Saints to face Colts in Super Bowl

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (L) and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will face each other in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on Feb. 7 (Getty Images)

MANNING, BREES TO SQUARE OFF IN MIAMI FEB. 7

After a great Sunday of NFL football, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts have each punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.

In the AFC Championship game, the Colts (16-2) bested the New York Jets 30-17 on quarterback Payton Manning’s 377 yards and three touchdowns.

After trailing at the half by four points, the Colts piled on 17 unanswered in the final half to earn their second AFC title in four years. Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell is only the fifth rookie coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

“We talked about being patient against these guys,” said Manning, a four time league MVP. “We knew it would be a four-quarter game.”

The Saints (15-3) won their way into football’s biggest game by defeating the Minnesota Vikings in a phenomenal NFC Championship game.

New Orleans and Minnesota traded scores for much of the game, leading up to a Brett Favre interception deep in Saints territory with the game tied in the final seconds of regulation.

The Saints won the overtime coin toss and quarterback Drew Brees guided the team to the Minnesota 22. It was from there that New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley knocked through a 40-yard field goal to give the Saints a 31-28 win.

For the Saints, the win capped an inspiring season — fueled by the mantra of “Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints” — that began with a perfect 13-0 start and has culminated with back-to-back wins over Kurt Warner’s Arizona Cardinals and Favre’s Vikings.

But it was more than just football that inspired the Big Easy to rally behind their team.

For so long, the Saints were “the Aints” — a losing football program with a legacy of few accomplishments. And it was just five years ago that the Saints home stadium, the Louisiana Superdome, was a makeshift shelter for thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees.

It will be the first time the Saints have been to the Super Bowl. The Colts have been three times and have won twice.

The Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 7 in Miami.