Imagine Dat ... It's all Saints day: MVP Brees outduels Manning, wins 1st title

MIAMI --

The New Orleans Saints added the biggest accomplishment of all to a storybook season that inspired a rebuilding city. They turned their first Super Bowl appearance into their first Super Bowl triumph, overcoming an early deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 last night at Sun Life Stadium.

Quarterback Drew Brees of the Saints outdueled his more celebrated Colts counterpart, Peyton Manning, by completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder to tight end Jeremy Shockey with 5:42 remaining.

That touchdown gave the Saints the lead for good, and cornerback Tracy Porter followed with a 74-yard touchdown on an interception return with 3:12 to play. The Colts' chances ended on a fourth-down incompletion in the end zone with 44 seconds to go.

"We just believed in ourselves and we knew we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us," Brees said. "I've imagined this for a long time.... I'm just feeling like it was all meant to be. It was all destiny.... The birth of my son, to get this (championship) in the first year of his life, what can I say, it just can't get any better than that."

The Saints also got three field goals from kicker Garrett Hartley. They trailed 10-0 in the early going but gathered themselves and controlled the game the rest of the way. Brees followed his touchdown pass to Shockey with a completion to wide receiver Lance Moore for a two-point conversion, on a play that originally was ruled a failed conversion by the officials on the field but was overturned on an instant-replay challenge.

Manning connected on 31 of 45 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown, as the Super Bowl passing duel that had been promised did emerge. Neither quarterback threw an interception until Porter stepped in front of wideout Reggie Wayne of the Colts, grabbed Manning's pass and raced to the opposite end zone. Porter also had an interception late in regulation in the Saints' overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game.

Brees was named the game's MVP.

The Colts raced to their 10-point lead on a field goal and a first-quarter touchdown pass from Manning to wide receiver Pierre Garcon. The Saints got back into the game with two second-quarter field goals by Hartley, sandwiched around a goal-line stand by the Indianapolis defense, and took the lead in the third quarter by recovering a bold onside kick on the second-half kickoff and getting a touchdown pass from Brees to running back Pierre Thomas. The Colts moved back in front on a touchdown run by running back Joseph Addai, but Brees and the Saints had an answer.

"We talked about it at halftime and it's really a credit to every one of the players here," Coach Sean Payton of the Saints said of the onside-kick call. "There's not enough room on this stage for every one of them. I'm proud of this team and this staff. Everybody back home in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy."

The Saints were playing in the first Super Bowl in franchise history, while the Colts were back in the stadium in which they beat the Chicago Bears on a rainy evening three years ago for Manning's first Super Bowl title.

It was the first Super Bowl matchup of quarterbacks who had 4,000-yard passing seasons, a reflection of what a passing-friendly league the NFL has become. It also was a passing-friendly night at Sun Life Stadium -- somewhat cool and just a bit windy, but a generally pleasant South Florida evening for Manning and Brees to go to work.

Saints fans had their trademark "Who Dat" chant going about 20 minutes before kickoff. But the most significant pregame development was that the Colts had defensive end Dwight Freeney, one of the league's top pass rushers, in the starting lineup despite the severely sprained ankle that he suffered late in the AFC championship game. Freeney had not practiced in the two weeks since that win over the New York Jets, and much of the pregame buildup since the two teams arrived in the Miami area last Monday focused on what effect it would have on the game if Freeney didn't play at all or was unable to move well.

Freeney, who sacked Brees once, was on the field for the game's opening snap. He walked to the sideline after the Saints' second play, but was in and out of the lineup thereafter and appeared to be moving around just fine.

Payton call for an onside kick to open the second half and it worked.

The ball caromed off the Colts' Hank Baskett and ended up in the Saints' possession. The Saints took advantage when Thomas weaved his way around Colts defenders to the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown after taking a screen pass from Brees.

But Manning used three completions to tight end Dallas Clark to set up Addai's four-yard touchdown run.

Hartley's 47-yard field goal narrowed the deficit to 17-16.

New Orleans 0 6 10 15 -- 31

Indianapolis 10 0 7 0 -- 17

First Quarter

Ind--FG Stover 38, 7:29.

Ind--Garcon 19 pass from Manning (Stover kick), :36.

Second Quarter

NO--FG Hartley 46, 9:34.

NO--FG Hartley 44, :00.

Third Quarter

NO--P.Thomas 16 pass from Brees (Hartley kick), 11:41.

Ind--Addai 4 run (Stover kick), 6:15.

NO--FG Hartley 47, 2:01.

Fourth Quarter

NO--Shockey 2 pass from Brees (Moore pass from Brees), 5:42.

NO--Porter 74 interception return (Hartley kick), 3:12.

A--74,059.

TEAM STATISTICS

NO Ind

First downs 20 23

Total Net Yards 332 432

Rushes-yards 18-51 19-99

Passing 281 333

Punt Returns 1-4 1-0

Kickoff Returns 4-102 5-111

Interceptions Ret. 1-74 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 32-39-0 31-45-1

Sacked-Yards Lost 1-7 0-0

Punts 2-44.0 2-45.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 3-19 5-45

Time of Possession 30:11 29:49

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--New Orleans, P.Thomas 9-30, Bush 5-25, Bell 2-4, Brees 1-(minus 1), Henderson 1-(minus 7). Indianapolis, Addai 13-77, Brown 4-18, Hart 2-4.

PASSING--New Orleans, Brees 32-39-0-288. Indianapolis, Manning 31-45-1-333.

RECEIVING--New Orleans, Colston 7-83, Henderson 7-63, P.Thomas 6-55, Bush 4-38, Shockey 3-13, Moore 2-21, Meachem 2-6, D.Thomas 1-9. Indianapolis, Clark 7-86, Addai 7-58, Collie 6-66, Garcon 5-66, Wayne 5-46, Brown 1-11.