The XLI Superbowl Story
The Indianapolis Colts clinched the NFL Football title for the first time in 36 years with a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI to the delight of MVP Peyton Manning and coach Tony Dungy.
Manning passed for 247 yards and a touchdown, while rookie Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes combined for 190 rushing yards as the Colts dealt with the wet conditions in Miami better than their opponents.
Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the 41 years, while defeating protege Lovie Smith, who worked as his linebackers coach at Tampa Bay from 1996-2000.
Manning completed 25-of-38 passes, including a 53-yard touchdown to Reggie Wayne in the first quarter, while Rhodes recorded his first 100-yard rushing game since 2001, gaining 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
Addai added 77 yards on the ground and caught 10 passes for 66 yards.
The Colts’ defence also forced five turnovers, including three by quarterback Rex Grossman.
Cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who replaced injured starter Nick Harper in the second-half, made the biggest defensive play when he intercepted a floating pass by Grossman along the right sideline and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, opening up a 29-17 lead with 11 minutes 44 seconds remaining.
The Chicago Bears (15-4) were trying to win their first title since 1985 but the NFC’s best defensive team yielded a staggering 430 yards to the Indianapolis Colts.
After Chicago rookie Devin Hester became the first player to return the opening kick-off of a Super Bowl for a touchdown, the Bears were dominated by the Colts.
Indianapolis dominated the line of scrimmage, controlling the ball for 38 minutes and outgaining Chicago 430-265 - during one stretch across half-time, the Colts ran 23 of 24 plays from scrimmage, with the Bears’ only snap resulting in a fumble.
Grossman, who committed 25 turnovers during the regular season, bobbled away a snap in the second quarter and was intercepted by safety Bob Sanders in the final period.
Grossman completed 20-of-28 passes for 165 yards, including a four-yard touchdown to Muhsin Muhammad with 4min 34sec to play in the first quarter, giving the Bears a 14-6 lead.
But the Colts scored the next 16 points as Adam Vinatieri kicked a 29-yard field goal and Rhodes bulled in for a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Vinatieri, best known for kicking two Super Bowl-winning field goals for the New England Patriots, added field goals of 24 and 20 yards in the third quarter to give the Colts a 22-14 advantage.
Despite outstanding efforts from the two Colts running backs, the award for Manning really was never in doubt. The two-time NFL MVP was 25 of 38 for 247 yards and a touchdown pass, and that was more than enough to clinch the press and fans votes.
The Manning MVP win added another couple of points to the final profits haul.
The Colts are a best price 8/1 to reclaim their new found title, while the Bears are 10s to go one better in twelve months time.
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Ciprian13 says:
GREAT FOOTBALL ACTION LAST NIGHT
I’ve watched the match last night and I happy for Payton that he finnaly become the best quaterback in the history of NFL with this title and all his records.I’m kind of dissapointed by Grossman who isn’t the right quarterback for such a great team like the Bears.
February 5th, 2007 at 2:40 pm