By Tom James, CNHI News Service
MIAMI — Leave it to Purdue and Indiana to keep the Indianapolis Colts from bringing back a second Super Bowl trophy to Lucas Oil Stadium.
With the Colts unable to provide enough of a pass rush, former Purdue University quarterback Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and fired two touchdowns to earn game Most Valuable Player honors as the New Orleans Saints posted a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium.
Throw in a 74-yard return of an intercepted pass by ex-Indiana University cornerback Tracy Porter for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and it’s easy to understand how New Orleans was able to register the upset win over the favored Colts.
“We played for so much more than our city. We played for the whole Gulf Coast region. We played for the whole ‘Who Dat’ nation,” Brees said afterward. “We knew that we were going to have to be able to move the ball. We knew that we were going to have to be patient. Four years ago (after Hurricane Katrina) who would have ever thought that this would be happening.
“Not only did the (Saints) organization come back, but the whole city came back. And this is the whole culmination of that belief. There’s nobody that I wanted to win this championship more for than Sean Payton. Just what he instills in all of his players. He makes us all better players, but he also makes us better men.”
With defensive end Dwight Freeney gamely trying to play on a gimpy right ankle, the Colts simply could not generate enough pressure to slow down Brees. Freeney had one sack on the night, but it was far from enough as Indianapolis finished the season with a 16-3 record.
Peyton Manning did his part for the Colts, hitting on 31-of-45 passes for 333 yards and one touchdown. But Manning wasn’t able to come up with enough big plays down the stretch as he tried to lead Indianapolis to an eighth fourth-quarter comeback victory this season.
A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns proved to be the difference for New Orleans, a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brees to tight end Jeremy Shockey and Porter’s theft of a Manning pass. A two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Lance Moore after Shockey’s touchdown catch gave the Saints a seven-point lead with 5:42 remaining in the game and forced the Colts to play catch-up.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game, though, was the decision by the New Orleans coaching staff to attempt an onside kick to begin the second half. Colts wide receiver Hank Baskett had the ball briefly but lost it. Saints backup safety Chris Reis eventually came up with the football, setting the stage for Brees’ 16-yard touchdown pass to running back Pierre Thomas.
“That was something that we worked on in practice the last two weeks. We just were trying to come up with the right time to do it,” Brees said.
Joseph Addai had a game-high 77 yards rushing and a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave Indianapolis its last lead of the game.
“Porter made a good play on the ball,” Manning said afterward of his game-changing interception. “He made a heck of cut on the ball. We made some plays (on offense). But we didn’t make enough plays to win. We are disappointed.
“Every possession felt precious out there. We had a third down drop that would stop another drive. The (interception) was disappointing and the turnover on downs at the end of the game was certainly disappointing.”
The Colts jumped to a relatively quick 10-0 first-quarter lead, thanks to scoring drives of 53 and 96 yards. Matt Stover’s 38-yard field goal with 7:29 left gave Indianapolis a 3-0 lead. With the kick, he became the oldest player to score in a Super Bowl game.
Caldwell’s team followed that up with an 11-play drive that began at the Colts’ 4-yard line. Manning’s 19-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Pierre Garcon with 0:36 left in the quarter pushed the Indianapolis margin to 10-0.
Addai had three carries for 53 yards rushing on the drive, including a season-best 26-yard effort. He had 60 yards total at halftime. The 96-yard drive tied a Super Bowl record, which was set by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX.
New Orleans countered with two second-quarter field goals by Garrett Hartley, who hit from 46 and 44 yards out. The Saints’ first drive was slowed when Freeney, who started the game despite missing the last two weeks of practice with a third-degree right ankle sprain, dropped Brees for a 7-yard loss.
A chance by New Orleans to tie the score at 10-10 in the final minutes of the quarter was stopped after the Saints had a first-and-goal at the Indianapolis 3-yard line.
An incomplete pass, a false start penalty and a 7-yard run by Thomas gave New Orleans a third-and-goal at the Colts’ 1-yard line. A run wide by Bell was stacked up for no gain by cornerback Kelvin Hayden.
Instead of attempting a field goal, a fourth-and-one run by Thomas was stopped for no gain by middle linebacker Gary Brackett, weak side linebacker Clint Session and defensive tackle Eric Foster.
Indianapolis couldn’t get move the ball on its final possession of the first half and was forced to punt. The Saints then moved the football from their own 48-yard line down to the Colts’ 26, where Hartley hit his second field goal of the game as time expired.
