By Mike Lopresti
Gannett News Service

FOXBORO, Mass. - Suddenly, the magic of Peyton Manning was gone, lost somewhere between the cold of a New England snow and the heat of a Bill Belichick defense.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning collecfts himself after being sacked in the second quarter by New England Patriots' Jarvis Green. (AP photo)

He had come to the wrong place, in the wrong weather, to try to beat the wrong team, coached by the wrong man.

In other words, the New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, and where they'll face the Carolina Panthers.

The Patriots reached Super Sunday by overpowering Indianapolis 24-14 in the AFC Championship Game. By manhandling the Colts' receivers and tormenting the quarterback. By turning Indianapolis' many weapons into harmless wreckage as the Patriots blew by for their 14th straight victory.

"The only thing you can beat speed with is power," said cornerback Ty Law, who led the assault on Manning with three interceptions. "That's what we did."

As Indianapolis tight end Marcus Pollard would say of the Patriots' relentless defense when it was over, "It was like they had 15 guys on the field."

Manning, the passing maestro who had not thrown an interception in the playoffs, had two in his first six passes, and four overall. He was sacked four times. He completed as many passes to Law as he did to star receiver Marvin Harrison, who had only 19 receiving yards.

"Frustrated, disappointed, all of the above," Manning said. "I needed to do my part today. And I just didn't do it."

The offense that had overwhelmed Denver and Kansas City for 79 points and been acclaimed coast to coast had five turnovers, and no touchdowns until New England had built a 15-0 lead at halftime.

"Every time we looked on TV the past week, we saw Peyton Manning," said safety Rodney Harrison, who also intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.

"All it did was fuel the fire."

Added Law, "It was getting kind of tiring. We just wanted to go out and put a little bit of silence on the situation."

So dominating was the defense that New England won with only a Tom Brady 7-yard touchdown pass to David Givens on the first possession of the game, plus five Adam Vinatieri field goals and a safety.

Help came from everywhere on defense. From Law and safety Rodney Harrison and backup end Jarvis Green, who had three sacks.

It was another masterpiece by a Belichick defense. This is the place opposing offenses come to die. The Patriots allowed only 11 touchdown passes this season, to go with 29 interceptions. They gave up 50 points in their last eight home games.

For that matter, they went 10-0 in Gillette Stadium and are 7-0 all-time in Foxboro in the snow. This was a dangerous place for the Colts.

"Basically," said Indianapolis cornerback Nick Harper, "we didn't show up."

But there was no exotic strategy from Belichick's fertile mind. No constant changing of looks to confuse Manning. "They didn't really play much of a variety," Manning said. "Nothing superspecial."

No, it was as straightforward as an elbow in the chest.

"This was probably the most simple game plan we've had," Law said. "Just go out there and beat them up.

"That's something I don't think they were used to."

Said Harrison, "We preached it all week. Physical play. Hit the receiver. Hit the receiver."

The signature play of this game was not a precision Manning pass. Not like the last two weeks.

It was Rodney Harrison knocking the ball loose from Marvin Harrison at the New England 16 late in the first half, when Colts trailed 15-0 and were desperate for field goal.

It was safety Eugene Wilson's terrifying hits.

"It seemed like their receivers didn't want to come down there after that," Wilson said.

It was Manning forced to pass on the run, and making rare mistakes.

His first interception, by Harrison, was in the end zone on the Colts' first possession, and killed any chance of early points

"Any time you throw interceptions, that's on the quarterback," he said. "I made some bad throws, made some bad decisions. I'm not even going to go through them individually.

"I don't know if I will watch the film," said the king of film study sessions.

It was what happened when the Colts still had a chance, getting the ball at their own 20 with 2:01 left and the score 21-14.

Rather than turn into John Elway, Manning threw four straight incompletions. The last two were toward Pollard, who was bumped and jostled and slowed. No flags.

"I'll let that go," said Colts' coach Tony Dungy about whether he thought the Patriots got away with too much contact.

"I won't go there,' Pollard said.

"It's not a call unless they call it, right?" Harrison said. "It's over with."

Manning's famous audibles never mattered. The Patriots were unfazed, busy with their own plans. "Whether a guy calls a play at the line of scrimmage or calls it in the hallway," Belichick said, "we've got to play what we want to play."

Added Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday, "Scheming wasn't an issue. Weather wasn't an issue. Crowd noise wasn't an issue."

No, the issue was a defense with deadly intent.

The Patriots looked at the Manning myth and wished to take no prisoners. In the end, they were headed to the Super Bowl, which they won two years ago.

Manning was left with a loss that will render two glorious playoff games forgotten in some minds.

"That's the way it works," he said. "It is not a fair game always. It never has been."

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