FOXBORO, Mass. – Less than two weeks ago, Peyton Manning was known as a quarterback who couldn’t win a big game. Now, almost magically, he has morphed into the poster boy for the NFL playoffs. Everything is Peyton this, Peyton that, and, frankly, at least one member of the Patriots’ defense already is tired of the hype.

Safety Rodney Harrison, known for his punishing hits and blunt comments, perceives the adulation for Manning as a slight against the Patriots’ defense. Harrison, conveniently forgetting that his team has won 13 straight games, has shifted into us-against-the-world mode. “No one is giving us a chance,” Harrison said Wednesday before practice. “No one wants us to win. Peyton is everybody’s favorite. Just look at the TV; he’s everywhere. People are saying, ‘There’s no way in the world they can stop him.’ “You have to take that personally,” he continued. “We have a lot of prideful players on our defense and we’re not going to be intimidated by the fact that he’s in the media and everyone is hyping him up.”

Manning, who faces the Patriots on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium, is doing is a pretty good job of hyping himself up. In playoff victories over the Broncos and Chiefs, he passed for 681 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s averaging 15.5 yards per completion, for crying out loud. It’s the football equivalent of pitching two no-hitters in a row.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team run through the playoffs like they have,” coach Bill Belichick said of the Colts, who have scored more points (79) in the playoffs than the Jets (73) did in their last five regular-season games.

Like the rest of the football-watching nation, the Patriots sat in front of their TV sets Sunday and saw Manning toy with the Chiefs’ defense. The Patriots have a deep respect for Manning, who threw four touchdowns in a 38-34 loss to them in November, but they’re not about to bow at his feet. The Chiefs seemed awestruck, and look what happened to them. Manning put up 304 yards and three touchdowns in the 38-31 win.

“That was ridiculous,” Harrison said. “It’s embarrassing when a team is just throwing the ball on you like that. That’s when pride comes in. You can’t let a team dictate what they want to do. You have to be aggressive and lay down the law.”

The Patriots can enforce the law with the best of them. In their last seven home games, the defense has allowed only three touchdowns, two in last week’s bone-chilling win over the Titans.

When it was suggested that Manning is the best of the gunslingers, Harrison scoffed.

“We had a gunslinger last week,” he said, referring to Steve McNair, who shared the MVP award with Manning. “Who cares? It doesn’t matter.”

Several New England players said the Colts’ offense reminds them of the 2001 Rams – a.k.a. The Greatest Show on Turf. The Patriots took care of them in Super Bowl XXXVI.

“I think this Colts offense is even better than the Rams from two years ago,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “They weren’t nearly as hot as the Colts and Peyton.”

There’s that name again. Get used to it, Rodney.

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Matchup to watch

Colts QB Peyton Manning vs. Pats FS Eugene Wilson

Wilson, a rookie, is the weakest link in the Patriots’ talented secondary. Because of his inexperience at the position (he played cornerback in college), Wilson is vulnerable, especially against clever play-action quarterbacks like Manning. In the first meeting (a 38-34 New England win), Wilson was exposed several times, as Manning passed for 278 yards and 4 TDs. Conversely, Wilson’s man-to-man coverage skills will prove valuable. If the Pats are in their base defense against the Colts’ three-receiver formation, Wilson will cover slot WR Brandon Stokley, who is red hot.

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(c) 2004, New York Daily News.

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