The 49ers mounted a furious comeback in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday night, but they fell just short in losing to the Ravens, 34-31. There also was some controversy, as a fourth-and-goal pass fell incomplete after what might have been a hold on Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith.

“It was a missed call,” stated the intended receiver, Michael Crabtree. “[The referee] missed two or three in the game, but that was it right there, the Super Bowl was right there.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t know, man. What do you think? I thought it was holding.”

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Added 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh: “You know, I really want to handle this with class and grace, and we had several opportunities in this game. We didn’t play our best game, and the Ravens made a lot of plays and battled back. They competed to win. But there’s no question in my mind that it was a pass interference and hold on Crabtree on the last one.”

Niners running back Frank Gore isn’t convinced the best team won.

“They got away with one,” Gore said. “We showed we were the better team. It was just a couple plays here, a couple plays there.”

Michael Crabtree made big catches all night against the Patriots. (AP)

FOXBORO — For two-and-a-half quarters, 49ers star wide receiver Michael Crabtree watched as his San Francisco defense put the wraps on Tom Brady.

He knew it probably wouldn’t last forever.

And it didn’t. But in the end, the Niners did just enough to disrupt Brady and stopped him on two drives when it mattered late in the fourth quarter in a 41-34 win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

“Tonight was a good night for us, for our offense, making it happen at the end. I just [take] my hat off to the defense for stopping my dude, Tom Brady. That’s one of my favorites and I’m going to keep saying it.”

Crabtree certainly did his part, catching a pair of TD passes from Colin Kaepernick, including the go-ahead on with 6:25 left after Brady and the Patriots climbed out of a 31-3 hole.

“Just trying to make a play,” Crabtree said. “I told Kap to just put the ball up and he did and I took off running. Not at all. Just taking charge. I have to take advantage they give to me. It was a five-yard hitch. I have to make it happen. I just took it.

“Everything is football. Anything can happen. Cap trusted me and we made it happen.”

Crabtree finished with seven catches and 107 yards on the night.

“It was really about us, executing plays,” Crabtree said. “Those guys [Patriots D] did good. They stopped us on a couple of plays but it’s a fight. We won the fight.

“We proved that we can win against a good offense. We can win a shootout. Whatever it takes, that’s our motto. We came up with the ‘W’.”