Dat's Destiny

The following can't be said enough: When watching sports, there’s always a multitude of probable circumstances, situations and outcomes. The possibilities to be sought over, the predictions that we all account for – they all get thrown out the window no matter how much we love or know sports.

This not only holds true for a moment of amazement or jubilation subsequent a seemingly improbable play or occurrence, but for a game or season as a whole as well. In the case of the New Orleans Saints, it holds true for a game, season, franchise and city as a whole.

After Super Bow XLIV last Sunday, the 2009-10 New Orleans Saints became living legends. They brought the Lombardi Trophy to a franchise mired in miserable seasons for over four decades with no championships and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. They became something that was literally bigger than themselves. In all reality, they played bigger than themselves, defeating the Indianapolis Colts in the one and only form or fashion imaginable for Colts defeat.

By playing the perfect game.

Saying they had to play the perfect game is no demeaning gesture towards the Saints, because they did it. If a team is capable of completing the perfect game and does it in the Super Bowl, that team is undeniably, unquestionably, unequivocally the best team in the NFL.

But how perfect were they? So perfect that their victory didn’t require the luxury of fortunate breaks or capitalizations of mistakes on the Indianapolis side of the ball. All in all, the Colts only made three evident mistakes in the course of the game, and none had a vast impact on the overall outcome:

Blunder #1: Up 10-3 and not attempting the patented Peyton Manning 2-minute drill.

Indianapolis opted to play conservative deep in their territory rather than drive the ball down the field with 1:55 left in the first half after the Saints’ failed fourth down touchdown attempt. The Colts thrive on scoring in the final minutes of the first half, and had done so to perfection all season. At worst, the Colts offense would have stalled out at their own 40, and they would’ve punted the ball deep into Saints territory, preventing them from scoring before the half. Instead, the Saints managed a field goal and the game would settle at a 10-6 halftime score. Although this was one of the underrated and unnoticed mistakes of the game, it ultimately did not result in crucial impact because there was obviously a significant amount of football left to be played.

Blunder #2: The 51-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, up 17-16.

It was fourth and 11, but the options of a pooch punt or fourth down conversion attempt were the most sensible ways to go at this point. Matt Stover is not a high-efficiency long-distance kicker, and has made only 13 of his 32 attempts of 50 yards or more in his 20-year NFL career. Stover missed the kick, put the Saints in quality field position, and New Orleans would score on the ensuing drive. Moreover, they would make the 2-point conversion and take a full touchdown lead, 24-17. However, this wouldn’t substantiate as a critical mistake because Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis offense had one final chance to drive down the field and tie the game. Which brings up…

Blunder #3: The game-clinching pick-six interception throw by Peyton Manning.

With 3:24 left in the game, the city of New Orleans, the Saints franchise and its fans would be changed forever. New Orleans brought a heavy inside blitz on this play, leaving no room for any double moves or extended routes for the outside receivers. Manning looked immediately to his left and zipped a quick throw intended for his main fourth quarter target, Reggie Wayne. Because of the excessive pressure and the fact that it was third-and-five, Saints cornerback Tracy Porter was able to jump the slant route without having to worry about Wayne running a double move with no safety help. Porter flew underneath the route and completed the interception in stride, not stopping until he made his way into the endzone.
An instantaneous roar of overwhelming Saints fans erupted in Miami as Porter intercepted the pass, and one not residing in the city itself could only imagine how those roars were felt in New Orleans. This play instantly became the most euphoric, entrancing and exciting play of Super Bowl XLIV and the history of the New Orleans Saints franchise.

However, even though this play clinched Super Bowl glory for the Saints, it was by no means a blunder worth labeling the most crucial Indianapolis mistake. Furthermore, Peyton Manning is not deserving of the sole blame for Colts defeat.

There were a variety of possibilities to account for if the interception had not been thrown. The Colts were at the New Orleans 31-yard line at that point. If Manning had in fact led his team to the endzone, the Saints would have had at least a 2-minute drill to work with or the final possession of regulation if the Colts didn’t score before the 2-minute warning. If the Saints would have failed to score at the end of regulation, the game would have inevitably came down to a coin flip. A coin flip the Saints were destined to win.

While the Colts made some key mistakes that ultimately didn’t swing the game on any explicitly significant levels, the Saints made no mistakes to speak of and completed the perfect game in every phase.

They committed zero turnovers; made every one of their field goals; thrived off a pro-Saints crowd that carried them all season long; won the special teams battle with quality field position at pristine times and made the Colts drive the length of the field on virtually every drive; made all the right play calls with head coach Sean Payton immaculately coordinating the offense; executed the only successful onside kick conversion in Super Bowl history that didn’t occur in the fourth quarter, and used it to keep Peyton Manning off the field and avoid the imminent 17-6 Colts third quarter lead; won a game in which they were out-gained 432 total yards to 332; won a game in which Peyton Manning played to near perfection, while Saints quarterback Drew Brees played to pure perfection; altered Peyton Manning’s living legacy; defied The Championship Philosophy and became the first team since the 1999-00 St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV to rush for less yards than the opponent and win the Super Bowl. Now the New Orleans Saints resonate with so many individuals in unprecedented fashion, captivating a downtrodden franchise while giving hope to a distraught city that will now commence never-ending celebration. Only one word is suitable enough to describe this particular picture-perfect storybook ending:

Destiny.