Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?
By John Buhler
8. 2009 Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl XLIV
The 2009 Indianapolis Colts went 14-2, crushing opponents with quarterback Peyton Manning in the backend of his prime. The Colts would handle the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round, 20-3, and would top Rex Ryan’s New York Jets, 30-17, in the 2009 AFC Championship.
Even though head coach Tony Dungy retired the year before, the Colts continued on as if nothing happened under then-head coach Jim Caldwell. Nobody could match the Colts in the AFC that year.
Indianapolis would face Sean Payton, Drew Brees, and the NFC Champion New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV in Sun Life Stadium in Miami. The Colts had won a Super Bowl three years before over the Chicago Bears and between that and their dominant record were five-point favorites over the Saints.
An onside kick perfectly executed by the Saints to start the second half helped catapult New Orleans to an upset over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17, as the Colts fell by 14. That day Brees elevated his status to that of Manning’s as one of the NFL’s elite passers. The better quarterback and team won that day.
Manning would play only one more year for the Colts before having to sit out the entire 2011 season due to neck surgery. The Colts would go 2-14 in 2011 and would draft Manning’s replacement, Stanford’s Andrew Luck, No. 1 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. Manning would sign with the Denver Broncos and would lead Denver to two more Super Bowls (XLVIII and 50).
It didn’t seem like the Indianapolis dynasty under Manning was going to ever come to an end. Had his Colts defeated the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, then maybe they decide not to part ways with Manning. Indianapolis hasn’t been back to a Super Bowl since losing it in 2010.
Next: 7. 2014 Seattle Seahawks