Colts hoist the Lombardi trophy at Miami

The Indianapolis Colts entered a wet, rainy Miami on Feb. 4 to face the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl and left with the Lombardi trophy after a 29-17 victory.            

The Bears fumbled the ball three times and Rex Grossman threw two picks while the Colts had two fumbles and one interception. 

Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning led the Colts to victory by going 25-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown.            
           
The Bears’ Rex Grossman was 20-28 for 165 yards and a touchdown and two costly interceptions.

A historic game

The game was historic for multiple reasons.             

First of all, Devin Hester’s 92-yard return of the opening kickoff was the first time ever that the feat was accomplished in the Super Bowl.

The first points

After Hester’s historic kickoff return, The Bears came out strong defensively with Chris Harris intercepting a pass intended for Marvin Harrison.                           

However, the Colts defense would put the ball back in Peyton Manning’s hands after putting a quick stop to a Bears drive.                       
Manning would end up bombing a 53-yard pass to a wide open Reggie Wayne for a touchdown.            

The extra point, however, was no good as holder Hunter Smith was not able to get the snap down, leaving the score at 7-6.

A costly fumble

The Bears’ Robert Mathis fumbled the ensuing kickoff, however, giving the Colts the ball in Bears territory.             

On the next play, though, Manning would put the ball on the ground where rookie defensive end Mark Anderson would recover it for the Bears.                 

The Chicago offense came back on the field strong, leading off the drive with a 52-yard Thomas Jones run and ending it with a four-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad, allowing the Bears to go up 14-6 after the extra point.

16 unanswered points

Adam Vinatieri would cap off a drive that started in the first quarter and went into the second with a 29 yard field goal to take the game to 14-9 Bears.             

The Colts would score again on their next drive after Dominic Rhodes scored on a one-yard run.                         

Indianapolis would go on to score a total of 16 unanswered points after Vinatieri kicked two more field goals of 24 and 20 yards, taking the score to 22-14.

Bears’ last points        

The Bears finally answered back with a 44-yard field goal from Robbie Gould to bring the score to 22-17.             

However, on the next Bears drive, Grossman would throw an interception to Kelvin Hayden – an interception that would be run the other way for 56 yards and another Colts touchdown. 

Coach Lovie Smith would throw the red flag and challenge the play but the call on the field stood up, taking the score to 29-17 after the extra point.            

The replay clearly showed that Hayden skirted the sideline twice, but kept just enough space to remain in bounds.

Bears defense weak

The Bears couldn’t manage another score as the Indianapolis defense, one which many claimed to be very weak against the run, held tight.            

The Bears defense, however, gave up 191 net yards on the ground and 239 net yards through the air.

Colts’ last Super Bowl win            

This Super Bowl win for the Colts was the first since Super Bowl V, also played in Miami. 

In that game, the Baltimore Colts pulled off a 16-13 win despite seven turnovers.            

Their opponents, the Dallas Cowboys, gave the ball up four times.