The Saints are Going to the Super Bowl
NFC Championship Game: New Orleans Saints 31, Minnesota Vikings 28 - Final (OT)
January 25, 2010
By: Fat Lester
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime in the NFC Championship game Sunday night. The win advances the Saints to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
The Big Easy has never been more elated than when Saints kicker Garrett Hartley knocked through a 40 yard field goal in overtime to put away the Brett Favre-led Vikings by the final count of 31-28. Both teams had won their previous playoff games by 31 points. The Saints defeated the Arizona Cardinals in New Orleans 45-14, while the Vikings spanked the upstart Dallas Cowboys 34-3.
Those same Cowboys, you may recall, jumped out to a 24-3 lead against the Saints in week 15, and the Saints were never able to overcome the deficit, falling by a final total of 24-17. It was the Saints' first loss of the 2009-2010 football season.
The NFC Championship game did not disappoint. While the Vikings dominated most areas of the stat sheets, the Saints came out on top in the only one that matters --- the final score.
On their opening drive, Favre led the Vikings 80 yards on 10 plays, a drive that was capped by running back Adrian Peterson's 19 yard touchdown run that put Minnesota up 7-0.
The Saints responded, going 76 yards on 7 plays on their first possesion, which ended when Drew Brees hooked up with Pierre Thomas for a 38 yard touchdown pass.
The Vikings were quick to regain the lead, driving down the field 71 yards in 10 plays. That drive ended when Brett Favre hit wide receiver Sidney Rice over the middle for a 5 yard touchdown pass.
Brees was not about to be overshadowed by a 40 year old quarterback, and not long into the second quarter he had the Saints again tied up with the Vikings after hitting wide receiver Devery Henderson on a 9 yard touchdown pass, knotting the game at 14 a piece.
That's when things started to get crazy. With just over a minute to go in the first half, Reggie Bush fumbled a punt return inside New Orleans' 10 yard line. Favre and the Vikings had received a gift, and seemed poised to score and go into the half with the lead. It was not to be, however, as Favre fumbled it away two plays later and New Orleans recovered, opting to run out the half rather than take any chances.
Courtney Roby returned the second half kickoff 61 yards to give New Orleans starting field position at the Minnesota 37 yard line. Four plays later, Pierre Thomas was running off right guard untouched into the end zone, giving the Saints a 21-14 lead.
The Vikings weren't ready to give up, however. They mounted a 9 play, 90 yard drive in response to New Orleans taking its first lead of the game, culminating with Peterson's 1 yard touchdown run, tying the score at 21. The teams would exchange scores one more time before the end of regulation.
The Vikings were plagued by turnovers, committing five total including three in the final 17 minutes. What's worse is that most came while inside of Saints territory, and one occurred deep in their own territory, which led to the Saints' final touchdown of the game.
Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma intercepted a Favre pass down around the New Orleans 35 that ended a drive near the end of the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Percy Harvin fumbled deep inside Vikings' territory, Remi Ayodele recovered for New Orleans, and three plays later Brees was hitting Reggie Bush on a four yard touchdown pass that put the Saints up 28-21.
The Vikings next turnover came at the end of an impressive drive in which they coughed it up at the Saints' 5 yard line. Vilma recovered the fumble for New Orleans, who went three-and-out, failing to put the game away.
Favre would make them pay with a 7 play 57 yard drive that ended with another Adrian Peterson touchdown on the ground. That touchdown tied the score at 28 a piece.
The Saints would again go three-and-out, setting the Vikings up for the final possession. The Vikings moved the ball down into field goal range, and then the incredible happened. The Saints finally managed to put a little bit of pressure on Favre, and he threw an interception to Saints cornerback Tracy Porter who returned the ball to the Saint 48. The Saints could not get into field goal range before the end of regulation.
In overtime, New Orleans won the toss and elected to receive. The Saints moved the ball 39 yards on 10 plays, setting Hartley up for the game-winning 40-yard field goal.
The Saints (15-3) will meet the Indianapolis Colts (16-2) in the Super Bowl in Miami two weeks from now.
Tags: News, Saints
