Hats off to the New Orleans Saints, who won their first Super Bowl in franchise history after blitzing the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

This was a game that looked like it would get ugly fast after the Colts ran out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

I expected the Saints to make a push -- New Orleans ain't the Carolina Panthers; they can put up points and do it in a hurry -- but obviously, there were several things I didn’t expect.

I didn’t expect that onside kick by the Saints to start the third quarter. Apparently, neither did the Colts. It was a gutsy call by head coach Sean Payton. If it hadn’t worked, we’d all be calling Payton a fool, not a genius.

I didn’t expect Indy to score only seven points for the last three quarters. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I would have just figured that Peyton Manning had been knocked out with an injury. He had an average game, and average just doesn’t do it in the Super Bowl.

Congratulations to the Who Dat Nation.

Here are my Super Bowl XLIV award winners and losers.

Best Individual Performance
Drew Brees, quarterback, New Orleans Saints
Brees was in a zone after the first quarter. He finished with 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 32-39 passing (114.5 rating). With this monumental win, Brees has to be a favorite to be NFL MVP next year.

Worst Individual Performance
Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis Colts; and Damon Ford, blogger for the NFL Playoffs
This wasn’t the worst postseason game of Manning’s career, but when you’re playing for all the marbles you can’t afford to have any missteps. Peyton threw one pick and never got in a good rhythm to move the Colt’s offense down the field (the Saints defense gets some credit for that).

Yes, I’m on this list too. Not only did I miss the call in this game, but I stuck up the whole playoffs with a horrible 2-9 record. The ball definitely didn’t bounce my way, but, hey, there’s always next year. Right, Colt’s fans?

Super Bowl XLIV MVP
New Orleans Saints Defense
Everyone has Brees penciled in as the MVP, and you can’t argue with that assessment. But I said it earlier in the week that this game would come down to who could stop the other team’s offense. Somehow, some way, the Saints found the formula, and they put the clamps on Indy after the first quarter. It’s not all that clear in the stats (Colts had 432 yards of offense) but the Saints defenders came up with key plays at the right time, including that interception and touchdown return by Tracy Porter.

Damon Ford is a former journalist who is now a public relations professional working in the public and private sectors in Charlotte. He is 2-9 in predicting NFL playoff games.
 

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