FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Stopping Peyton Manning is a huge challenge for a defense that’s at full strength. Imagine how he’d attack a wounded team.

The answer will come Sunday.

That’s when the New England Patriots – missing their best two cornerbacks and perhaps Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour – face the Indianapolis Colts’ record-setting quarterback.

“We will go out there with what we’ve got,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “The draft is over.”

He did add defensive backs Hank Poteat and Antwan Harris to the roster this week, and nagging injuries to other members of the secondary have gotten better. That doesn’t make up for the absence of cornerbacks Ty Law and Tyrone Poole, both on injured reserve after being sidelined most of the season.

Seymour is listed as questionable for the playoff game three weeks after hurting his knee and then missing the last regular-season game.

Rookie Randall Gay and second-year pro Asante Samuel have gotten most of the starts at cornerback and third-year pro Jarvis Green is Seymour’s backup.

“Guys get hurt during games and other people step up. It’s not something that really is an issue,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said Friday. “We’ve been through it with our offensive line. Guys have been out and rookies have stepped in and we’ve won. That’s just the way you have to do it.”

The Colts probably will play without defensive end Robert Mathis, who has 101/2 sacks. Starting defensive tackle Josh Williams is listed as questionable.

If the Patriots lose, their quest for a third Super Bowl championship in four years will end. Manning is 0-6 in his career against the Patriots in Foxboro, including a 24-14 loss in last year’s AFC title game when he threw four interceptions.

He had his lowest completion percentage this season – except for the finale when he played one series because the Colts were locked into the AFC’s No. 3 playoff slot – on opening night in a 27-24 loss at Foxboro and was involved in two damaging plays.

With the ball at the Patriots 6, he threw an interception to Tedy Bruschi on the Colts’ first drive. On their last possession, he was sacked by Willie McGinest one play before Mike Vanderjagt missed a field-goal attempt that would have tied the score.

Another team that gave Manning trouble was the Baltimore Ravens. Indianapolis still won 20-10 on Dec. 19, but Manning had his second lowest passer rating of the season, except for the final game.

“They brought different blitzers and mixed up who is coming and made us throw quick,” Dungy said after that game.

Forcing Manning to throw quickly doesn’t always work, especially with a quarterback so adept at reading defenses with a group of receivers who don’t need much time to get open.

“When you want the rush to get there is when the receivers are running their routes and the quarterback is throwing the ball,” Belichick said. “The idea is to force the quarterback to throw at the time you have the receivers covered. If you can do that, then you have a chance.”

The Patriots also must do a better job against the run. They allowed Indianapolis to rush for 202 yards in their first meeting this season, 142 by Edgerrin James.

“I think our defense’s goal every time we go into a game is to stop the run and make the team one-dimensional,” linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said. “But, in this situation, the Colts love to pass so it is like pick your poison.”

The Colts also must face a star quarterback. Tom Brady doesn’t have Manning’s statistics but his results have been better. He is 6-0 in playoff games and 48-14 during the regular season.

On Sunday, NFL sacks leader Dwight Freeney will go after him.

“When he is not sacking the quarterback he is rushing the quarterback and forcing him to throw interceptions,” Brady said. “You have to make certain he doesn’t take over the game.”

Manning broke Dan Marino’s NFL record with 49 touchdown passes while Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley became only the fourth trio of teammates to each have at least 1,000 yards receiving in the same season.

Belichick usually comes up with a new wrinkle to confuse the opposing quarterback, but Manning adjusts at the line of scrimmage very well.

“You have to force him into bad decisions and you have to make plays,” Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “He’s just not going to make a lot of bad throws. A lot of times in this league you get gifts. You know he’s not going to give you a whole lot of gifts.”

AP-ES-01-14-05 2014EST