A pass interference penalty set up Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal in overtime as the Saints beat the Vikings 31-28 in the NFC Championship Game at the Superdome. Drew Brees passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns as New Orleans advanced to the first Super Bowl in franchise history. The Saints will play the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44 February 7th in Miami. The Saints harassed the Vikings into five turnovers, including three lost fumbles. Tracy Porter picked off Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre [[ Farv ]] just before the end of regulation, denying the Vikings a long field goal try that could have won the game. Minnesota fumbled five times in all, losing two inside its own 10-yard line and one inside the New Orleans 10. Favre finished 28-of-46 for 310 yards and two interceptions. He was repeatedly knocked to the ground and suffered an ankle injury in the second half. Adrian Peterson had 25 carries for 122 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings, whose last Super Bowl appearance was in Super Bowl 11 in 1977.
