Saints Stump Colts 31-17 to Win Franchise's First Super Bowl Title

The New Orleans Saints and their dedicated fans are the emphatic embodiment of that idea, with the latest reminder served up with a scintillating 31-17 comeback victory against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday night.

Quarterback Drew Brees led the way, earning MVP honors after tying a Super Bowl record with 32 completions that included two touchdown passes.

He had plenty of help. The Saints' big-play defense lived up to its reputation in the nick of time, thwarting MVP quarterback Peyton Manning and providing the game-clinching play with just over three minutes remaining with cornerback Tracy Porter's 74-yard touchdown on an interception return.

"We played for so much more than just ourselves," said Brees. "We played for our city, the entire Gulf region and the entire Who Dat Nation that was behind us all the way."

Who Dat?

The Saints -- the franchise that had never been to a Super Bowl in a 43-year history that included the disparagement of fans once attending games with paper bags over their head and the tragedy of being displaced for a season after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 -- are new owners of the Lombardi Trophy given to the kings of the NFL.

That New Orleans needed to climb out of a 10-point hole that tied for the largest deficit overcome by a winner in Super Bowl history, seemed poetic. They are Aints no more.

In Week 7, the can-do Saints trailed 24-3 on the very field that now marks their greatest triumph. They rallied to a 46-34 win in October against the Miami Dolphins.

Now they've become the first team to win a Super Bowl after losing its final three regular season games -- and first to win three games in which it trailed by seven points or more in a single postseason. Indianapolis had jumped to a 10-0 first-quarter lead, punctuated by a 96-yard touchdown drive that tied the longest in Super Bowl history.

"You just continue to believe," Brees said, "that we'll find a way to win."

The big comeback ignited a Mardi Gras-like festival in New Orleans, a city that less than five years ago was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Now there's another reason for a parade as the city has rallied around the Saints as a unifying symbol of its rebound.

Four years ago, Geneva Seals, 53, spent three days stranded on the roof of her eastern New Orleans home, as floodwaters engulfed her neighborhood. On Saturday, she hugged passing strangers and swayed to the sounds of the Storyville Stompers.

"This city is on fire!" said Seals, dressed in a No. 9 Saints T-shirt. "I've come a mighty long way to be here. And so has this city."

"Everyone knows what the city has gone through," said 13th-year safety Darren Sharper, who revitalized his career after signing with the Saints as a free agent last spring. "They have wanted it for a long time. We're bringing the trophy back to New Orleans."

Added Brees, who joined the Saints as a free agent in 2006 after other suitors were scared off by his shoulder injury, "I feel like coming to New Orleans was a calling. God puts you in places for a reason."

To win Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints had to defeat Manning, a New Orleans native son whose father Archie once labored through the misery with the masses as the Saints quarterback. Yet it wasn't the type of punishing physical blow that Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams suggested in declaring intentions to tattoo Manning with "remember me" shots, that ultimately derailed the NFL's MVP.

It was Porter's big interception and return after the second-year cornerback made a clean break on a short pass intended for Reggie Wayne, with the Saints trying to protect a 24-17 lead. The Colts were hoping to convert a third-and-five from the New Orleans 31.

"Porter made a great play," said Manning, who completed 31 of 45 passes for 333 yards, with one touchdown and the interception. "He made a great read on the ball."

As Porter picked up blocks and streaked down the sideline some distinct patterns were illuminated.

A Saints defender barrelling to the end zone? It has happened all season. New Orleans led the NFL during the regular season with eight defensive touchdowns.

"You have to believe what you see," said Williams, referring to Porter's quick decision to try for the interception, which risked giving up a big play. "Guys that are afraid to take a chance won't be in the league for very long."

Porter making a game-clinching play? He's the same cornerback who thwarted the Minnesota Vikings' chances late in the fourth quarter of the NFC title game, intercepting perhaps the final pass of Brett Favre's career, which led to an overtime victory.

"It was great film study," said Porter, adding that he was tipped off by slot receiver Austin Collie's motion and combination pattern with Wayne's route. "It was more of a stick route, then he'll run to get the first down. I saw Reggie wide-depart and plant to come in for the stick, and I jumped it."

That Porter raced to the end zone in this setting was not an original sight, either. In the comeback victory against the Dolphins, Porter, second-round pick in 2008, added an exclamation point with a 54-yard interception return.

It also marked the 10th time in Super Bowl history that a defensive player returned an interception for a touchdown -- and in each of the cases that player's team won.

Yet even with the stunning performance by the Saints defense, which held the Colts to just seven points after the first quarter and took a bow after snuffing out a fourth-and-goal on the 5-yard line with 44 seconds remaining, New Orleans needed a bit more to level the playing field, or so it seemed as coach Sean Payton rolled with a few Super Gambles.

Two situations in particular illustrated Payton's aggressive mind-set:

Late in the first half, with the Saints trailing 10-3 and facing a facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Payton went for it rather than attempt a chip-shot field goal. But Pierre Thomas was stuffed as middle linebacker Gary Brackett knifed through unblocked and a host of Colts followed to smother the running back.

The next big gamble, however, worked. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Payton sprung a major surprise by calling for an onside kick. It worked. After the football appeared to glance off Hank Baskett's helmet, Chris Reis emerged with it at the bottom of a massive pile of bodies.

"We talked about it at halftime," Payton said, "and it's really a credit to every one of these players here. We were going to be aggressive. We've seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be big."

The Saints took possession at their 42-yard line and promptly marched to the end zone, with a six-play drive capped by Pierre Thomas' 16-yard TD off a screen pass, which gave New Orleans its first lead, 13-10.

Comeback, officially on.