Last night the New Orleans Saints won their 1st Super Bowl in franchise history defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints became the 1st team since the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win a Super Bowl in their 1st appearance and just the 5th team to win one in their 1st appearance against a franchise with multiple appearances (5-15). QB Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes (82.1) for 288 yards and 2 TDs to tie the Super Bowl record for completions and won the game's MVP honors.

KEY PLAY OF THE GAME – Late in the 4Q with the Colts driving for the game tying TD, Manning fired a pass to WR Wayne on a routine slant pattern that the Colts run several times every game. However, Saints DB Tracy Porter stepped in front of Wayne, gathered the ball in and raced 74 yards for a TD giving the Saints an insurmountable 31-17 lead with just 3:12 left. 

A COUPLE OF OTHER KEY PLAYS – With the Colts leading 10-3 in the 2Q and facing a 3rd down, Manning threw a great pass to WR Garcon that could have gone for 30+ yds into Saints territory but Garcon dropped it and Indianapolis had to punt. Counting halftime, Manning wouldn’t attempt another pass for more than 70 minutes!

Late in the 1H after stopping the Saints on 4th and goal from the 1, the Colts faced a 3rd and 1 at their own 10, but were stuffed at the LOS. After a punt the Saints took advantage of the great field position and K Hartley drilled a 44 yd FG as time ran out to make it 10-6 at the half. The FG made up for the Saints missed opportunity on the previous drive.

On the 2H opening KO, Saints HC Payton called for an onside kick and after a mad scramble for the ball the Saints recovered. Payton’s gamble paid off later in the drive when RB Thomas caught a 16-yd screen pass for a TD and the Saints had their 1st lead of the game 13-10 (11:41 3Q). It was the 1st onside kick in SB history that didn’t occur in the 4Q.

After the Saints scored a TD with 5:42 left to make it 22-17, the Saints went for 2. WR Lance Moore had the ball in his grasp over the goal line momentarily before it came loose. The play was called incomplete, but HC Payton challenged the call and replays showed the catch was good for a 2-pt conversion, and the Saints had a 7-pt lead.

SAINTS OUTGAINED 907-589 COMBINED IN LAST TWO GAMES OF YEAR BUT WIN BOTH! – In the NFC championship game 2 weeks ago New Orleans won 31-28 in OT despite being outgained 475-257 by Minnesota. The Vikings had 5 TOs to the Saints 1 and despite playing on the road in front of one of the loudest crowds ever, had a chance to win late in the 4Q but got penalized for too many men in the huddle. That penalty forced the Vikings into a passing situation on 3rd to get into FG range only to have Favre throw an INT on the next play. The Saints won the coin toss in OT and scored the game-winning FG. Some argue that if the game were played on a neutral field, the Vikings would have won and many still feel that they are the better team!

Last night the Colts had a 432-332 advantage but blew several scoring opportunities.  1st with the Colts leading 10-3 WR Garcon dropped a key 3rd down pass that could have gone for big yardage and set them up in at least FG range. In the 2H, after converting a 4th down, a Colts drive stalled and K Stover missed a 51-yd FG. Then with 1:00 remaining, Indianapolis drove down inside the Saints 5 but questionable clock management and play calling led to them failing on 4th down and the Saints just took a knee to end the game.

MANNING MAKES NFL HISTORY DESPITE THE LOSS- QB Manning hit 31 of 45 passes (68.9) for 333 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.  Despite the loss, Manning did become the 3rd QB in postseason history to surpass 5,000 passing yards and now only trails Brett Favre (5,855) and Joe Montana (5,772). There was some talk before the game that with a win Manning would now be in the “Best QB Ever” discussion. However with the loss and the key play being his costly INT, that talk will have to wait for now.

SUPER BOWL MVPs NO PROBLEM FOR NEW ORLEANS -In beating Manning, the Saints became the first team to beat three consecutive Super Bowl MVPs. They beat Kurt Warner (Arizona) in the divisional round, Brett Favre (Minnesota) in the NFC Championship Game and Manning (Indianapolis) last night.

AINTS NO MORE! - New Orleans known for being one of the NFL’s worst franchises for many years won 3 postseason games this year after winning only 2 in the previous 42 years combined! They beat Arizona, Minnesota and Indianapolis all division winners for their first title, outscoring them 107-59.

REDSKINS HAVE COMPANY-There haven’t been many large come from behind wins in SB history. The largest deficit occurred back in Super Bowl 22 with the Washington Redskins overcoming a 10-0 deficit to defeat the Denver Broncos 42-10. Last night the Saints after falling behind 10-0 outscored the Colts 31-7 in the final 3 quarters in the 31-17 win.

HARTLEY THE HERO! -New Orleans K Garrett Hartley the hero of the NFC Championship game with his game winning 40-yd kick in OT became the 1st kicker in SB history to make 3 40+ yd FGs (46, 44 and 47).  Coming into the game Hartley only had 26 career attempts while Indianapolis K Matt Stover had 569!

There are many things that make the Super Bowl more than just a football game. From the funny commercials to the elaborate halftime show, everyone even non-football fans have interest in some way. The Super Bowl also gives you the chance to bet on several hundred different intangibles and situations that range anywhere from the coin toss to how many players will score for each team. Here are some of the crazy things that people can bet on during the Super Bowl and how they did.