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Saints shock Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV 31-17

Who Dat? Ain’t nobody, that’s who.

Sean Payton pulled off the boldest move in Super Bowl history, succeeding on an offside kick to start a second half dominated by the New Orleans Saints as they upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday night. In calling the onside kick, the Saints’ head coach stunned his opponents and fired up his team as they rallied to beat the favored Colts at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

Drew Brees finished 32-for-39 passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns, winning Super Bowl MVP honors as the Saints completed an improbable season that lifted the spirits of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. Defensive back Tracy Porter sealed the win with a 74-yard interception return that closed the scoring. Porter jumped in front of Reggie Wayne to pick off a Manning pass with a little over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

“We just believed in ourselves and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us,” Brees said after the game. “What can I say? I tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time and it’s better than expected.”

Porter’s touchdown capped a 25-point second half by New Orleans keyed by the gutsy sneak attack from Payton that is certain to go down in NFL lore. Trailing 10-6 at halftime, Payton didn’t want to give the ball to Manning, who had marched down the field in the first half, so he had rookie punter Thomas Morstead go for an onside kick. The Colts’ Hank Baskett failed to control the ball and another Saints’ rookie, Jonathan Casillas, recovered.

Brees then marched the Saints 58 yards on six plays, capping the scoring drive with a 16-yard pass to Pierre Thomas. The running back dove into the end zone after breaking tackles on the screen play to give New Orleans a 13-10 lead.

Manning came back fast as the Colts put together a 10-play, 76-yard drive that took 5:26 and was finished off by a four-yard Joseph Addai run. They remained in front by a point at 17-16 even after Saints kicker Garrett Hartley hit a 47-yard field goal – his third long-range kick of the game.

But the man they call Breesus was not to be denied. The Saints’ quarterback found Jeremy Shockey on a slant pattern for a two-yard TD with 5:42 to play as the Saints went 59 yards in 4:57 to retake the lead. They went up 24-17 when Lance Moore hung onto a two-point conversion pass that had to be reviewed before it counted.

Manning appeared to be moving toward a tying score when the Saints blitzed him on third down and Porter jumped the route, beating Wayne cleanly to the ball and streaking to the end zone while the trumpets sounded on Bourbon Street. Porter, who picked off Brett Favre in the NFC Championship Game to force overtime, was a fitting hero. He’s a Louisiana native and a cornerback considered a weak link on the Saints’ defense but he overcame the odds again to lift his team.

The Colts were favored by 5 against the point spread and looked like they might run away with the game early as they took a 10-point lead and Manning was on fire. He finished 31-for-45 for 333 yards and TD to Pierre Garcon, but he was on the bench for long stretches as the game wore on. Lengthy drives by the Saints that had few stoppages for penalties or incompletions kept the clock moving, and Manning’s opportunities to win his second championship dwindled.

The Colts’ defense made a big stop near the end of the first half when they denied Thomas on a fourth-and-goal play from the one. But the Colts’ conservative coaching, headed by rookie head Jim Caldwell, hurt them when they ran on three consecutive plays inside their 10-yard line. They failed to get a first down and had to punt, allowing the Saints to move within field-range for Hartley, who didn’t miss from 44 yards.

After the onside kick, Caldwell looked dazed and confused. The Colts never recovered the momentum, even after Manning converted on fourth-and-2 near midfield on Indy’s first drive of the second half.

Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney played effectively despite an injured right ankle that was the focus of much attention in the week leading up to the game. He had the game’s lone sack but was on the bench getting his ankle taped during the Saints’ crucial scoring drive that opened the third quarter.

It was the second big Super Bowl upset in three years (the Giants stunned the previously unbeaten Patriots in 2008) and third game that was close late into the fourth quarter. Although 48 points were scored, it was well under the betting total of 56 that was expected. When they rallied from 10 points down the Saints matched the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history (the 1986-87 Redskins trailed 10-0 to the Denver Broncos before winning 42-10).

With the victory, the Saints will start an early Mardi Gras season in a city that desperately wants to celebrate. The Big Easy continues to have a hard time struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Brees, Payton and the Saints used the joy they could bring to their city as a major motivating factor for this championship.

“New Orleans is back,” owner Tom Benson said as he took the Vince Lombardi Trophy. “Louisiana is back.”