Sunday, February 7, 2010
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A closer look inside the numbers for Super Bowl 44:
Super Bowl 44 is a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in the league during the regular season (New Orleans 13-0, Indianapolis 14-0). It also marks the first time that both No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Super Bowl in the last 16 seasons (last time -- Super Bowl 28 when Dallas beat Buffalo, 30-13).
The Saints are making their first-ever Super Bowl appearance (43 seasons), while the Colts are playing in their fourth (also Super Bowls 3, 5 and 41). With a victory over New Orleans, Indianapolis will become the ninth team all-time with 3+ Super Bowl victories (also SB 5 and 41). Regardless of the outcome, the Colts are now just the second team to reach four or more Super Bowls with four different head coaches (Raiders -- 5 Super Bowls, 4 different head coaches).
When the Saints take the field Sunday, it will leave just four NFL teams without a Super Bowl appearance -- Lions, Browns, Texans and Jaguars. Just two squads since 1990 have won a Super Bowl in their first attempt -- the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers.
With two playoff wins under his belt this season, Drew Brees now has a career postseason record of 3-2 and a combined rating of 100.6 (11 TD, 2 INT) in five playoff contests -- third-best all-time among all QBs with at least 150 postseason pass attempts (Bart Starr-104.8, Kurt Warner-102.8). Brees and Peyton Manning have faced each other three times during their NFL careers (all regular season) with Manning winning two of those games.
Peyton Manning threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Jets and now boasts a 9-8 postseason record all-time (6-2 in his last eight postseason contests). Manning's 377-yard performance against New York was the seventh 300+ yard playoff game of his career -- most of any QB all-time.
Randall Gay is the only Saint to have actually played in and win a Super Bowl while a member of the 2004 Patriots. Jeremy Shockey was part of the 2007 Giants' squad that beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 42, but was on injured reserve and did not participate. By contrast, the Colts' current players have a combined 21 Super Bowl rings to their credit.
Despite nursing a torn ligament in his right ankle, Dwight Freeney is listed as questionable for the Super Bowl. Freeney recorded 13.5 sacks during the 2009 regular season (tied for third-most in the league) and his 92 sacks (including the postseason) since joining the league in 2002, are most in the NFL.
New Orleans was tied with Green Bay for tops in the league in points off turnovers during the regular season (141) and has continued that trend in the playoffs. The Saints have tallied 21 takeaway points during the postseason, while posting a +6 turnover differential (7-1) in their two wins.
These two teams were No. 1 and 2 in the league during the regular season when it came to scoring touchdowns in the last two minutes of the first half (New Orleans-10, Indianapolis-7). The playoffs have been a little different, however, with the Colts reaching paydirt three times and the Saints just once in the last final two minutes of the first stanza.
Both the Colts and Saints have shown a propensity for the come-from-behind victory this season. Including the playoffs, 10 of Indianapolis' 16 wins (62.5 percent) and nine of New Orleans 15 wins (60.0 percent) have come in games the two squads were once trailing.
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