MIAMI — Want to play four quarters against a Peyton Manning-led team and not end up as unwilling participants in a Disney World commercial? Follow these steps:

Play with abandon. Play keep-away. Pass with precision. Play sound on special teams. And when Manning misfires, make him pay.

All of those steps are easier said than done, but the Saints executed their five-pronged attack to perfection in defeating the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV, and it was the difference between winning and losing. If New Orleans isn't anything but stellar in any of those areas of Sunday's game, it is still waiting for its first group hug of the Lombardi Trophy.

And if the Saints were scared, they wouldn't have had a chance.

All night, the Saints' took risks, and most of them paid off, most notably when head coach Sean Payton called for an onside kick to start the second half with New Orleans trailing 10-6. Rookie Thomas Morstead, the club's kickoff specialist, struck the ball with the side of his foot and aimed left. It was a looping ball reminiscent of a soccer pass, and if Colts WR Hank Baskett had caught it, Indianapolis would have had great field position. But Baskett mishandled the kick, and the Saints' Chris Reis recovered at the New Orleans 42. Six plays later, Saints RB Pierre Thomas caught a screen pass from Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees — who threw only one incompletion in the second half — and weaved through the Indianapolis defense for a 16-yard touchdown. The very, very vocal contingent of Saints fans at Sun Life Stadium were jubilant.

The Colts? They were stunned, and who could have blamed them? The Saints were taking the fight to them.

That was Payton's plan.

"Well, we were going to be aggressive," Payton said, explaining why he called on Morstead, who said he only seriously started practicing onside kicks "about a week and a half ago," to attempt the pivotal bouncing kick to start the second half.

Added Payton, "When you do something like that, you just put it on the players, and they were able to execute."