Saints win Super Bowl, 31-17, over Colts

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By Barry Wilner ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — Who Dat won the Super Bowl? The New Orleans Saints, that's who.

Ain't kidding.

Put away those paper bags forever. Drew Brees and the Saints are NFL champions, rallying to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football's most thrilling title games.

Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions, the last a 2-yard slant to Jeremy Shockey for the winning points with 5:42 remaining, and was chosen the game's MVP.

"We just believed in ourselves and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us," Brees said. "What can I say? I tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time and it's better than expected."

A surprise onside kick sparked the Saints' second-half comeback. Their 25th-ranked defense made several key stops, and Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return on a pass from Manning, of all people, clinched it.

Manning tried to give chase, but was blocked by a New Orleans defender and fell awkwardly as the cornerback raced by. The four-time NFL MVP forlornly walked to the sideline as the Big Easy celebrations began.

"It's time for the Saints to celebrate," he said. "It's their field and it's their championship."

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Saints win first NFL championship

The New Orleans Saints capture their first NFL championship with a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL's Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.

An NFL embarrassment for much of their 43 years, the Saints' football renaissance, led by Brees and coach Sean Payton, climaxed with Shockey's touchdown and Lance Moore's 2-point conversion catch, originally ruled incomplete but overturned on Payton's challenge.

Porter's pick, just as dramatic as his interception of Brett Favre's pass to force overtime in the NFC title game, was the game's only turnover. It's one Manning will forever regret.