Manning took Super Bowl MVP honours

The Colts conceded a touchdown from the opening kick-off, but overcame a 14-6 first-quarter deficit to triumph against the Bears at Dolphin Stadium.

They were led by the passing of Peyton Manning, named MVP, the running of backs Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes and the kicking of Adam Vinatieri.

Chicago kept it close until late on, when Kelvin Hayden's key interception and touchdown run sealed their fate.

The Colts won an NFL title for the first time since 1970, when they were based in Baltimore.

And Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the 41 years that the NFL's showpiece game has been played.

"I'm proud to represent African-American culture, to be the first African-American to win this," he said, holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"How about that? I came down to Miami to play in the soaking rain. You wouldn't expect it. We just kept doing our jobs Colts star Peyton Manning

"I dedicate the game to all the guys who came ahead of me, who could have done it and didn't get the opportunity."

Manning completed 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown as the Colts dominated but failed to kill off the Bears until the final quarter.

Rhodes had 21 carries for 113 yards and a TD, while Vinatieri - who won three Super Bowls with New England - nailed three field goals and claimed 11 points.

Chicago began brightly when Devin Hester scored the first-ever touchdown on a Super Bowl opening kick-off, returning the ball 92 yards.

606: DEBATE Nice as it was for Manning, it was the effort from the Colts' backfield that deserved the plaudits Martin Gough - BBC Sport 606: Have your say

But the Bears failed to capitalise on that sensational start, proving as expected to be strong in defence but less capable going forward.

Quarterback Rex Grossman found Mushin Mohammad in the Colts endzone in the first quarter but struggled after that, throwing two interceptions and fumbling a couple of snaps.

By contrast, Manning found Reggie Wayne with a first-quarter 53-yard TD pass and gradually took control of the game.

"When you turn the ball over as much as we did, it's really hard to win Bears coach Lovie Smith

He said: "There was no panic, nobody gave up. We stuck together as a team, and we are proud to bring this trophy back to Indianapolis."

Played in treacherous conditions, the first two quarters saw six turnovers - three for each team. Chicago finished with five in total.

But they stayed in touch with the Colts until Hayden picked off Grossman's poor pass to Mohammad with just under 12 minutes left.

His 56-yard TD run was challenged by Bears coach Lovie Smith, who claimed he had stepped out of bounds, but officials reviewed the tape and called it good.

Smith, protege of winning coach Dungy, said: "You have to give them a lot of credit. They had a great game plan coming in. Hopefully, next season we can take one more step and finish the job."

"It's extremely disappointing when you get this close to a world championship and you come up short," said Grossman.

"It was slippery. When the ball was snapped up from centre, it would just kind of slide off my hands," he added.

Chicago's star linebacker Brian Urlacher said the Bears celebrated defence had been below par.

"All season long we have prided ourselves on our defence, but we didn't make plays." he said. "We needed to do a better job of tackling."