Super Bowl game at a glance

Player of the game

The Saints' Drew Brees delivered almost as perfect a game as a quarterback can play. He completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 114.5 passer rating. The 32 completions tied the Super Bowl record set by New England's Tom Brady in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The dud

Colts coach Jim Caldwell made a dubious decision when he sent out kicker Matt Stover to try a 51-yard field goal with 10:39 left in regulation and Indianapolis leading 17-16. Stover, 42, hadn't made a 50-yard field goal since 2006 and missed badly, giving the Saints the ball at their 41. New Orleans converted that into a go-ahead touchdown and a 24-17 lead.

The key play

Saints cornerback Tracy Porter stepped in front of a Peyton Manning pass intended for Reggie Wayne, intercepted it and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown, giving New Orleans a 31-17 lead with 3:12 left. Porter also intercepted Minnesota's Brett Favre at the end of regulation in the NFC championship game, forcing overtime.

The number

10 The Saints matched the biggest deficit a team has overcome to win a Super Bowl by rallying from 10 points down. Their 10-0 deficit matched the 10-0 deficit Washington overcame in beating Denver 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII. The Saints outscored the Colts 31-7 the rest of the way.

Onside surprise

When Saints coach Sean Payton elected to open the second half with an onside kick, it brought back memories of Super Bowl XXX when Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher pulled a similar move in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Steelers recovered the kick. But they lost the game.

Stover the oldest

Colts kicker Matt Stover, 42, became the oldest player to compete — and score — in a Super Bowl, displacing Giants punter Jeff Feagles, 41, who played in Super Bowl XLII. Stover, signed as a free agent Oct. 14 to replace an injured Adam Vinatieri, converted nine of 11 field goals in the regular season and entered Sunday's game having made all five of his postseason attempts. Stover won a Super Bowl ring with the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

Stover's 76-year-old mother, Tasia, is recovering from brain surgery, so his parents watched the game on television at a Dallas hospital.

"It's been an opportunity for me, as a son, just to bring some happiness into their lives at this point," Stover said. "For them to be able to say, 'That's my son up there on the TV,' with all the people in the hospital, will be a lot of fun."

The quote

"Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening?" Saints quarterback Drew Brees

McClatchy Newspapers