Colts Prove Too Strong for Bears

On a sodden-wet night in Miami, the Indianapolis Colts dominated the Chicago Bears 29-17 to lift their first Super Bowl title in 36 years. It wasn't a classic - after an exciting start, there was really only one team in it - but the right team certainly won.

And the right quarterback too. For the last few years, Peyton Manning - a seven-time All-Pro, don't forget - has often been derided as a playoff choker even before the Christmas decorations have come down. But after a nervy start to Superbowl XLI he was rightly named its most valuable player after completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown.

"Everybody did their part," Manning insisted afterwards as he tightly gripped the Lombardi Trophy with one hand. "No one panicked, we worked together, we won as a team."

His opposite number, Rex Grossman, meanwhile, trudged to the sidelines; alone with his thoughts after a Super Bowl shocker - during which he fumbled once, threw two interceptions, and lobbed all manner of junk and errant passes.

The Bears certainly had a dream start, however, scoring from the game's opening play - a 92-yard Devin Hester kick-off return, and ending a soggy, slimy first quarter that included three fumbles and a Manning interception with a 14-6 lead.

But slowly Manning found his range and calmed his nerves. Following an eight-play 47-yard drive, an Adam Vinatieri 29-yard field goal made it 14-9. Then, on the Colts' next possession, Manning hit Marvin Harrison on a crossing pattern over the middle and found tight end Dallas Clark twice on a seven-play 58-yard touchdown drive that ended when Dominic Rhodes crashed through the middle to put his side 16-14 ahead at half-time.

The second-half was anti-climatic; the game got less exciting as it went on. The Colts dominated possession and territory but could only add two third-quarter field goals from Vinatieri, while the Bears offered nothing until Robbie Gould drilled over a 44-yard field goal just 74 seconds before the turnaround to make it 22-17.

But if the Bears were thinking of a comeback, it ended four minutes into the final quarter when cornerback Kelvin Hayden picked off a pass by Rex Grossman and returned it 56 yards for a score that increased the Colts' advantage to 29-17. With Grossman so woeful off form, the Bears never looked like recovering.

"I'm so proud of our guys," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy afterwards. "They hung tough, played so hard and I can't tell you how proud I am of them, our organisation and our city right now." And with that he offered a job-well-done smile, and then warmly hugged his quarterback.