By Dean Michaels
Super Bowl XLIV - Colts vs Saints
Saints Brees by Colts 31-17 for Super Bowl XLIV Victory
Saints Quarterback Drew Brees throws pair of touchdown passes as the New Orleans Saints rally from early 10-point deficit and defeats the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Brees awarded MVP for completing 32-of-39 with 288 passing yards, two TD passes, 0 interceptions and 114.5 passer rating.
'AIN'T DAT SOMETHING!' screamed the Miami Herald's front page the morning after the Saints defeated the Colts 31-17 in yet another exciting Super Bowl. For the third consecutive season, the Super Bowl came down to the final minutes with the trailing team within a touchdown of the lead and in possession of the ball. And for the third consecutive year, a signature play sealed the game.
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Super Bowl XLIV Recap
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 31, INDIANAPOLIS 17 COLTS
Sun Life Stadium, South Florida (February 7, 2010) Attendance: 74,059
Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return with 3:12 remaining capped a fourth-quarter comeback and lifted the Saints to their first Super Bowl title.
The Colts, who won their first 14 regular-season games, forced a three-and-out on the Saints' opening possession. Peyton Manning, then completed two third-down passes to set up Matt Stover's 38-yard field goal. Following a second Saints' punt, the Colts drove 96 yards in 11 plays, keyed by runs of 16, 11, and 26 yards by Joseph Addai, and capped by Manning's 19-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon on third-and-6 to stake the Colts to a 10-0 lead.
The Saints, who had won their first 13 games of the season, answered with a a drive of 6:02, using Garrett Hartley's 46-yard field goal to get on the scoreboard.
After a three-and-out, the Saints held the ball for 6:25. However, the drive resulted in zero points as Gary Brackett and Clint Session stopped Pierre Thomas for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the Colts' 1 with 1:49 left in the half. The Colts ran three times, failed to gain a first down, and were forced to punt.
From their own 48-yard line with 35 seconds left in the half, Drew Brees connected on passes of 19 and 6 yards to Devery Henderson that led to Hartley's 44-yard field goal as the half expired, trimming the deficit to 10-6.
The Saints then surprised everyone with an onside kick to begin the second half. Rookie punter Thomas Morstead's firstever onside kick was perfect, and Chris Reis of the Saints eventually emerged from the intense scramble with the ball. Brees completed all five of his pass attempts on the drive, capped by Thomas' 16-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass to give the Saints their first lead.
The Colts drove 76 yards on the ensuing possession, keyed by Manning's 27-yard pass to Dallas Clark on third-and-4, which resulted in Addai's 4-yard run for a 17-13 Indianapolis lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter.
Courtney Roby returned the kickoff 34 yards and Brees completed four of five passes on the next drive set up Hartley's third long-range field goal, this one from 47 yards, to pull the Saints to within one point. On the Colts' next drive, Manning completed a 14-yard pass to Reggie Wayne on fourth-down near midfield. However, four plays later, faced with fourth and 11, Stover missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt with 10:39 to play.
Drew Brees completed all seven pass attempts on the ensuing drive, capped by Jeremy Shockey's 2-yard scoring catch with 5:42 remaining. The Saints went for the 2-point conversion, and Lance Moore made a spectacular catch and reached across the goal line with the reception to give New Orleans a 24-17 lead.
The Colts quickly drove to the Saints' 31, but on third-and-5 Manning's short pass to the left side intended for Wayne was intercepted by Porter, who sprinted untouched 74 yards for a touchdown and 31-17 lead with 3:12 to play. Manning connected with Austin Collie on a 40-yard pass play to help the Colts get downfield.
Indianapolis reached the Saints' 3 with 1:33 to play, but a 10-yard pass interference penalty on Garcon moved them back. On fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line with 50 seconds to play, Manning's pass for Wayne was incomplete, and the Saints clinched their first-ever NFL championship.
Drew Brees, who was named Super Bowl MVP, was 32 of 39 for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns. Peyton Manning was 31 of 45 for 333 yards and 1 touchdown, with 1 interception. Colston had 7 receptions for 83 yards and Henderson added 7 catches for 68 yards for the Saints.
Super Bowl XLIV - Starting Lineups: Offense
| Saints | Pos | Colts |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Marques Colston | WR | Reggie Wayne |
| Jermon Bushrod | LT | Charlie Johnson |
| Carl Nicks | LG | Ryan Lilja |
| Jonathan Goodwin | C | Jeff Saturday |
| Jahri Evans | RG | Kyle DeVan |
| Jon Stinchcomb | RT | Ryan Diem |
| Jeremy Shockey | TE | Dallas Clark |
| Devery Henderson | WR | Pierre Garcon |
| Drew Brees | QB | Peyton Manning |
| Pierre Thomas | RB | Joseph Addai |
| Reggie Bush | RB | Gijon Robinson |
Super Bowl XLIV - Starting Lineups: Defense
| Saints | Pos | Colts |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Bobby McCray | DE/LDE | Robert Mathis |
| Marvin Mitchell | LB/LDT | Daniel Muir |
| Sedrick Ellis | DT/RDT | Antonio Johnson |
| Will Smith | RDE | Dwight Freeney |
| Scott Fujita | SLB | Philip Wheeler |
| Jonathan Vilma | MLB | Gary Brackett |
| Scott Shanle | WLB | Clint Session |
| Jabari Greer | LCB | Kelvin Hayden |
| Tracy Porter | RCB | Jacob Lacey |
| Roman Harper | SS | Melvin Bullitt |
| Darren Sharper | FS | Antoine Bethea |
Super Bowl XLIV Scoring
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans (NFC) | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 31 |
| Indianapolis (AFC) | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Source: NFL | |||||
| Ind | FG Stover 38 | (7:29) | |||
| Ind | Garcon 19 pass from Manning (Stover kick) | (0:36) | |||
| NO | FG Hartley 46 | (9:34) | |||
| NO | FG Hartley 44 | (0:00) | |||
| NO | P. Thomas 16 pass from Brees (Hartley kick) | (11:41) | |||
| Ind | Addai 4 run (Stover kick) | (6:15) | |||
| NO | FG Hartley 47 | (2:01) | |||
| NO | Shockey 2 pass from Brees (Moore pass from Brees) | (5:42) | |||
| NO | Porter 74 interception return (Hartley kick) | (3:12) | |||
Super Bowl XLIV Team Statistics
| New Orleans | Indianapolis | |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Total First Downs | 20 | 23 |
| Rushing | 3 | 6 |
| Passing | 16 | 16 |
| Penalty | 1 | 1 |
| Total Net Yardage | 332 | 432 |
| Total Offensive Plays | 58 | 64 |
| Avg. Gain Per Offensive Play | 5.7 | 6.8 |
| Rushes | 18 | 19 |
| Yards Gained Rushing (Net) | 51 | 99 |
| Avg. Yards per Rush | 2.8 | 5.2 |
| Passes Attempted | 39 | 45 |
| Passes Completed | 32 | 31 |
| Had Intercepted | 0 | 1 |
| Tackled Attempting to Pass | 1 | 0 |
| Yards Lost Attempting to Pass | 7 | 0 |
| Yards Gained Passing (Net) | 281 | 333 |
| Punts | 2 | 2 |
| Avg. Distance | 44.0 | 45.0 |
| Punt Returns | 1 | 1 |
| Punt Return Yardage | 4 | 0 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4 | 5 |
| Kickoff Return Yardage | 102 | 111 |
| Interception Return Yardage | 74 | 0 |
| Total Return Yardage (excl. Kickoff) | 78 | 0 |
| Fumbles | 0 | 0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Own Fumbles Recovered | 0 | 0 |
| Opponent Fumbles Recovered | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 3 | 5 |
| Yards Penalized | 19 | 45 |
| Field Goals | 3 | 1 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 3 | 2 |
| Third-Down Efficiency | 3/9 | 6/13 |
| Fourth-Down Efficiency | 0/1 | 1/2 |
| Time of Possession | 30:11 | 29:49 |
Super Bowl XLIV Individual Statistics
| New Orleans | Indianapolis | |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| RUSHING | P. Thomas 9-30-0, Bush 5-25-0, Bell 2-4-0, Brees 1-(-1)-0, Henderson 1-(-7)-0. | Addai 13-77-1, Brown 4-18-0, Hart 2-4-0 |
| PASSING | Brees 39-32-288-2-0. | Manning 45-31-333-1-1 |
| RECEIVING | Colston 7-83-0, Henderson 7-63-0, P. Thomas 6-55-1, Bush 4-38-0, Shockey 3-13-1, Moore 2-21-0, Meachem 2-6-0, D. Thomas 1-9-0. | Clark 7-86-0, Addai 7-58-0, Collie 6-66-0, Garcon 5-66-1, Wayne 5-46-0, Brown 1-11-0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | Roby 4-102-0. | Simpson 5-111-0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | Bush 1-4-0. | Rushing 1-0-0 |
| PUNTING | Morstead 2-88-44.0. | McAfee 2-90-45.0 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | Porter 1-74-1. | None |
| SACKS | None. | Freeney 1 |
Super Bowl XLIV MVP: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Brees led the Saints to their first NFL championship with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Brees completed a Super Bowl-record 32 of 39 passes (82.1 percent) for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
New Orleans trailed 10-6 at halftime, but after the Saints recovered an onside kick to begin the third quarter, Brees gave New Orleans a 13-10 lead when he completed a 16-yard scoring pass to running back Pierre Thomas.
After Indianapolis regained the lead 17-16, Brees put the Saints ahead for good 24-17, when he found tight end Jeremy Shockey for a two-yard scoring pass and then added a two-point conversion on a pass to wide receiver Lance Moore.
AFC Championship Game
(Home Team in CAPS)
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 30 New York Jets 17
NFC Championship Game
(Home Team in CAPS)
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 31 Minnesota Vikings 28 (OT)
NFL 2009 Playoffs Divisional Weekend Results
(Home Team in CAPS)
Saturday, January 16
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 45, Arizona Cardinals 14
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 20, Baltimore Ravens 3
Sunday, January 17
MINNESOTA VIKINGS 34, Dallas Cowboys 3
New York Jets 17, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 14
NFL 2009 Playoffs Wild Card Weekend Results
(Home Team in CAPS)
Saturday, January 9
N.Y. Jets 24, CINCINNATI BENGALS 14
DALLAS COWBOYS 34, Philadelphia Eagles 14
Sunday, January 10
Baltimore Ravens 33, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 14
ARIZONA CARDINALS 51, Green Bay Packers 45 (OT)
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Super Bowl XLIV - Indianapolis Colts vs New Orleans Saints