No.8: Saints end Katrina Nightmare with first ever championship

Brees lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Hey, all number eight in the Super Bowl countdown is not just one of the greatest matches but a fairytale ending for a city recovering from one of the most devastating storms to hit America. Super Bowl 44 featured two of the top offences of the season with the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning at the height of his abilities. The other was one of the hottest offences to grace an NFL field which was the New Orleans Saints, and their future hall-of-fame quarterback Drew Brees. For the Colts, it was a return to the site of their last Super Bowl victory 3 years earlier. Meanwhile, for the Saints (infamous for being the laughing stocks) it was their first-ever Super Bowl, and that was something that no one was saying after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and even damaged the Superdome.

Peyton Manning with Jim Caldwell

The Indianapolis Colts were one of the best teams in the NFL that year, with one of the best quarterbacks in the league's history in Peyton Manning, who at the time had just won his 4th NFL MVP. However, for the majority of the 2000s, they were in a 3 horse race for the AFC (the other two being the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers) and to play in the big game. The Colts started in Baltimore and won what was nicknamed the greatest game ever in 1958. They then moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984 and struggled until 1998, when they acquired in the draft, Peyton Manning. After that, the Colts went straight to the top of the AFC and were making playoff appearances. However, they were continually getting knocked out either by New England or Pittsburgh until they finally won Super Bowl 41 3 years earlier.

In the 2009 season, they had the NFL's best record with a 14-2 record despite winning 7 by one touchdown. Quarterback Peyton Manning was MVP with 4,500 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. His top receivers were Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, who had 100 catches and 10 touchdowns each. Wayne led the receivers with 1,260 yards, and Clark had 1,106 yards. Running back Joseph Addai led the game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 51 passes for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns of his own. Their defensive ends, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis had 24 combined sacks. 2 of their linebackers each had 80 tackles, and Antoine Bethea had 70 tackles and 5 interceptions.

Miami's Sun Life Stadium playing host to the match

The Saints was an expansion team in 1967, and for 38 years, they ended up being in the cellar of the NFL. They also had famous quarterbacks play for them, like Super Bowl 11 winning quarterback and Hall of Famer Ken Stabler and even had Peyton and Eli's dad Archie Manning play for them in the 1970s. They did make a few playoffs in the '80s and '90s, but they were the weak team compared to their (then) division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. However, the darkest period for them was the immediate aftermath of the hurricane when they had to play all their games away from the city. However, during the offseason in 2006, they acquired two major signings a new Head Coach Sean Payton and a new quarterback, free agent Drew Brees. In that year's draft, they acquired then Heisman Winner Reggie Bush, receiver Marques Colston, and Guard Jahri Evans. It took them to the 2006 NFC Championship game but they were defeated by the Chicago Bears.

The Saints had the NFC's best record at 13-3 and led the league in scoring with an average of under 32 points per game. Drew Brees, the top-rated quarterback in 2009, completed 70% of his passes and threw for under 4,500 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Colston was his top receiver with 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns. He had 4 other weapons with over 30 catches over the season. Their running game was headlined by Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas, who both had a combined 1,500-yard season. Defensive End Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13, linebacker Jonathon Vilma had the most tackles with 87 and 3 interceptions, and veteran Safety Darren Sharper recorded 9 interceptions for 376 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The playoff run for both teams was home games. The Colts faced the Ravens first, who were coming off a significant victory against the New England Patriots forcing Tom Brady to 4 turnovers in the 33-14 win. However, Manning and the Colts were a stricter opponent allowing Baltimore 3 points in the whole game. Meanwhile, the Colts built it up to a 17-3 halftime lead. In the second half, the Colts survived two Ed Reed interceptions, and Matt Stover kicked a field goal for a 20-3 victory. Next up for the AFC Championship was the New York Jets, and the Jets led 17-6 at halftime; however, the Colts then scored 24 unanswered points to win the AFC Championship game 30-17.
Meanwhile, the Saints' first game was with the Arizona Cardinals, who outlasted the Green Bay Packers 51-45 the previous week. That shootout wore the Cardinals out as the Saints won 45-14. Their opponent in the NFC Championship was the Minnesota Vikings, who had All-pro Brett Favre, and despite the Offence having only 237 yards, their defence forced 5 turnovers. As a result, the Saints won the Championship game 31-28 in overtime.

Hall of Famer Emmit Smith tossing the coin 

The game's first score went to the Colts as they went 53 yards from their own 27-yard line, and kicker Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard kick to make it 3-0. Then, after another 3 and out and being pinned on their own 4-yard line, the Colt went down 96 yards with Addai rushing 51 yards on 3 attempts and Manning completing 3 passes for 35 yards, including the 19-yard pass to Pierre Garcon, and it ended the 1st quarter at 10-0 to the Colts.

As the 2nd quarter started, the Saints were driving down the field with Brees completing 3 passes for 36-yards going to the Colts' 22-yard line; however, on 3rd down, Brees was sacked by Freeney, which forced kicker Garret Hartley to convert a 46-yard field goal which he did making it 10-3. On the following Saints' drive, they went down to the Colts ' yard line; after a false start penalty, the Saints got on the goal line. However, after failing to score on 3rd down, Coach Payton went for it on 4th down, but they failed on the attempt. The Colts tried to run the clock down; however, they were forced to punt the ball, and the Saints went down the field on the last drive of the half and kicked the field goal to make it 10-6.

Music legends The Who performing the Halftime show

After Rock and Roll legends, The Who performed the halftime show, the Saints were kicking off the second half. Simply, they kick it down the field to pin the Colts on their goal line. Wrong Sean Payton went for another gamble, this time an onside kick which caught the Colts off guard. The rule is that the kicking team can't touch it unless it has travelled 10 yards or the receiving side doesn't cleanly recover it. After the Saints recovered it on the Saints' 42-yard line, Brees went a perfect 5 for 5 completion and threw the final pass to Pierre Thomas, who ran for 16 yards to score the touchdown, which made it 13-10 Saints.

That's usually enough for one quarter, except it was just the start. Manning and the Colts went 76 yards in 10 plays, with Addai scoring on a 4-yard play in which tight End Clark had a monster drive with 3 catches for 45 yards. Making it 17-13 Colts. The Saints went down and had Hartley score a 47-yard field goal to make it 17-16. That was the end of the 3rd quarter, and it was a case of "let's catch our breath here". If only people were expecting the 4th quarter.

Tracy Porter sealing the win

The Colts started the 4th with a field goal attempt for Stover. However, he missed the 51-yard attempt, which gave the Saints the perfect starting line for their next drive. Brees and the Saints said thank you as they went on a touchdown drive with Brees throwing to seven players, yes 7, which was capped off by Jeremy Shockey catching a 2-yard TD pass. If gambling twice wasn't enough for Payton, he did his 3rd gamble of the game, going for a 2-point conversion which was initially ruled incomplete as the ball was kicked out of the receiver's hands; however, Payton reviewed it. It was determined that the receiver Lance Moore held it long enough to make the ball cross the plane of the goal line for a successful 2-point attempt.

Then came the clincher as the Colts were going for the tie. Instead, saints DB Tracy Porter intercepted Mannings's pass to Wayne and returned it 76 yards to the endzone for a touchdown, making it 31-17. That ended the game, and the Saints won the game for their first-ever Super Bowl and ended a fairytale 4 years for the team. Drew Brees was the MVP with 32 completions for 39 attempts for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns. Pierre Thomas was his top rusher, with 30 yards on 9 carries. His top receivers were Colston, and Devery Henderson, with 7 catches each and both going for combined 140 yards.
Meanwhile, Manning had 31 completions for 338 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Addai was his top rusher, with 77 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Dallas Clark was his leading receiver, with 7 catches for 86 yards, and Addai had the same number of catches for 58 yards.

This was the high point for both teams, as the Saints would go back to the playoffs in the next few years but not get back to the Super Bowl. Also, for the Colts, it was the last hurrah as in 2011, Manning had a severe neck injury that most pundits and doctors said would end his career. After 2011 the Colts and Manning separated, with Manning going to the Denver Broncos, and the Colts got a new quarterback and would return to an AFC Championship game but not play in the Super Bowl.