With that, the story line that generated the most news last week could be put to rest. Freeney’s right ankle had healed enough for him to play. He recorded one sack, playing intermittently.

“Obviously, there was a little pain,’’ Freeney said. “But I was good enough two days ago that I knew I could go out there and contribute. At halftime, it was really tough on me and just stiffening up. For the most part, it was good enough.’’

Freeney tore ligaments in his ankle two weeks ago, late in the fourth quarter against the Jets. Freeney is perhaps the best pass rusher in the NFL, and the speculation about his status raged for two weeks.

He made his presence felt in the second quarter, bulldozing tackle Jermon Bushrod and then yanking down Drew Brees for a sack that forced the Saints to settle for a field goal.

Freeney was less effective in the second half. He had to re-tape his ankle after halftime, but it was taped too tight and trainers had to re-tape it once more later in the game.

“Things happen,’’ Freeney said. “We were trying to find a way to make adjustments.’’

“Be more aggressive than your opponent,’’ Morstead recalled, which is why Saints coach Sean Payton’s halftime decision made sense to him.

Morstead never had kicked off before this season, punting only. Before two weeks ago, he said, Morstead never even had practiced an onside kick. Last night, he may have booted the most memorable and meaningful kickoff in NFL history - the onside kick that gave the Saints the ball to begin the second half.

Morstead played soccer in high school, and he had an aptitude for bending his kicks. Former Saints kicker and current kicking consultant John Carney told Morstead to kick the same way on onside kicks.

So Morstead rolled a spinning ball toward Hank Baskett. “I was praying it would go 10 yards,’’ Morstead said. Before it did, Baskett dived and the ball bounced off his chest. Morstead saw linebacker Chris Reis jump on the ball. He heard an official yell, “Blue ball!’’

“That’s when I started trying to pull people off,’’ Morstead said.

Eventually, the referees gave the ball to the Saints - and Morstead had his place in NFL history.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Colts could not extend their 1-point lead because Stover, who had not made a field goal 50 yards or longer since 2006, pulled a 51-yarder wide left. The Colts had made former Patriot Adam Vinatieri, regarded as the most clutch kicker in NFL history, inactive for the game.

Stover scored the first points of the game, a 38-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Stover, 42, surpassed Jeff Feagles, who at 41 punted for the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Stover signed in October after Vinatieri suffered an injury.

Hartley didn’t get his next chance to kick until Week 13 and made 9 of 11 chances in the regular season. He made a field goal in overtime to beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship game, and last night he continued his contributions.

Hartley, a second-year kicker out of Oklahoma, became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three field goals of at least 40 yards. He hit from 46, 44, and 47 yards in the first three quarters, giving the Saints some presence on the scoreboard when their drives were cut short.

Hartley didn’t convert his first field goal of more than 40 yards this season until the postseason. It was a good time to start.

“Whatever I could do to help my team win, that’s what needed to be done,’’ Hartley said.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report; Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore@globe.com