NFL playoffs , 2009 - 10 The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9 , 2010 and led up to Super Bowl XLIV on February 7 , 2010 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens , Florida . The Wild Card round featured three games that were re - matches of Week 17 games . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday , January 9 , 2010 . AFC : New York Jets 24 , Cincinnati Bengals 14 . Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 12 of 15 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown while rookie running back Shonn Greene rushed for 135 yards as New York followed up their 37 – 0 win over the Bengals in the last week of the regular season with a 24 – 14 victory . Bengals rookie Bernard Scott started off the game with a 56 - yard kickoff return to the Jets 36 - yard line . But two plays later , receiver Laveranues Coles lost a fumble while being tackled by Bryan Thomas . New York was forced to punt on their ensuing drive , and Rico Murray gave the Bengals good field position with a 23 - yard return to the New York 45 . This time Cincinnati was able to take advantage of their scoring opportunity , driving 45 yards in seven plays and finishing it with Carson Palmer ' s 11 - yard touchdown pass to Coles . But in the second quarter , the Jets began to take control of the game . First an 11 - yard punt return by Jerricho Cotchery to the Bengals 47 - yard line set up a touchdown on a 39 - yard burst from Greene . Then New York defensive back Darrelle Revis intercepted a pass from Palmer and returned it 21 yards to the Jets 43 - yard line . Two plays later , Sanchez converted a 3rd down and 12 with a 14 - yard completion to Cotchery , and then followed it up with a 41 - yard scoring strike to tight end Dustin Keller . On their first drive of the second half , Cincinnati drove from their own 12 to the Jets 17 - yard line , featuring a 27 - yard run by Cedric Benson . But they failed to score as Palmer ' s pass on third down was incomplete and Shayne Graham missed a 35 - yard field goal attempt . Following the missed field goal , New York drove 75 yards in eight plays , with Sanchez completing an 18 - yard pass to Cotchery and a 16 - yarder to Braylon Edwards before Thomas Jones finished the drive with a 9 - yard touchdown run , increasing their lead to 21 – 7 . Early in the fourth quarter , Benson took off for a 47 - yard touchdown run to cut the score to 21 – 14 . But the Jets responded on their ensuing drive , with Sanchez ' s 43 - yard completion to Keller setting up a 20 - yard field goal by Jay Feely to put them back up by a two score margin . The Bengals managed one last attempt to get back in the game with a drive to the New York 11 - yard line . But Graham missed another field goal , this one from 28 yards , with 3 : 43 left in regulation . Benson finished the game with a franchise record 169 rushing yards . The loss for the Bengals gave them their 19th consecutive season without a playoff win , the longest streak among all 32 NFL teams . Sanchez became only the fourth rookie quarterback to win his first playoff game , following Shaun King , Ben Roethlisberger , and Joe Flacco . NFC : Dallas Cowboys 34 , Philadelphia Eagles 14 . Playing in front of a crowd of 92 , 951 , the largest ever to attend an NFL post - season game other than the Super Bowl , Dallas racked up 426 yards and forced four turnovers en route to their first playoff win since 1996 . Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns , while running back Felix Jones rushed for 148 yards , including a 73 - yard touchdown romp in the second half to put the game away . After a scoreless first quarter , a 40 - yard pass interference penalty on Eagles defensive back Sheldon Brown in the end zone set up Romo ' s 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end John Phillips . Philadelphia quickly responded with a 76 - yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick to Jeremy Maclin on the second play on their ensuing drive . But the Cowboys struck back with an 85 - yard scoring drive , featuring 18 - yard receptions by Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton , along with a key replay challenge that overturned an Eagles interception . Tashard Choice capped off the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run to give Dallas a 14 – 7 lead . Philadelphia was forced to punt on their next drive , and Crayton returned the punt 31 yards to his own 41 - yard line . On the next play , Romo ' s 36 - yard completion to Miles Austin moved the ball to the Eagles 23 , eventually leading to a Shaun Suisham field goal to make the score 17 – 7 . Just 33 seconds later , the Cowboys increased their lead to 24 – 7 with Romo ' s 6 - yard touchdown pass to Austin after linebacker Bobby Carpenter recovered a fumbled handoff from Vick on the Philadelphia 18 - yard line . Then with time running out in the half , Cowboys linebacker Bradie James forced and recovered a fumble from fullback Leonard Weaver on the Eagles 42 - yard line , setting up Suisham ' s second field goal to give Dallas a 27 – 7 halftime lead . In the second half , Jones ' 73 - yard touchdown run increased the lead even more . Meanwhile , the Cowboys defense held the Eagles in check the rest of the game , forcing two turnovers on downs , another fumble , and an interception , while only allowing a meaningless touchdown on a 6 - yard pass from Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson in the fourth quarter , making the final score 34 – 14 . Sunday , January 10 , 2010 . AFC : Baltimore Ravens 33 , New England Patriots 14 . The Ravens converted three first quarter turnovers by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into 17 points on their way to a 24 – 0 lead New England could not recover from . It was the Patriots ' first home loss of the season and their first home loss in the playoffs in more than 30 years . On top of that , it was the Ravens ' first ever win against the Patriots after five consecutive losses . Baltimore stormed to a 7 – 0 lead on the first play of the game with Ray Rice ' s 83 - yard touchdown run , the second longest run in NFL playoff history . Then , linebacker Terrell Suggs forced and recovered a fumble from Brady on the Patriots 17 - yard line , and they scored another touchdown with a 1 - yard run by Le ' Ron McClain . Following an exchange of punts , cornerback Chris Carr intercepted a pass from Brady and returned it to the New England 25 - yard line , setting up a drive ending in Rice ' s second touchdown on a 1 - yard run . Just two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Ravens safety Ed Reed intercepted a deep pass from Brady and returned it 25 yards before lateraling the ball to safety Dawan Landry , who took it another 25 yards to the Patriots 9 - yard line . The Ravens could not gain any yards on their ensuing drive , but Billy Cundiff kicked a field goal to make the score 24 – 0 . New England was forced to punt on their next drive , but Baltimore returner Tom Zbikowski muffed the catch and Kyle Arrington recovered the ball for the Patriots at the Ravens 16 - yard line . Five plays later , Brady threw a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman . Midway through the second half , Brady threw his third interception of the game , this one to Landry , who returned it 42 yards to the New England 22 - yard line to set up another Cundiff field goal . Taking the ball back to the Patriots 47 - yard line after Darius Butler ' s 42 - yard kickoff return , New England responded with a 53 - yard scoring drive . Brady finished it with his second touchdown pass to Edelman to cut their deficit to 27 – 14 . Zbikowski returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to his own 48 - yard line , sparking a 52 - yard drive that ended with a 3 - yard touchdown run from Willis McGahee , making the score 33 – 14 after the two point conversion failed . New England responded with a drive deep into Baltimore territory , but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 44 - yard field goal attempt with 7 : 19 left in the game , ending any chance of a miracle comeback . Rice rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns , while McGahee added 62 yards and a score . Neither quarterback had much success , as Brady was held to 154 yards and intercepted three times , while Baltimore ' s Joe Flacco completed only 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards . NFC : Arizona Cardinals 51 , Green Bay Packers 45 ( OT ) . This high scoring shootout set the NFL postseason record for most points ( 96 ) , touchdowns ( 13 ) , and first downs ( 62 ) , while ranking third in total yards ( 1 , 024 ) . But in the end , it was a defensive play that made the key difference when Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in overtime . This was only the second overtime game in NFL postseason history ever to be won by a defensive touchdown . The first one had been won by the Packers ( vs . Seahawks in 2003 ) . Arizona forced two early turnovers and built up a quick 17 – 0 lead . First , defensive back Dominique Rodgers - Cromartie ' s interception of an Aaron Rodgers pass set up a 1 - yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower . Then Dansby forced a fumble from Packers receiver Donald Driver that defensive tackle Alan Branch recovered on the Green Bay 22 - yard line , leading to Kurt Warner ' s 15 - yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet . After a Green Bay punt , Warner led the Cardinals down the field , hitting Larry Fitzgerald for 14 yards , tight end Ben Patrick for 22 , and Steve Breaston for 15 on the way to a 23 - yard field goal from Neil Rackers . Early in the second quarter , Packers cornerback Charles Woodson stripped the ball from Fitzgerald , and linebacker Clay Matthews returned the fumble 28 yards to the Green Bay 48 . Aided by three Cardinals penalties , Green Bay drove 52 yards and scored on a 1 - yard run from Rodgers . Arizona responded by driving 79 yards and scoring with Warner ' s second touchdown pass to Doucet . But Rodgers struck back with a pair of completions to tight end Jermichael Finley for gains of 44 and 17 yards on the way to a 20 - yard field by Mason Crosby , cutting the score to 24 – 10 at halftime . The second half opened up with five touchdowns on five consecutive drives . First , Warner threw his third touchdown pass of the day with a 33 - yard strike to Fitzgerald . Rodgers responded with an 18 - yard completion to Finley and a 35 - yard bomb to Greg Jennings before Jennings finished the drive with a 6 - yard touchdown catch . Then Green Bay surprised Arizona with an onside kick , which Brandon Underwood recovered on the Packers 43 - yard line . Seven plays later , Rodgers threw a 10 - yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson , cutting their deficit to 31 – 24 . But a few plays after the ensuing kickoff , Beanie Wells ' 42 - yard run set up an 11 - yard touchdown pass from Warner to Fitzgerald . Early in the fourth quarter , Rodgers again closed the gap to one score with a 30 - yard touchdown pass to James Jones . Then after forcing a punt , Rodgers completed a 38 - yard strike to Finley and a 28 - yarder to Driver at the Cardinals 1 - yard line . Fullback John Kuhn scored a 1 - yard touchdown run on the next play to tie the game . But Arizona retook it with their next drive as Warner completed seven passes , the last one a 17 - yard touchdown toss to Breaston . Taking the ball back at the 29 - yard line with just under five minutes left in regulation , Rodgers hit Jones for 6 yards , Jennings for 13 , and then scrambled 22 yards for a first down at the Arizona 25 - yard line . A few plays later , he finished the drive with an 11 - yard touchdown pass to Spencer Havner , tying the game with less than 2 minutes to go . Arizona responded with a drive to the Green Bay 16 - yard line , but Rackers missed a 34 - yard field goal as time expired , sending the game into overtime . Green Bay won the coin toss and got the ball first . But two plays into their drive , Cardinals defensive back Michael Adams sacked Rodgers as he was about to throw . The ball came out of Rodgers ' hands , bounced off his foot , and went right into the arms of Dansby , who returned the fumble 17 yards for a touchdown to win the game . In his first career playoff game , Rodgers set a franchise record with 422 passing yards and four touchdowns . Warner completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and a franchise record five touchdowns . He became the second player in NFL history ever to throw five touchdown passes in two different postseason games , joining Daryle Lamonica ( Warner had thrown five touchdown passes in his first NFL playoff game a decade earlier ) . The Cardinals ' 51 points was the most ever allowed by the Packers in their 41 postseason games . Arizona gained 531 total yards , with 156 rushing yards , against a Packers defense that finished the season ranked first in the NFL against the run and second fewest yards allowed overall . Divisional playoffs . Saturday , January 16 , 2010 . NFC : New Orleans Saints 45 , Arizona Cardinals 14 . Saints running back Reggie Bush accumulated 217 all - purpose yards , including a 83 - yard punt return touchdown , the third longest in NFL postseason history , and a franchise playoff record 46 - yard touchdown run , while quarterback Drew Brees added 247 passing yards and three touchdowns . Although Arizona scored first , New Orleans racked up a franchise playoff record 35 points in the first half on the way to a 45 – 14 win on their way to their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 2006 . Arizona opened up a 7 – 0 lead just 19 seconds into the first quarter when Tim Hightower ran through a hole in the line , cut left , and took off down the field for a 70 - yard touchdown run on the game ' s first play from scrimmage . New Orleans struck back with a 72 - yard drive on the way to a 1 - yard touchdown run by Lynell Hamilton to tie the score . On the first play of the following drive , defensive back Randall Gay stripped the ball from Cardinals wide receiver Jerheme Urban , forcing a fumble that Saints safety Darren Sharper returned 13 yards to the Arizona 37 - yard line . Three plays later , Brees converted the turnover into points with a 17 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey . Arizona was forced to punt on their next drive , and the Saints quickly scored again with a 46 - yard touchdown run by Bush , increasing their lead to 21 – 7 . Just over five minutes into the second quarter , Arizona cut the score to 21 – 14 with a 4 - yard touchdown run by Beanie Wells . But New Orleans again responded quickly , as Brees completed a 26 - yard pass to Marques Colston and followed it up with a 44 - yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson on a flea flicker play . Then Saints defensive lineman Will Smith intercepted a pass from Kurt Warner ( who was injured on the play ) and returned it 5 yards to the Cardinals 27 , setting up Brees ' 2 - yard touchdown pass to Colston to give the Saints a 35 – 14 lead . The Cardinals , now led by Matt Leinart , responded with a drive to the Saints 33 - yard line , but Neil Rackers missed a 50 - yard field goal as time expired in the half . The combined 49 points scored by both teams in the first half was an NFL postseason record . In the second half , the Saints added 10 more points to their lead with a Garrett Hartley field goal and Bush ' s 83 - yard punt return touchdown . Meanwhile , Arizona only managed one drive inside Saints territory which ended in a turnover on downs on the 10 - yard line . With the win , the Saints returned to the NFC Championship Game for the second time in four years , and would become the first one ever to be held in the Superdome . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 20 , Baltimore Ravens 3 . Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning completed 30 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns , while the Colts defense limited Baltimore to a single field goal on their opening drive . Indianapolis kicker Matt Stover ( a former Raven ) opened up the scoring with a 44 - yard field goal on the Colts ' opening drive . Baltimore responded with a drive from their own 7 to the Colts 6 - yard line where Billy Cundiff kicked a 25 - yard field goal to tie the game . In the second quarter , the Colts moved down the field on a 14 - play , 75 - yard drive that took 8 minutes off the clock , their longest drive of the season . Manning finished the drive with a 17 - yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie . After forcing a punt , the Colts got the ball back on their own 36 - yard line , and they drove for another touchdown , moving the ball 64 yards in just 1 : 23 and scoring with Reggie Wayne ' s 3 - yard touchdown catch as time expired in the half . Midway through the third quarter , Ravens safety Ed Reed intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 38 yards . But receiver Pierre Garçon ripped the ball out of his hands during the return , and tight end Dallas Clark recovered it . Later on , Reed intercepted another pass and returned it 58 yards , but the play was nullified by a pass interference penalty on defensive back Corey Ivy , allowing the Colts to keep possession and drive for another Stover field goal , making the score 20 – 3 . Indianapolis went on to seal the victory by forcing turnovers on the Ravens ' next two drives . First Raheem Brock forced a fumble from Baltimore running back Ray Rice deep in Colts territory and linebacker Clint Session recovered it . Then following a punt , Colts defensive back Antoine Bethea picked off a pass from Joe Flacco on the Colts 2 - yard line with less than 5 minutes left in the game . Sunday , January 17 , 2010 . NFC : Minnesota Vikings 34 , Dallas Cowboys 3 . The Vikings defense dominated the Cowboys , sacking quarterback Tony Romo six times , forcing him to fumble three times , and intercepting a pass , while Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre threw four touchdown passes , three to receiver Sidney Rice , who finished the game with 6 receptions for 141 yards . Dallas started the game with two drives inside the Vikings 40 - yard line , but didn ' t score on either one . First , Romo lost a fumble on the Vikings 35 while being tackled by Ray Edwards ; it was recovered by the Vikings ' Kevin Williams . Then after a punt , Dallas drove to the Vikings 30 - yard line , only to have Shaun Suisham miss a 48 - yard field goal . Four plays later , Minnesota took the lead with Favre throwing a 47 - yard touchdown to Rice . Dallas responded with a drive from their own 18 to the Vikings 15 - yard line where Suisham kicked a field goal to cut the score to 7 – 3 . But the Vikings countered with another touchdown , with running back Adrian Peterson rushing for 18 yards and gaining 19 yards on a screen pass on the way to Favre ' s second touchdown throw to Rice , this one from 16 yards . Just two plays after the kickoff , Jared Allen sacked Romo , forcing a fumble that Minnesota ' s Ben Leber recovered on the Cowboys 20 - yard line , leading to a Ryan Longwell field goal increasing the Vikings lead to 17 – 3 at the end of the first half . In the second half , after another drive into Vikings territory that ended with a missed field goal attempt by Suisham , Leber intercepted a pass from Romo and returned it 10 yards to the Cowboys 15 - yard line . Dallas kept the Vikings out of the end zone , but Longwell kicked another field goal to increase the lead to 20 – 3 . Then after a Dallas punt , Favre put the game away with a 45 - yard touchdown completion to Rice with less than 8 minutes left in the game . Later on , Dallas turned the ball over on downs on their own 37 - yard line . Favre subsequently completed a 19 - yard pass to Bernard Berrian before scoring the final points of the game on an 11 - yard pass to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe . Leber finished with 8 tackles , a fumble recovery , and an interception , while Edwards recorded 5 tackles , a forced fumble , and three sacks . This was the first time the 40 - year old Favre had ever thrown four touchdown passes in his 22 playoff games . With the win , the Vikings advanced to their first NFC Championship Game in nine years and first under Childress . AFC : New York Jets 17 , San Diego Chargers 14 . Trailing 7 – 0 at the end of the first half , New York scored 17 unanswered points and then sealed the victory with a fourth down conversion run from Thomas Jones with 1 minute left . Early in the first quarter , Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers moved the ball to the Jets 22 - yard line with a 13 - yard completion to Vincent Jackson and a 19 - yarder to Malcolm Floyd . But the drive stalled on the 18 - yard line and ended with no points when Nate Kaeding missed a 36 - yard field goal . Meanwhile , New York failed to gain a first down in the entire quarter . In the second quarter , Rivers hit Jacob Hester for 15 yards and tight end Antonio Gates for 23 on the way to a 13 - yard touchdown completion to Kris Wilson . Later on , San Diego running back Darren Sproles ' 22 - yard run moved the ball to the Jets 39 - yard line with 6 seconds left . But Kaeding missed a 57 - yard field goal attempt as time expired in the half . On the opening drive of the second half , the Jets got on the board with a 46 - yard field goal from Jay Feely . Midway through the third quarter , the Chargers got another scoring opportunity when Quentin Jammer picked off a pass from Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and returned it 24 yards to the New York 38 - yard line . But three plays later , Rivers returned the favor when he threw a pass to Jackson that bounced off his body and into the arms of cornerback Darrelle Revis just before it hit the ground . The Jets were unable to convert the turnover into points , but Steve Weatherford ' s 54 - yard punt pinned the Chargers back at their own 4 - yard line . A few plays later , Rivers was intercepted again , this time by safety Jim Leonhard , who returned it 11 yards to the 16 , setting up Sanchez ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller . Then after forcing a punt , Jets running back Shonn Greene burst through the line , broke a tackle from Eric Weddle , and took off for a 53 - yard touchdown run , the longest in Jets postseason history , giving New York a 17 – 7 lead . San Diego responded with a drive to the New York 22 - yard line , but again came up empty when Kaeding missed his third field goal attempt of the day , this one with just 4 : 38 left in the game . After forcing a punt , Rivers completed a 37 - yard pass to Jackson , a 19 - yarder to Sproles , and a 12 - yard completion to Jackson at the 1 - yard line before finishing the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run . This cut the score to 17 – 14 with 2 : 14 left in the game . Following the ensuing onside kickoff ( which was recovered by the Jets ' Kerry Rhodes ) , New York faced a fourth down and 1 with 1 : 03 left . Rather than punting , coach Rex Ryan decided to go for the conversion . Jones ' 2 - yard run sealed the victory , enabling New York to run out the rest of the clock . Conference championships . Sunday , January 24 , 2010 . AFC Championship : Indianapolis Colts 30 , New York Jets 17 . This game was the first time in NFL history that two first - year head coaches met in any conference championship game . The Colts defeated the Jets for the first time in the postseason and advanced to their second Super Bowl in the last four seasons . Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns as his team recovered from an 11 - point deficit by scoring 24 unanswered points . After forcing Indianapolis to punt on their opening drive , New York drove from their own 29 to the Colts 22 - yard line . But the Colts defense tightened up , tackling running back Shonn Greene twice behind the line of scrimmage and Brad Smith for a 1 - yard gain , and then Jay Feely was wide right on a 44 - yard field goal attempt . In the second quarter , the Colts put together the first scoring drive of the game , with Manning completing two passes to Pierre Garçon for gains of 27 and 36 yards on the way to a 25 - yard Matt Stover field goal . New York answered on the first play of their next drive with the longest play in the Jets ' postseason history , as Mark Sanchez threw a pass to Braylon Edwards , who took off past Jacob Lacey and caught the ball without breaking stride for an 80 - yard touchdown completion . Manning led the Colts back on their next drive , completing a 25 - yard pass to Reggie Wayne and a 22 - yarder to Austin Collie at the Jets 4 - yard line . But Indianapolis could not get into the end zone . Following an incomplete pass , Collie was tackled at the 1 - yard line and then Manning was stuffed for no gain on a QB sneak , forcing them to settle for a second field goal from Stover to cut the score to 7 – 6 . But New York struck back again . After three carries by Greene for 17 yards , Smith ' s 45 - yard completion to Jerricho Cotchery moved the ball to the Colts 12 - yard line , setting up Sanchez ' s 9 - yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller with 4 : 53 left in the half . Three plays after the ensuing kickoff , Jets lineman Calvin Pace stormed through the line and tackled Joseph Addai as soon as he took a handoff , resulting in a fumble that safety Jim Leonhard recovered and returned to the Indianapolis 29 - yard line . New York was unable to gain a first down with their drive , but Feely kicked a 48 - yard field goal to increase their lead to 17 – 6 . However , the Colts stormed back with 24 unanswered points . Manning responded to the field goal with three completions to Collie for 80 yards , the last one a 16 - yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 17 – 13 at the end of the half . Then after a missed 52 - yard field goal on New York ' s opening drive of the third quarter , Manning completed 6 of 7 passes for 57 yards on the way to his second touchdown pass , this one a 4 - yarder to Garçon . Manning added his third touchdown pass , a 15 - yard strike to Dallas Clark , six minutes into the fourth quarter . Then after a punt , a 16 - yard run by Addai and a 23 - yard catch from Garçon set up Stover ' s third field goal to make the score 30 – 17 . Finally , Indianapolis sealed the game when Kelvin Hayden picked off a pass from Sanchez with just over two minutes remaining . NFC Championship : New Orleans Saints 31 , Minnesota Vikings 28 ( OT ) . For the second time in three seasons , the NFC Championship Game required overtime to decide a winner . As in that game and the two other overtime games in the history of the conference championship games , the winning score was a field goal , this one from Saints kicker Garrett Hartley . Although the Vikings outgained New Orleans in total yards 475 to 257 , their five turnovers ( three fumbles and two Brett Favre interceptions ) were too much to overcome . And for the second time in 11 seasons , the Vikings were defeated by a field goal in a conference championship game , as they had lost by the same differential to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 NFC Championship Game . The Vikings scored on the opening drive of the game as Adrian Peterson ran it into the endzone from 19 yards out . The Saints responded on the next drive , when Drew Brees threw a pass to halfback Pierre Thomas that gained 38 yards and tied the game . Aided by three Saints penalties , the Vikings scored on their subsequent drive as Brett Favre threw a touchdown pass to Sidney Rice and took a 14 – 7 lead . New Orleans tied the game on their first drive of the second quarter with Brees ' 9 - yard scoring pass to Devery Henderson . Later on , the Vikings got a scoring opportunity when New Orleans running back Reggie Bush muffed a punt that Minnesota ' s Kenny Onatolu recovered on the Saints 10 - yard line . But two plays after that , the Vikings lost the ball themselves on a fumbled handoff from Favre to Peterson that was recovered by linebacker Scott Fujita with less than a minute left in the half . The Saints ' started the second half with a scoring drive that only took 2 : 04 , set up by a 61 - yard kickoff return from Courtney Roby . Thomas scored his second touchdown of the game on a 9 - yard run and gave the home team their first lead of the game . Favre responded by leading the Vikings right back down the field , completing three passes to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for 67 yards of an 80 - yard drive that ended with Peterson scoring for the second time on a 1 - yard run . After a Saints punt , Minnesota drove to the New Orleans 33 - yard line , where Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma ended the drive by intercepting a pass intended for Rice . The Vikings defense managed to force another punt , but once again they turned the ball over as Saints defensive lineman Will Smith forced a fumble from Percy Harvin that Remi Ayodele recovered and returned to the Vikings 7 - yard line . Following the turnover , New Orleans regained the lead early in the fourth quarter , as Brees threw his third touchdown pass of the game , this one a 5 - yard toss to Bush , which was initially ruled down at the 1 - yard line but changed to a touchdown after a Saints replay challenge . The Vikings responded with a drive inside the Saints 20 - yard line , featuring a 27 - yard run by Peterson and a 30 - yard reception by Bernard Berrian , but once again the Saints defense forced a turnover , this time on a fumble by Berrian that was knocked free by Tracy Porter and recovered by Vilma . However , the Vikings defense quickly forced a punt , getting the ball back for the offense with great field position at the Minnesota 43 - yard line . After a 16 - yard reception by Shiancoe and an 18 - yard run by Peterson , an 18 - yard pass interference penalty on defensive back Tracy Porter moved the ball to the Saints 1 - yard line . Peterson scored his third touchdown on the next play , tying the score with just over eight minutes left in the game . After forcing a punt , the Vikings got the ball back with 2 : 42 left and drove to the Saints 33 - yard line , within range of a potential game - winning field goal by kicker Ryan Longwell . However , on the next two plays , Peterson and running back Chester Taylor were both tackled for no gain . Then , after calling a timeout with 19 seconds left , Minnesota was flagged for having twelve men in the huddle and penalized five yards , bringing up third down and 15 from the 38 . On the next play , the Vikings decided to pass in an attempt to move the ball into better field goal range , but Porter intercepted a desperate throw from Favre , ending the drive and sending the game into overtime . The Saints won the coin toss in overtime and never gave up the ball . Pierre Thomas returned Longwell ' s kickoff 40 yards to the New Orleans 39 , and the team gained 39 additional yards on ten plays , including a successful fourth down conversion leap by Thomas . Three plays on the drive were reviewed by the replay booth and upheld . The Saints were also aided by a defensive holding penalty by cornerback Asher Allen and a pass interference penalty called against linebacker Ben Leber on the drive , which stalled at the Minnesota 22 yard line . Saints kicker Garrett Hartley was called on to try the first field goal of the game and connected from 40 yards out , sending the Saints to their first Super Bowl after 43 years in the NFL . Four records were set in the game , three by Favre . He broke the postseason career pass attempts and passing yards record , but also set the record for most postseason career interceptions following his two picks in this game . It was the second time in three years that an interception thrown by Favre had helped to cost his team a conference championship , with his interception in overtime against the New York Giants in 2008 leading to a field goal that eliminated the Green Bay Packers . The Vikings outgained the Saints 475 – 257 , which was the biggest yardage differential for a losing team in NFL postseason history . With his game winning kick Hartley joined Rich Karlis , Morten Andersen , and Lawrence Tynes as the only four players in NFL history to score the winning points in a conference championship game decided in overtime . All four games were decided by field goals , with Hartley becoming the first to win an overtime game for the home team ( in all three previous games , the home team was defeated ) . The two teams had nine fumbles between them in the game , with Peterson and Brees leading all players with two each . Minnesota fumbled six times and lost three of them . Peterson finished with 25 carries for 122 yards and three touchdowns , along with 2 receptions for 14 yards .