Super Bowl
Super Bowl
Super Bowl
Payton held the Vince Lombardi Trophy high over his head and ran into the end zone toward several hundred fans chanting the Saints' rally cry: "Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?"
Nobody can say it now.
"Everybody back in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy," he said.
"I think I could kiss him," owner Tom Benson said.
Before many of the 74,059 fans got settled following the Who's halftime show, the Saints worked a little football voodoo. Garrett Hartley's onside kick was touched by the Colts' Hank Baskett, then recovered by Chris Reis at the New Orleans' 42.
"I just told our guys you've got to make me look good on this," Payton said. "That really becomes like a turnover."
Looking like the NFL's most potent offense, the Saints seized the opportunity to take their first lead. It came on Pierre Thomas' brilliant 16-yard run with a screen pass, capped by a dive into the end zone.
Manning simply shrugged, found Dallas Clark for 45 yards on a 76-yard drive, and Joseph Addai used a spin move a figure skater would envy to score from the 4.
But that was it for Indy.
"I certainly know how it was three years ago when we won," Manning said. "I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints have that same feeling right now."
Hartley, the hero of the NFC title game with his 40-yard field goal in OT, made a 47-yarder later in the third quarter. After Matt Stover was wide left on a 51-yarder early in the final quarter, Brees led the biggest drive in Saints history.
"We really felt as underdogs we had the better team," Payton said. "To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in."
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Manning looked sharp on the Colts' first two series, taking them 53 yards to a 38-yard field goal by Stover, at 42 the oldest player in Super Bowl history.
Then Manning led a 96-yard, 11-play drive that appeared almost routine, even though it tied the longest march in a Super Bowl. Addai rushed for 53 yards on the series, and Manning found Pierre Garcon behind backup cornerback Usama Young for the 19-yard score on third down.
New Orleans couldn't match that, but did get a 46-yard field goal by Hartley to make it 10-3. Brees was sacked on third down by All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney, who sure looked frisky despite ligament damage in his right ankle that made his availability uncertain for two weeks.
Then Indy's defense, ranked 18th during the season but staunch in the playoffs, really showed some power. After the Saints marched 71 yards, including 40 yards on two receptions by Marques Colston, New Orleans had third-and-goal at the 1. Mike Bell slipped trying to run right behind All-Pro guard Jahri Evans, and Thomas was stacked up at the line by Gary Brackett and Clint Session on fourth down.
But the Colts ran three times and punted after getting the ball back, leaving 35 seconds for the league's most prolific offense to get in position for Hartley's 44-yard field goal and a more manageable 10-6 halftime deficit.
Shootout? More like a slowdown. Indy had two three-and-outs and New Orleans had one.
But the points came quickly after halftime -- mostly for the Saints.
"Look around the stadium," linebacker Scott Fujita said. "It was like 6- or 7-to-1 (Saints fans). The black and gold just poured into Miami.
"The whole world was behind us. This was bigger than just a game for the Saints. We are the world's team."
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