Super Bowl XLIV — 2009 Season
February 7, 2010 · Miami Gardens, FL (Sun Life Stadium)
Super Bowl XLIV result: NOSNew Orleans Saints def. ICIndianapolis Colts, 31-17, February 7, 2010, at Miami Gardens, FL (Sun Life Stadium).
Result
| Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | NOSNew Orleans Saints | 31-17 |
| Runner-up | ICIndianapolis Colts |
Super Bowl MVP
Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
Starting lineups
Starting offense
| New Orleans Saints | Indianapolis Colts |
|---|---|
| Drew Brees (QB) | Peyton Manning (QB) |
| Pierre Thomas (RB) | Joseph Addai (RB) |
| Reggie Bush (RB) | Gijon Robinson (FB) |
| Marques Colston (WR) | Reggie Wayne (WR) |
| Devery Henderson (WR) | Pierre Garcon (WR) |
| Jeremy Shockey (TE) | Dallas Clark (TE) |
| Jermon Bushrod (LT) | Charlie Johnson (LT) |
| Carl Nicks (LG) | Ryan Lilja (LG) |
| Jonathan Goodwin (C) | Jeff Saturday (C) |
| Jahri Evans (RG) | Kyle DeVan (RG) |
| Jon Stinchcomb (RT) | Ryan Diem (RT) |
Starting defense
| New Orleans Saints | Indianapolis Colts |
|---|---|
| Bobby McCray (DE) | Robert Mathis (DE) |
| Sedrick Ellis (DT) | Daniel Muir (DT) |
| Will Smith (DE) | Antonio Johnson (DT) |
| Scott Fujita (LB) | Dwight Freeney (DE) |
| Marvin Mitchell (LB) | Philip Wheeler (LB) |
| Jonathan Vilma (LB) | Gary Brackett (LB) |
| Scott Shanle (LB) | Clint Session (LB) |
| Jabari Greer (CB) | Kelvin Hayden (CB) |
| Tracy Porter (CB) | Jacob Lacey (CB) |
| Roman Harper (S) | Melvin Bullitt (S) |
| Darren Sharper (S) | Antoine Bethea (S) |
Box score
Passing
| Team | Player | Comp/Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | Drew Brees | 32/39 | 288 | 2 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Peyton Manning | 31/45 | 333 | 1 | 1 |
Rushing
| Team | Player | Car | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | Pierre Thomas | 9 | 30 | 0 |
| New Orleans Saints | Reggie Bush | 5 | 25 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Joseph Addai | 13 | 77 | 1 |
Receiving
| Team | Player | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | Marques Colston | 7 | 83 | 0 |
| New Orleans Saints | Devery Henderson | 7 | 63 | 0 |
| New Orleans Saints | Pierre Thomas | 6 | 55 | 1 |
| New Orleans Saints | Jeremy Shockey | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Dallas Clark | 7 | 86 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Joseph Addai | 7 | 58 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Austin Collie | 6 | 66 | 0 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Pierre Garcon | 5 | 66 | 1 |
Game context
Super Bowl XLIV brought the New Orleans Saints their first championship in franchise history, four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and the team's home, the Louisiana Superdome, served briefly as a shelter of last resort for displaced residents. The Saints' run to the title, under head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees, carried enormous symbolic weight for a city still rebuilding, and their opponent, Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts, entered as favorites off a 14-2 season. Indianapolis controlled the first quarter, with a Matt Stover field goal and a Manning touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon building a 10-0 lead. New Orleans clawed back before halftime and trailed only 10-6 at the break, but the game's defining moment came to open the second half: rather than kick off conventionally, Payton called for a surprise onside kick, an audacious decision unprecedented before the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history. New Orleans recovered on its own 42-yard line, and the Saints converted the turnover into a touchdown drive finished by Pierre Thomas, taking a 13-10 lead. Indianapolis briefly regained the advantage at 17-13 in the third quarter, but New Orleans responded with 18 unanswered points, including three field goals of 40-plus yards from Garrett Hartley, a Super Bowl first. The decisive blow came late in the fourth quarter when cornerback Tracy Porter read a Manning pass intended for Reggie Wayne and returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown, sealing a 31-17 victory. Drew Brees was named Super Bowl MVP after completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, tying a Super Bowl completion-percentage record and directing an offense that consistently found soft spots in Indianapolis's defense. His performance, along with Payton's aggressive game plan capped by the onside kick, is remembered as one of the most gutsy coaching efforts in Super Bowl history — Payton later said the call was born from a belief that the Saints needed to seize momentum rather than play conservatively against Manning. For Indianapolis, the loss was a rare postseason disappointment in the Manning era and marked the last Super Bowl appearance for that Colts core; the franchise would decline sharply after Manning's neck injury forced him out of the 2011 season entirely. New Orleans's title, delivered before 74,059 fans in Miami Gardens, remains one of the most emotionally resonant championships in modern NFL history, celebrated with an outpouring in New Orleans widely described as the largest party the city had seen since Katrina, and cementing Brees and Payton as beloved figures in Saints history.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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