Sean Payton's Super Bowl 44 halftime decision was a big deal

TL;DR

Sean Payton's surprise onside kick to open the second half of Super Bowl 44 gave the Saints the spark they needed to win their only championship.

Key Points

• 1.The Saints trailed the Colts 10–6 at halftime of Super Bowl 44, having been stopped twice at the goal line late in the second quarter with no touchdowns scored.
• 2.Payton chose a surprise onside kick over a conventional deep kickoff — a move attempted fewer than 10 times per season league-wide, representing less than 0.5% of all NFL kickoffs, and never before attempted before the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history.
• 3.Rookie kicker Thomas Morstead, who had never attempted an onside kick in his life, executed it; the ball slipped through Colts receiver Hank Basket's hands and safety Chris Ree recovered after a 63-second pile-up.
• 4.The Saints converted the possession into a touchdown — Drew Brees completed all 5 passes, capped by a 16-yard screen pass to Pierre Thomas — taking the lead for the first time.
• 5.Tracy Porter then intercepted Peyton Manning and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown, sealing a Saints victory and their first-ever Vince Lombardi Trophy.
• 6.The 2009 title remains the Saints' only Super Bowl; across the 16+ seasons since, they never returned to the Super Bowl, making Payton's gamble the defining moment of the entire franchise's history.