Super Bowl XLIV recap: Records, fantasy performances
While we did figure New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees would break a record yesterday, we didn’t quite nail which one.
Brees tied the record for completions, hitting on 32 of 39, matching the previous record held by Tom Brady in Super Bowl 38. His 82% completion rate, while ridiculously phenomenal, couldn’t beat Phil Simms‘ mark of 88% set in Super Bowl 21.
UPDATE: Garrett Hartley’s three field goals of 40 yards or more also broke a Super Bowl record. Thanks to commenter Saints for pointing that out.
While no other individual records were broken or tied in the Saints win over the Colts, there were some fantastic fantasy performances, one of the greatest in Super Bowl history.
Player rankings based on fantasy points:
Joseph Addai, Colts, 26.5 (Fantasy MVP) — In our Sunday morning fantasy rankings, we had Addai as the best running back play and he didn’t disappoint. A 2-time Super Bowl fantasy MVP, Addai finished with 13-77-1 rushing and 7-58-0 receiving.
Drew Brees, Saints, 24.4 — While Brees did set the record for completions, he also threw for 288 yards and two TDs. A lot of experts were telling players to play Peyton Manning. Brees, who deserves to be in the all-time greats conversation, beat him by five points.
Pierre Thomas, Saints, 20.5 — Thomas was our second running back choice and he didn’t disappoint in that department with 30 yards rushing, six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on a screen pass.
Peyton Manning, Colts, 19.65 — Manning was hardly bad in this game. He threw a touchdown, threw for 333 yards and nearly matched the 32-completion record himself, going 31-for-45 with a pick.
Pierre Garcon, Colts, 17.6 — Not exactly who we thought would be the top receiver in the game or even for the Colts, but Garcon was excellent again. He made five catches for 66 yards and scored on a 19-yard TD pass. He was targeted only 7 times.
Dallas Clark, Colts, 15.6 — Called him the biggest wild card yesterday, and he lived up to that billing especially early in the game. Clark finished with seven catches for 86 yards on nine targets.
Marques Colston, Saints, 15.3 — Colston ranked second on our list Sunday morning. Unlike Reggie Wayne, our No. 1, Colston’s 7-catch, 83-yard performance made us look good. He was targeted a team-high nine times by Drew Brees.
Austin Collie, Colts, 12.6 — Collie was targeted nine times and came down with six of them for 66 yards.
Devery Henderson, Saints, 12.6 — If Sean Payton hadn’t called an ill-advised reverse that cost Henderson seven yards, he would have ranked higher than Collie. Henderson had seven catches and 63 yards receiving.
Garrett Hartley, Saints, 11.0 — Hartley made three field goals. We suggested playing Stover. Just another reason to hate kickers.
Reggie Bush, Saints, 10.3 — Bush made sure we nailed the RB rankings with his four-catch day. He also had 63 total yards.
Jeremy Shockey, Saints, 10.3 — While he only had three catches for 13 yards, one of them was the go-ahead touchdown.
Reggie Wayne, Colts, 9.6 – The biggest disappointment in our rankings. How does an elite receiver like Reggie Wayne disappear in a game like this? The Saints were good, but they shouldn’t have been able to shut down a receiver like Wayne. Oh, and Wayne stopped short on Porter’s interception. There, I said it.
Matt Stover, Colts, 5.0 — He made one field goal. What else do you want me to say? He’s a kicker.
Random statistics and notes from Super Bowl XLIV:
- Joseph Addai had the long run of 26 yards. The record is 75 yards.
- Peyton Manning threw the longest reception of the game, a 40-yarder, to Austin Collie. Muhsin Muhammad has the record with 85 yards.
- Four players had a game-high seven catches.
- Reggie Wayne had a game-high 11 targets
- Colts linebacker Gary Brackett had 13 tackles, 12 solo, and a pass deflection in the win.
- The Colts ended up in more third-down situations and were penalized more than the Saints.
- The Colts, however, had a better third-down conversion percentage (46%) than the Saints (33%).
The saints did break a record in the game. Garrett Hartley was the first to make 3 field goals from 40+ yards in a super bowl (previous record was 2).
@Saints: Thanks for the fact-checking. Post updated and credit given.
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