I'm not exactly sure which was sloppier last night-the weather or the play of Chicago and Indianapolis. The two interconnect as a direct result of each other, but still, it was totally unexpected. This game was strange from the very start and only got weirder as it went on. In the end however, it was the Colts who walked away with a Super Bowl title. The monkey is gone for Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy finally got his. Here's how it went down.
The opening kickoff was an adventure as Devin Hester took the return back 92 yards for the score. The blocking up the middle coupled with Hester's quickness got him the score. The Super Bowl was off to a familiar start to another championship game (BCS championship game).
Chicago continued to roll on the Colts next possession as the defense picked off Peyton Manning. Indy got it back however and threw a long bomb to Reggie Wayne thanks to broken coverage. The extra point would be no good as the holder's saga continued. The rain just began and the ball slipped out of Hunter Smith's hands. 7-6 Chicago.
Indy took the next kickoff and had a much better result. They squibbed it and forced and recovered a fumble. But the possession would be short-lived as the Colts fumbled a handoff to Addai on the very next play. Chicago again had momentum and then took that and got a 52 yard run by Thomas Jones out of it to the Colts 5 yard line. Grossman then threw a short pass to Muhsin Muhammad for the score. Chicago leads 14-6 to cap off a very sloppy first quarter filled with four total turnovers.
With things looking good for the Bears, Indianapolis would now need to get back into the game. That they did as Peyton Manning got it going. Following a field goal by Adam Vinatieri, the Colts pounded it into the endzone for the touchdown on a 1 yard run by Dominic Rhodes.
Again, the Colts were moving down the field before Chicago caught a break. Bryan Fletcher fumbled after making a catch and Chicago recovered, but take a wild guess at what happens next. The Bears fumble the snap and Indy gets it right back. Another instance of back-to-back fumbles. But before you think the Colts got something out of it, Vinatieri missed a filed goal to end the half. Who knew he knew how to do that. Despite the dominance statistically by Indianapolis, Chicago only trailed 16-14 at the half.
Peyton Manning opened the second half with a few big plays to get the Colts lead slightly bigger. The Colts drove down the field and did get a field goal this time from Adam Vinatieri from 24 yards to make it a 19-14 game. Indianapolis just didn't stop after getting the ball back as they quickly got down the field to get into range for another Vinatieri field goal.
This is when things went downhill for the Bears. Rex Grossman dropped back and threw up a lob-type pass that was picked off by Kelvin Hayden and returned 56 yards for the score. Ball game yet? Maybe.
Grossman came out on the following drive and threw another interception, ending the Bears chances of walking away with a win. Indianapolis won the Super Bowl after Chicago couldn't convert on fourth down and the Colts got the Lombardi Trophy.
Manning won the Super Bowl MVP award by going 25-38 with 247 yards, a touchdown, and one interception. The critics are finally silenced saying "he can't win the big game." Although it wasn't the best game by Indianapolis considering turnovers and the conditions, the Colts still walk away with the 29-17 win to take home the big prize.
Tony Dungy now becomes the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl title, and he is more than deserving. Seeing how modest he is and how classy he is shows that he is a great one to take home the title. And props to Lovie Smith as well for being so classy about the situation.
With the Super Bowl title, Indianapolis now begins an offseason that can't get any more joyous than this. Chicago on the other hand has to sit back and wait until September to being its run for another shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Either way, it has been a great season in general and I'm already counting down to next season.
Congratulations to the Colts and especially BigBlueShoe over at Stampede Blue. Nothing gets better than winning the Super Bowl. Hopefully someday we can say the same thing here at Pride of Detroit about the Lions (hard to say that with a straight face).
As the offseason begins, keep it tuned to POD for continuing updates on free agency, the draft, and much more. Until then, thanks for reading, congrats Indy, and Go Lions!