Credit must be given to Saints' Head Coach Sean Payton, who once against created an offensive game plan designed to address the one strength of a defense. In this case, the Saints settled into a passing attack that had their receivers attack the hook and seam areas of the Colts defense and throw to the running backs out of the backfield to take advantage of the Colts linebackers.
Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees carried out the game plan masterfully. He was a near-perfect 32 of 39 for 288 yards, and two touchdowns.
But in most post-game evaluations it's easy to turn the analysis into what the winning team did right. In this case, the Colts did a lot correctly, but just did not take advantage of opportunities when they were given to them.
A number of normally-sure handed Colts receivers dropped passes, specifically Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon. And with his team behind 24 to 17 in the fourth quarter, Peyton Manning (31 of 45 for 333 yards, one touchdown and one interception) rushed his throws, and on a key 3rd and five with just under three minutes to go, and the Colts down 17 to 24, Manning threw for Reggie Wanye who was running an inside slant. But Wayne stopped and Saints defensive back Tracy Porter stepped in front of the pass and raced 74 yards to score.
That play was one observers would talk about for a long time. While Manning focused on Wayne, Colts receiver Austin Colley broke open on a seam route; he went unnoticed as he raced by the high safety on the opposite side of where the interception occurred.
Even with the interception, the Colts still had time to score another touchdown, recover an onside kick and perhaps score a miracle game tying touchdown again. But that was not to be, as the Colts' furious comeback drive stalled at the Saints' six yard line.
A team of destiny
This first Super Bowl win for New Orleans came at the right time for a city working to overcome the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the exodus of much of its population to various places in America and around the World. Much of New Orleans was under water, and the Federal Government's efforts under George W. Bush were so terrible that "Brownie" became a poster child for government inefficiency in a crisis.
When Sean Peyon became the Saint's coach, it was the same year, 2006, that the renovated Louisiana Superdome reopened. The same stadium that served as a sanctuary for up to 30,000 people after Hurricane Katrina. Bringing home a World Championship became more of a mission than an athletic occupation.
I said to a friend that even though I'm a massive Colts fan, I would not be sorry to see New Orleans win Super Bowl XLIV. The city needed it, and really America wanted it. Now, the task of rebuilding New Orleans has new life.
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