Counted out by most experts the New Orleans Saints accomplished the dream last night, winning Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. It’s not hard to imagine the Saints as underdogs to the Indianapolis Colts. After all, Manning runs the offense like a machine, methodically picking away at a defense until the big opportunity comes. Indianapolis also seemed to have the experience edge, having been there and done that with Manning a mere three years ago.
So when the Colts jumped out to a 10-0 lead, Tony Dungy actually looked like he knew what he was talking about. But then a funny thing happened. The Saints dominated the second quarter, and despite a huige stop by the Indianapolis defense, managed to narrow the gap to 10-6. From there, New Orleans Head Coach Sean Payton pulled off a coup by opening with an onsides kick, recovered by the Saints. Big plays by both Manning and Brees kept the game tight but New Orleans pulled ahead on a TD by Jeremy Shockey and Tracy Porter sealed it off with a 74 yard interception on the only real mistake Manning made in the Super Bowl.
The party in New Orleans is on. And with the strength the New Orleans Saints showed last night, the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas is not out of the question next year.