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Feb. 8, 2010 It was supposed to be the game that cemented Peyton Manning’s legacy as one of, if not the, greatest quarterback of all-time. The pundits thought both teams would combine for 60 or more points. But it turned out to be a lower-scoring game than most thought, and n the end, it became Drew Brees’ coming out party, as the New Orleans Saints matched the biggest come-from-behind deficit in Super Bowl history to upset the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. The Colts opened the game with twp drives that resulted in first a Matt Stover 38-yard field goal and then a touchdown, when Manning hit rookie Pierre Garcon with a 19-yard strike. Trailing 10-0 in the first quarter, the Saints held Indianapolis to 7 points over the last 54:22. Drew Breeze finished with the second highest completion percentage, 82%, in Super Bowl history, hitting on 32-39 passes. He hit on 18 of his last 19, and his last ten in a row. Trailing 10-6 at the half (they got a field goal with 0:05 left in the half), the Saints snatched momentum from Manning and his boys as they recovered an onside kick and drove 58 yards for the touchdown that gave them their first lead, 13-10. It was the first time in Super Bowl history that a team attempted an onside kick before the fourth quarter. Manning led the Colts back down the field and back into the lead, when Joseph Addai scored on a 4-yard run. New Orleans, which had scored on 3 of its last 4 possessions (they were stopped in the red zone on downs late in the second quarter), came right back with a field goal to make it 17-16. In the fourth quarter, Manning (who finished 31-45, 333 yards), led the Colts downfield, but the Saints’ defense stiffened and Colts kicker Matt Stover (the oldest player to ever participate in a Super Bowl, at 42), missed a 41-yard field goal as he hooked it left. With 10:58 left, the Saints working with a short field, marched down unimpeded due to Brees’ hot hand. They took more than five minutes off the clock on a drive that culminated in Brees hitting Jeremy Shockey with a 2-yard pass for a 22-17 Saints lead. A two-point conversion attempt initially looked as if it failed, but upon appeal the call was overturned and the Saints had the lead, 24-17. With 5:42 left, the Colts got the ball back and appeared to be driving toward the tying score, when Manning tried to hit Reggie Wayne on an underneath pass route. New Orleans safety Tracy Porter jumped the route and picked off thr throw, then raced 74 yards for the touchdown that dimmed the lights for the Colts. On the next drive, Manning got the Colts to the New Orleans 5-yard line with 1:56. There the drive bogged down and on fourth and goal, with 44 seconds remaining, Manning’s final pass fell incomplete. The Saints then ran out the clock. This was the Saints’ fifth time this season beating a Super Bowl winning quarterback—and third in a row. That list includes Kurt Warner of Arizona ; Brett Favre of Minnesota and Manning. The other two were Peyton’s younger brother Eli, and New England ’s Tom Brady. In a pre-game analysis, John Gruden thought the game woulkd play out similar to the Patriots-Rams matchup of XXXVI, when Tom Brady rallied the underdog New Englkand team to a win over Kurt Warner’s explosive St. Louis squad. He thought the game would be close and that the Saints’ halftime adjustments would lead to them winning going away. Brees 32 completions tied the Super Bowl record and he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly is a poet, essayist, novelist and screenwriter from northern California. His novel, HUMAN TRIAL, is the first part of a sci-fi trilogy and is available from Amazon.com, allthingsthatmatterpress.com and in e-book format at mobipocket.com. HUMAN TRIAL II: ADAM’S WAR is pending review and editing. Stelly also has a short story included in the AIDS-themed anthology, THE SHATTERED GLASS EFFECT, due out in February 2010. His story, SNAKES IN THE GRASS, Is a tale of love, betrayal and its deadly consequences. Reviews of HUMAN TRIAL can be read at amazon.com Visit me at: http://www.myspace.com/pittwit website: http://www.stellyhumantrial.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com 
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