The heat is on for the Super Bowl XLIV which will be held on February 7, 2010. American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts will face the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New Orleans Saints in a very exciting 40th annual championship game of the modern-era National Football League.
New Orleans defeated Minnesota 31-28 in overtime period, Sunday, on unheralded kicker Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal. Hartley’s winning field sent the franchise to their first-ever appearance in Super Bowl. it also marked as another history not only in New Orleans but also in NFL.
Saints really played well in this NFC Championship game. Quarterback Drew Brees played a major role in this event. Brees threw three touchdowns and completed 17 of 31 passes for 197 yards. Another player who have contributed to Saints’ success is Pierre Thomas. He was the star of the offense with a touchdown run and touchdown reception. He caught a 38-yard pass from Brees at 6:30 in the first quarter. He scored his second touchdown of the game off a 9-yard touchdown run during the third quarter.
Aside from Brees and Thomas, Devery Henderson and Reggie Bush were another star players in the game. A 9-yard passing play from Brees to Henderson tied the game, 14-14 in the second quarter. Saints went ahead, 28-21, on Brees’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Bush with 12:39 left in the fourth quarter. It was a very important score for the team that pressured the Vikings in the said quarter. Although Vikings running Adrian Peterson was able to bring the game in the overtime period, they weren’t able to stop Hartley’s winning field goal.
New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts game was another exciting game. The four-time MVP and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes. The Colts rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC championship game.
Jets (11-8) and Colts (16-2) were scoreless in the first round. Both teams were having a hard time scoring in the first round but Colts kicker Matt Stover (now the oldest player in NFL history to advance to the Super Bowl) puts Indy in the front, 3-0, by a 25-yard field goal. Another field goal coming from Stover at 8:44 putting Indy a bit closer to Jets. Indy had a tough defense which made Jets scoreless in the third and final quarter.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tampabay.com / GettyImages
Topics: Adrian Peterson, AFC, AFC Championship, American Football Conference, Colts, Devery Henderson, Drew Brees, football, Garrett Hartley, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Colts, Jets, Matt Stover, National Football Conference, National Football League, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints, NFC, NFC Championship, NFL, Peyton Manning, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Saints, Sports, Vikings
