MIAMI - Indianapolis Colts
fans may be able to take some comfort in the fact that Colts players feel their pain.

Everyone seemed stunned to the point of disbelief after the New Orleans Saints beat them 31-17 to win Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium.

“I can't say I saw this coming at all,” Colts center Jeff Saturday said. “We had the team to take this thing, and they just outplayed us.”

The reasons are many why the Saints are champions today, and New Orleans will be in Mardi Gras mode for the foreseeable future. Here's a quick-and-obvious five:

♦Drew Brees. The former Purdue University quarterback assured his place among the greats by completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns and winning the Most Valuable Player award. During this postseason, Brees threw eight touchdown passes and no interceptions, joining Joe Montana, Steve Young, Phil Simms and Troy Aikman as the only quarterbacks to do so.

(A bit of trivia: Brees is the third Purdue quarterback to win a Super Bowl, joining Bob Griese and Len Dawson. Only Alabama, with Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler, has produced as many Super Bowl winners.)

♦Peyton Manning's mistake. Manning was his usual dominating self much of the game, completing throws no human has a right to complete en route to 333 yards passing. But when he slightly missed a throw to Reggie Wayne late in the fourth quarter, Saints defensive back Tracy Porter intercepted the football and returned it 74 yards to make the score 31-17 with a little over three minutes left.

“All of us expected to drive the ball down and score a touchdown,” Saturday said. “We've done it all season. But when the game was on the line, those guys made the plays.”

♦Sean Payton. The Saints coach made all the right moves, most notably calling for an onside kick to start the second half, depriving the Colts of the ball when Indianapolis had a 10-6 lead and changing the tone of the game.

“They get the onsides and it kind of takes the wind out of our sails a little bit,” Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. “It definitely caught us by surprise, but that's the way it goes. You gamble and you get it or not.”


♦Garrett Hartley. The Saints' field-goal kicker became the first in Super Bowl history to nail three kicks of 40 yards or longer. Those nine points kept the Colts from pulling away.

♦Dwight Freeney's ankle. You have to credit Freeney for gritting his teeth and playing in the game despite suffering a torn ligament in his ankle. He even came up with a sack, grabbing Brees' jersey with his left hand and pulling him down. But Freeney wasn't himself, and the Colts couldn't get the type of pressure they needed on Brees down the stretch.

“There's only one happy NFL team at the end of the year,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. “I told our guys, our heads are bloodied, but unbowed. I told our guys they did a great job representing our franchise. Now we have to take our disappointment and let it fuel us a little bit and see what 2010 brings.”

It sounds as if Caldwell is eager to look forward. Who can blame him? Looking back as the missed chances in the Super Bowl is far too fresh and painful for the Colts and their fans.