Colts 10, Saints 6: Halftime
Written by on February 7th, 2010 in Latest News.
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon accounted for the only toucdown in the first half of Super Bowl XLIV, but also had a key drop to give New Orleans some momentum. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)
The New Orleans Saints were stuffed on a fourth-down play near the Indianapolis goal-line, the key play in the second quarter, and the Colts led 10-6 at halftime of Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
Running back Pierre Thomas was knocked back by Indianapolis linebackers Gary Brackett and Clint Session on the play with 1:55 left in the half.
But Saints quarterback Drew Brees led his offensive unit on a pair of time-chewing scoring drives in the stanza to get momentum back, with Garrett Hartley earlier accounting for the first Super Bowl points in New Orleans history with a 46-yard field goal.
Hartley added a 44-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
The key offensive play for the Colts in the second saw wide receiver Pierre Garcon drop a catchable pass on third down to halt progress.
Garcon caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning late in the first for a 10-0 Indianapolis lead. The touchdown completed a 96-yard scoring drive that was propelled by 53 combined yards from running back Joseph Addai.
Manning led the Colts to a 38-yard Matt Stover field goal on the team’s first drive. He found favourite target Dallas Clark for two passes and made a third-down conversion to Austin Collie on the nearly six-minute scoring drive.
Brees and the Saints, who received the opening kickoff, completed just one first down in two drives to start the game as Colts defenders provided excellent coverage on his intended targets.
The championship game pits two NFL teams who combined to win their first 27 regular-season games this season.
Indianapolis (16-2) has yet to lose this season when playing their starters for all four quarters, while New Orleans (13-3) has rebounded from a dip in December to score 76 points in two playoff games.
The Saints are playing in the Super Bowl for the first time since playing their first NFL game in 1967.
The Colts are looking for the third Super Bowl win in franchise history. Indianapolis won in 2007, also in Miami, while the Baltimore Colts were victorious in 1971.
The Super Bowl is being played in Miami area for the 10th time. Conditions were clear, with a game time temperature of 17 C in front of a stadium crowd that favours New Orleans, which is just a 90-minute flight away.
