Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes - Ingles

02/08/2010

Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes

With their win, the New Orleans Saints become the 18th different franchise to win a Super Bowl game. They join the Ravens, Jets and Buccaneers as winners in their only Super Bowl appearance. The first NFL championship for the Saints comes in their 43rd season.

* * *

The Saints are the first #1 Seed to win the Super Bowl since the 2003 New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII. The last NFC #1 Seed to win the Super Bowl was the 1999 St. Louis Rams who won Super Bowl XXXIV. The Saints are also the first team that led the NFL in regular season scoring to win the Super Bowl since that Rams team.

* * *

In their path to victory in Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints became the first team ever to defeat three quarterbacks who previously won Super Bowls in Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. In the three games immediately prior to meeting the Saints in these playoffs, the three QBs combined for 12 TD passes without an interception. Against the Saints, they only combined for two TD passes and four interceptions.

* * *

The Saints matched the biggest deficit overcome to win a Super Bowl by rallying from 10 points down. That deficit, 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, is identical to the 10-0 deficit overcome by the Denver Broncos against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII on January 31, 1989. Washington scored the remaining 42 points in that game for a 42-10 win. These Saints outscored the Colts 31-7 the rest of the way.

* * *

SEAN PAYTON is now the 28th different coach to win a Super Bowl. This is the fifth consecutive year that a new coach has been added to the list (Mike Tomlin, Tom Coughlin, Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher).


Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes - 2

TRACY PORTER’s 74-yard TD interception return was the fourth-longest in Super Bowl history, the third-longest that went for a touchdown. The record is 100 yards by James Harrison of the Steelers in last year’s game.

It was the second time in an NFL game that Porter had scored a TD on an interception return – and that other INT TD was also at Sun Life Stadium. He returned a pass thrown

By Miami’s Chad Henne 54 yards for a score when the Saints also rallied for a victory. It also came in the fourth quarter with New Orleans holding a one-score lead and provided the final points in a 46-34 victory.

Teams that have scored on an INT return are now 10-0 in the Super Bowl, including in six of the last 10 SBs.

* * *

DREW BREES tied the Super Bowl record of 32 completions with his touchdown p SEAN PAYTON is now the 28th different coach to win a Super Bowl. This is the fifth consecutive year that a new coach has been added to the list (Mike Tomlin, Tom Coughlin, Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher).

* * *

The selection of DREW BREES as the MVP marks the 23rd time the choice has been the winning quarterback.

Brees finished the game by completing 10 consecutive passes, which equals the second-longest streak in a Super Bowl. Joe Montana has the record of 13 in Super Bowl XXIV.

DREW BREES became the third quarterback from Purdue to start and win a Super Bowl. That ties Alabama for the most SB-winning QBs from one school. The other Purdue QBs to win Super Bowl games are Bob Griese (VII and VIII) and Len Dawson (IV). Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler are the three from Alabama.


Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes - 3

By surpassing 169 yards passing in Super Bowl XLIV, PEYTON MANNING joined Brett Favre (5,855) and Joe Montana (5,772) as the only quarterbacks to have passed for more than 5,000 yards in the postseason in their careers. Manning now has 5,164 yards passing in his postseason career.

* * *

With seven catches and 86 yards receiving, DALLAS CLARK became the most prolific postseason receiver among all tight ends. His 64 catches surpass the 62 in postseason play of Jay Novacek and Shannon Sharpe while his 847 yards receiving top Keith Jackson’s 834.

* * *

With 66 yards receiving in Super Bowl XLIV, AUSTIN COLLIE has 241 in the postseason, coming one yard shy of Torry Holt’s record for the most yards receiving by a rookie in one postseason (Rams, 1999).

* * *

Colts kicker MATT STOVER became the oldest player (42 years, 11 days) ever to participate in a Super Bowl game. His miss on a field goal attempt of 51 yards early in the fourth quarter ended a streak of 16 consecutive field goals made in postseason play. His last miss came in a Wild Card game on this field for the Ravens against the Dolphins on January 13, 2002.

* * *

The Colts’ 96-yard TD drive in the first quarter tied the longest in Super Bowl history. The Bears also had a 96-yard TD drive against the Patriots in Super Bowl XX.

* * *

With his 47-yard field goal late in the third quarter, GARRETT HARTLEY became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three FGs of 40-plus yards in one game.


Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes - 4

DREW BREES completed 82.1% of his passes (32-39) in Super Bowl XLIV. That is the second-highest percentage in a Super Bowl behind the record of 88.0% (22-25) by Phil Simms for the Giants in Super Bowl XXI. Based on a standard of 30 pass attempts, he did set a Super Bowl career completion percentage record, previously held by Troy Aikman at 70.0%.

Brees achieved a passer rating of 114.5 in Super Bowl XLIV which ranks as the 11th-best performance in a Super Bowl. With one more attempt, he would have qualified for the NFL’s career Super Bowl list, and that mark of 114.5 would rank third behind Joe Montana (127.8) and Jim Plunkett (122.8).

Brees completed this postseason with eight TD passes and no interceptions. He is the fifth QB to complete eight or more TD passes in a postseason without an interception – and all five of them won the Super Bowl. The other four are Joe Montana of the 1989 49ers (13-0), Steve Young of the 1994 49ers (9-0), Phil Simms of the 1986 Giants (8-0) and Troy Aikman of the 1992 Cowboys (8-0). Brees completed 72 of 102 (70.6%) passes in this postseason for 732 yards, eight TDs and 0 INTs. That figures to a passer rating of 117.0.

In his postseason career, Brees is 150 of 225 (66.7%) for 1,648 yards, 11 TDs and two INTs. That figures to a rating of 103.7, second in NFL postseason history to Bart Starr’s 104.8. Kurt Warner upped his mark to 102.8 in this postseason.


Super Bowl XLIV Game Notes - 5

PEYTON MANNING finished with 31 completions, one shy of the Super Bowl record now shared by Drew Brees and Tom Brady. The combined total of 63 completions is a Super Bowl record and is just one shy of the NFL postseason record of 64 completions in the 1981 AFC Divisional Playoff Game in Miami (Orange Bowl) between the Chargers and the Dolphins.

The 63 completions is six more than any postseason game that did not go to overtime and 10 more than the previous Super Bowl record of 53 combined completions.

* * *

The victory by the Saints was the second for the NFC in the last three Super Bowls but only the second in the last seven games and third in the last 10. The NFC now leads 23-21 in Super Bowl play.

* * *

JOSEPH ADDAI of the Colts has now played in two Super Bowls – and in each he has rushed for exactly 77 yards. He had 77 yards on 19 carries in Super Bowl XLI and 77 yards on 16 attempts in Super Bowl XLIV. With his 154 yards rushing in two Super Bowls, Addai now ranks 12th on the Super Bowl career list, seventh among those with two or fewer appearances.