FOXBORO, Mass. – The Indianapolis Colts’ offense struggled Sunday, but that was probably because of the conditions. It’s hard to score with snow all over the field and a wall in front of the end zone.

The New England Patriots and their “Homeland Defense” took the Colts out of their game, out of the end zone and right out of the NFL playoffs. The Patriots jumped to a 15-0 lead, then hung on for a 24-14 win in the AFC championship game.

New England advanced to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.

Before almost every snap, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning would move around, shout in teammates’ ears and make all sorts of hand gestures. Previously, we thought Manning was calling new plays. As it turns out, he was just stalling. You would too, if you had to face this defense.

Manning arrived in New England with a 156.9 passer rating in two playoff games. In this game, he had a rating of 35.5. For those who don’t understand the NFL’s complicated passer rating system, think of it this way: A 156.9 passer rating is like a trip to the moon. A 35.5 rating is like a trip to the mall.

“Can’t really pin it on one guy,” Colts offensive tackle Tarik Glenn said. “Everyone had a part in it.”

Manning completed three passes to Marvin Harrison for 19 yards, which was bad. He completed three to Ty Law for 26 yards, and that was worse, because Law plays for the Patriots. Law, the Pro Bowler who attended Michigan, seemed to understand every Manning wiggle.

“This is probably the most simple game plan that we’ve had,” Law said. “Just go out there and stick them and beat them up at the line of scrimmage.”

Another former Wolverine, Tom Brady, completed 22 of 37 passes for 237 yards for New England. Antowain Smith ran for 100 yards on 22 carries.

Manning also threw an interception to Rodney Harrison. That’s four interceptions, an unthinkable number for the NFL’s hottest player – and still the Colts had a chance to win.

With 2:27 left in the game, Manning hit Marcus Pollard for a seven-yard touchdown. That cut the Patriots’ lead to 21-14. For Indianapolis, hope was alive.

The Patriots quickly squashed hope by recovering an onside kick, forcing Manning into four incompletions and sealing it with an Adam Vinatieri field goal.

When the Colts had the ball for the last time, there were 50 seconds left and 10 points to make up. It was not going to happen, not against this defense.

The Patriots scored 24 points, but not in usual fashion. New England had one touchdown, five field goals and one safety. That makes it sound like the Patriots won ugly. In truth, they played beautifully for much of the game, but a few untimely errors kept them from scoring more.

The Patriots’ touchdown came on their first possession, when Brady hit David Givens for a seven-yard score. The next time they got the ball, Vinatieri kicked a field goal. And the next time, another field goal.

With 4:13 left in the second quarter – 145 minutes and 47 seconds into their postseason – the Colts finally sent Hunter Smith onto the snowy field. Smith is the Colts’ punter. For three weeks, he’d had nothing but free time. This would be his first punt of the playoffs.

It didn’t go quite the way Smith had hoped. It went exactly the other way, in fact. Snapper Justin Snow – no, really, Justin Snow – chucked the ball over Smith’s head, and the punter intentionally kicked it out of the end zone for a safety. The Patriots led, 15-0.

The snap over the head wasn’t the only play that made the Colts look like they should be playing the Harlem Globetrotters. Manning, who had been nearly perfect in recent weeks, threw interceptions on consecutive passes. Harrison, arguably the best receiver in the NFL, was barely heard from, except for the time he fumbled.

Meanwhile, the Patriots looked every bit like the NFL’s most dominant team.

“We looked at this as a stepping-stone,” Law said, “to get to our ultimate goal.”

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(c) 2004, Detroit Free Press.

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PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): AFC

AP-NY-01-18-04 2233EST