A passing Brees airs out Colts for title

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - That wasn't a Super Bowl. That was a celebration of the modern passing game.

In the Saints' three biggest drives of Super Bowl XLIV, Drew Brees completed 15 of 15 passes to seven different receivers for 121 yards, two touchdowns and a field goal. And the longest completion was 19 yards.

"We knew we had to be patient, take what they gave us," Brees said after the 31-17 upset of the Indianapolis Colts at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday.

Patience and persistence are what New Orleans does best, both as a football team and a city.

In achieving their first Super Bowl victory, the Saints became the first postseason team to beat three quarterbacks who had previously won a Super Bowl in Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. They also became the first team to win three postseason games in one season when trailing by seven or more points in all three. And they tied the largest deficit overcome (10 points) in Super Bowl history.

They can thank the NFL's single-season passing percentage record-holder and the modern passing game. In 102 postseason passes, Brees completed 70.6 percent -- the same as he did during the regular season to break Ken Anderson's 27-year-old record of 70.55 -- with eight touchdowns and no interceptions.

Super Bowl XLIV also made every little boy in America want to switch from running back to receiver.

Neither team ran the ball 20 times. The Saints had 51 yards rushing. The Colts had 99, but 72 of them came on a record- setting 96-yard drive in the first quarter.

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams essentially gave the Colts those 72 yards as part of his plan to mix up his schemes, keep the ball out of Manning's hands and dare the league's worst rushing team to run the ball. Normally a 4-3 defense, the Saints lined up in a 3-3 front with wide splits between the linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.

On the Colts' 11-play, 96-yard drive, Manning called six runs as the Colts plowed toward a 10-0 lead. But that's when Brees and the modern passing game would have three of their best quarters ever.

In the first quarter Brees was 3-for-7 with one bad pass and one drop by Marques Colston. But after that drop, Brees completed 29 of 32 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns.

"He handled a lot of the offense right at the line of scrimmage," Saints coach Sean Payton said.

When Caldwell ordered a conservative dive play on third-and-1 from the Colts' 10-yard line late in the first half, Brees made him pay when the Colts couldn't convert.

"Jim Caldwell told [Colts senior offensive coordinator] Tom Moore to try to get a first down, try to punch it out first," said Manning, who ran only six plays with no first downs in the second quarter.

With a short field, Brees completed three of three passes for 26 yards to set up a 44-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley. Instead of trailing 10-3, the Saints were down 10-6 at the half.

The Colts were scheduled to get the ball to start the second half. But Payton called an onside kick, and his players executed it beautifully. Brees made the move pay off when he completed five of five passes for 51 yards and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas. Instead of possibly being down 17-6, the Saints led 13-10.

The last of the Saints' three key drives began when Caldwell called on 42-year-old Matt Stover to attempt a 51-yard field goal with 10:44 left in the game and the Colts leading 17-16. Stover's longest field goal this year was 44 yards.

On the ensuing possession, Manning imitated Favre when he forced a pass that Saints cornerback Tracy Porter returned 74 yards for the clincher. But it was Brees and the modern passing game that put New Orleans in position to celebrate all night long [and longer] on Bourbon Street.

"He just led us," Colston said. "I'm just so proud of that guy and just so happy to be associated with greatness."