Key Moments of Super Bowl XLIV

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It has been a few days since the New Orleans Saints became Super Bowl Champions. The confetti has come down. Drew Brees and Mickey Mouse have paraded through Disney World together. And the eyes of all NFL fans turn grudgingly yet optimistically to the NFL Draft in early April.

Before doing that, it’s worth taking one last look at the biggest moment in this past season’s Super Bowl. Any game can be defined by one play where the entire momentum and tone of the game shifts in favor of one side. It can be anything from a deflection off a defender’s fingertips, to the aftermath of a bone-rattling hit, or even the effect of a drive-killing penalty.

In this Super Bowl, there was undoubtedly one play when the game shifted. Where what had felt like an inevitable and eventual victory for the Colts suddenly became a match controlled by New Orleans. Where even the casual football fan sat up in their seat and said “Well wait a sec… the Saints are actually going to win this game.”

Terry Porter’s interception for a touchdown was undoubtedly the biggest play of the game. On top of producing the games only turnover, as well as leading to its eventual final score, Porter’s pick-6 off of Peyton Manning unquestionably sealed the deal for the Saints, virtually guaranteeing them of victory.

But while Porter’s interception and subsequent touchdown was indisputably the most memorable play of the game, it didn’t represent the actual shift.

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