Ray Rice fine with Baltimore Ravens as underdogs

NEW ORLEANS -- Ray Rice said he's been an underdog his whole life, so any perception that the Baltimore Ravens won't beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII is fine by him. Still, the running back believes it has been overlooked just how impressive his team was on its road to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

"People say maybe against the Broncos, people call it whatever you want, without the pass, we'd lose the game, but we went up there and dominated New England," Rice said Wednesday. "No one is talking about how the Ravens dominated New England. We outscored them 21-0 in the second half.

Kinkhabwala: Oher's new role

Aditi Kinkhabwala says the Ravens' offensive line has been on fire since Michael Oher moved away from the blind side. **More ...**

"That was the way to get into the championship because we didn't want that feeling of them getting close to coming back. That was the only way to get over what happened last year."

Rice makes a valid point about the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots led the NFL in scoring by a wide margin this season, including five games in which they scored more than 40 points. The Ravens broke their opponent's will in the second half.

"Being the underdog just feels like you have something to prove," Rice said. "If you always put yourself at the top, the only way you can go is down. Being the underdog, you have to climb and get to the top, and the only way you can get to the top is winning the Super Bowl."

Every team enters Super Bowl week with swagger, and that's certainly the case with these Ravens. They might be the underdogs, but they don't act like it.

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.