Colts, Saints: Super Bowl XLIV Prediction!

That picture, that is the Lombardi Trophy. Named after hall of fame coach Vince Lombardi from the Packers glory days. Of course, he is just one piece of the great puzzle that is the history of the NFL, but his name is on the trophy that the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will be playing for in South Florida on February 7th.

The Colts played one of their many close games this year in Miami in week 2. They beat the Dolphins in the final minutes as Manning connected to Garcon for a touchdown. The Dolphins had the ball for more than 3 quarters in this game, however Manning was still able to pass for more than 300 yards in the 14 minutes the Colts had the ball.

The Colts also scored 27 points in those 14 minutes. This comes from the team that ran a total of 13 plays in the second half.This game was one of many in the past decade that the Colts offense showed its horsepower.

The Colts continued to win games as they rolled on to a 14-0 start behind their offense and great comebacks. The 14 straight wins this season along with the 9 to end last year combined for an NFL record 23 straight regular season wins. It was in week 16 with a five point lead that the Colts took their starters out just two drives into the 4th quarter. Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne and others had to watch as the Jets posted 19 straight points to win the game 29-15.

The Colts lost their final two games en route to a 14-2 regular season. Then in the playoffs the offense everyone knows was back, but so was a grade A defense to go with it. The Colts played the Jets again, and well, we all know what happened.

The Saints road seemed much smoother as they blew opponents out week after week. They would fall behind early then in the second half win my 10 or 20 points. It was something we expected week after week. Then in week 14 the Cowboys were in town and stopped the Saints run at perfection. The Saints dropped their final three games after a 13-0 start including a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Then it was playoff time, and in were the returning Super Bowl runner-ups, the Arizona Cardinals. This game was a blowout win for the Saints, although it was the play of Reggie Bush that opened this game up instead of the Saints passing game.

Next the first NFC Championship in Superdome history with the Vikings rolling into town off of their own huge win over the same Cowboys that smoked the Saints. The Saints had every opportunity to lose this game, but the faced the adversity and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre and won it in overtime.

Those are the two paths these teams have taken, and now it comes down to the two prolific offenses. The highest scoring team in the league and arguably the best offense overall year after year. The Colts defense can play good when they are called upon and the Saints defense had the most pick 6's in the league this year which could be critical as much as the Colts like to pass.

This game will come down to which defense steps up the most. I see the Colts winning their second championship in the past 5 years in Miami in a not so close game.

Colts 35

Saints 24