Going into halftime of Super Bowl XLIV, Sean Payton and the Saints were coming off a disappointing second quarter in which they could have gotten a huge lead over the Colts but instead kicked two field goals and were stopped on a goalline stand. Coach Sean Payton had the perfect remedy for the Saints' inability to convert big drives into touchdowns, an onside kick.
When punter Thomas Morestead started his run up to the ball, no one in the stadium or anyone around the world watching the game expected what was coming. Morestead moved his right foot to the left and doing the unthinkable, kicking an onside kick in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. The ball deflected off Colts' WR Hank Baskett into the hands of special teamer Matt Reis and eventually ended up at the bottom of the pile with linebacker Jonathan Casillas. After recovering the kick, the Saints drove 59 yards down the field led by Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees in 3 minutes and 19 seconds ending in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Pierre Thomas. After that drive, momentum stayed on the Saints' side for the rest of the game.
The Saints' won the game 31-17, but I want to talk about the onside kick. In my opinion, the most gutsiest play in Super Bowl history. No one would have ever predicted that it was coming and it changed the game. In my memory of almost 15 Super Bowls, no one play propelled a team to a win more than Morestead's onside kick. For the rest of Super Bowl history, Super Bowl XLIV will forever be remembered for Sean Payton's ballsy call to onside kick and give his team a huge confidence booster than led them to bring New Orleans its first Lombardi Trophy winner.
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