Four Interceptions, Three by Law, Cool Off Manning, Colts in Patriots’ 24-14 Win

Through their first two playoff games, the Indianapolis Colts hadn’t punted, hadn’t been intercepted, hadn’t committed an offensive penalty, hadn’t encountered a defense that could slow quarterback Peyton Manning ...

And hadn’t faced the New England Patriots.

Perfection was nice while it lasted. It didn’t last long Sunday, as the Patriots paved the way to their second Super Bowl in three seasons, short-circuiting the NFL’s hottest offense by intercepting four Manning passes in a 24-14 victory at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots, who two years ago won their first NFL title, will travel to Houston to face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1.

“The whole week, we were ticked off,” said safety Rodney Harrison, who joined the Patriots this season and will make his second trip to the Super Bowl after doing so with the San Diego Chargers in the 1994 season. “No one gave us the credit, the opportunity. It was all about Peyton Manning. And, like I said before, one guy cannot win a championship. It’s a team.”

The score would not have been as close had the Patriots been able to capitalize on all their opportunities. They scored only one touchdown, on the opening drive, picking up the rest of their points on a safety and a playoff-record five field goals by Adam Vinatieri, who was unfazed by the sporadic snow flurries throughout the afternoon.

“It’s kind of scary to keep kicking field goals,” Patriot quarterback Tom Brady said. “With how explosive that [Colt] offense is, they could make a few quick passes and tie the score up.”

If only things were so easy for the Colts, whose first eight drives ended like this: interception, interception, safety, fumble, touchdown, punt, interception, interception.

“I made some poor decisions and made some bad throws,” said Manning, who completed 23 of 47 passes and tied his career-worst total with four interceptions.

The ending was abrupt and excruciating for a Colt team that amassed 913 yards and averaged 39.5 points in playoff victories over Denver and Kansas City.

“I think we remembered the feeling we had in the Jets’ locker room last year, and that kept us going in the off-season,” said Indianapolis Coach Tony Dungy, referring to a 41-0 loss in the first round last season. “This was a bad feeling by our guys in this locker room because we didn’t think we played as well as we can play.”

The same cannot be said of New England cornerback Ty Law, who tied the championship-game record with three interceptions, reeling in as many Manning passes as Marvin Harrison, the Colts’ star receiver.

“This is probably the most simple game plan that we had,” said Law, who has intercepted seven passes by Manning in 10 games against him. “Just go out there and stick them and beat them up at the line of scrimmage.

“If you watch those guys all through the season and postseason put up those big numbers, you see a lot of guys running through the secondary. We said we were not going to let them do that to us, we’re going to challenge them more so than other teams, and let the best man win.”

Sounds easy enough. But Law was so acrobatic in his playmaking, so instinctive about being in the right place, even some of his teammates were taken aback.

“To have a game like that,” linebacker Ted Johnson said, “it’s like an out-of-body experience.”

Manning certainly isn’t himself when playing at New England. Counting Sunday’s game, he is 0-5 there with seven touchdown passes and 15 interceptions.

Part of that is because of the defensive scheming of Patriot Coach Bill Belichick, who is 6-4 against Manning and has done a masterful job this season, leading his team back to the Super Bowl despite a rash of injuries. The Patriots have started more than 40 players this season.

Aside from Brady, who finished third in most-valuable-player voting behind co-winners Manning and Steve McNair, the Patriots are largely devoid of household names. Take Jarvis Green, for instance. He emerged from obscurity to collect three of New England’s four sacks. He had only 1 1/2 sacks this season.

Then there was running back Antowain Smith, who normally grinds out yards in short bursts. He gained 100 yards in 22 carries against the Colts, becoming the first New England player to break the century mark in a playoff game since Curtis Martin in 1997.

Smith was a logical choice on a blustery day when the snow was falling and the temperature was 32 degrees at kickoff. That was a welcome warming trend, considering the temperature dipped below zero earlier in the week.

“It seems like they always run me in the snow, so I knew it was going to be my day when I saw snow in the forecast,” Smith said.

One of the goats of the game was the aptly named Justin Snow, the Colt long snapper who fired the ball over the head of punter Hunter Smith late in the second quarter.

Fearing the Patriots might scoop up the loose ball, Smith chased it down deep in Indianapolis territory and booted it out of the end zone. He was flagged for illegally kicking the ball, but the Patriots declined the penalty and accepted the safety for a 15-0 lead.

The Colts scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half to make the score respectable, but couldn’t replicate the back-from-the-dead comeback they pulled off in Tampa early this season. The Patriots weren’t about to let that happen.

“This is the ultimate team defense,” Law said, “and the ultimate team, period.”