run defense. The Ravens settled for a 23-yard Billy Cundiff field goal and a 6-3 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, John Harbaugh and the Ravens did what most 49ers opponents have done this season. They mostly abandoned the running game and went with a pass-heavy attack.

The 49ers had been able to use that reaction to their advantage this season by pressuring opposing quarterbacks, such as Arizona's John Skelton, into turnovers that led to points by the San Francisco offense. The 49ers led the league with 26 takeaways entering the game.

In this game, however, San Francisco couldn't put any steady pressure on Flacco, and he made no mistakes.

On Baltimore's first possession of the second half, Flacco led the offense on a 16-play drive that went 76 yards and lasted 7:34. Flacco was 4 of 4 on third downs on the drive, including an eight-yard touchdown to tight end Dennis Pitta, who beat safety Donte Whitner on the play.

"They killed us on third down all night," Whitner said of the Ravens, who converted 7 of 15 third-down chances. "We didn't do a good job of getting off the field."

The lure of a brother-vs.-brother matchup on Thanksgiving pushed the NFL to do something it hadn't done since 1975: Send a West Coast team to the Eastern time zone on a short week.

The 49ers didn't complain about exhaustion. But the meticulous Smith said the lack of preparation did have an effect.

"It is tough to get ready for a defense like that," Smith said. "They do so many different things, and they are talented all over the field. This is a tough team to prepare for in a short time."

Said Jim Harbaugh, whose postgame handshake with his brother lasted several seconds longer than the typically perfunctory gesture between coaches: "It was highly competitive, and it didn't go our way. We're disappointed about it.

"But our team has steel in our spine, and this will make us stronger for our ultimate goal."

REPORT CARD

Offense: The Ravens dominated the 49ers' offensive line. They sacked Alex Smith nine times and made Frank Gore and the 49ers' rushing attack a nonfactor in the second half. Grade: C-

Defense: The 49ers have relied on a simple formula this season: Stop the opponent's rushing attack and force their quarterback into mistakes. San Francisco achieved the first but not the second. Grade: B

Special teams: David Akers improved to 6 for 6 on field goals of 50 or more yards. The return game looked sharp, and the coverage units were solid. Two offside penalties on kickoffs didn't help. Grade: A-

Overall: The 49ers were beaten at their own game: physical football. The offensive line reverted to its early-season form, and the defensive line couldn't get consistent pressure. A three-time-zone flight on a short week didn't help. Grade: C

– Matthew Barrows

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