Manning Up

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Peyton Manning is headed to his first championship game with visions of wide-open receivers and undefended real estate in his head.\nMaking Kansas City's defense look like a sieve, Manning led the Indianapolis Colts past the Chiefs 38-31 Sunday for a spot in the AFC title game next weekend. The NFL co-MVP knows he can expect a much bigger challenge from the New England Patriots than the Chiefs presented.\nManning was 22-for-30 for 304 yards and three touchdowns in a masterful performance that quickly quieted the normally raucous Arrowhead Stadium crowd. He took the Colts (14-4) to scores on six of their first seven drives -- and right on to Foxboro.\nPunter Hunter Smith, who did not kick in a 41-10 opening-round playoff win over Denver, again was not needed. Manning, Edgerrin James (24 rushes for 125 yards) and Reggie Wayne (six catches, 83 yards) made sure of that.\nNot that Indianapolis' defense was much more efficient. All-Pro Priest Holmes, who set an NFL record with 27 touchdowns this season (all on the ground), dove in from the 1 for two scores. Dante Hall, also an NFL record-setter this season, had a TD on a 92-yard kickoff runback.\nIn all, the Colts gained 434 yards and the Chiefs 408. The difference was that Manning converted every big play. As an MVP should.\n"He doesn't throw an inaccurate ball," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "Every pass is where it should be."\nManning hit Brandon Stokley on a 19-yard pass to open the scoring and also connected with Tom Lopienski for 2 yards and Wayne for 19. Manning is 44-for-56 in the postseason for 681 yards and eight touchdowns.\nJames had scoring runs of 1 and 11 yards and Mike Vanderjagt hit his 40th straight field goal this season from 45 yards.\nThat offset the brilliance of Kansas City's offense. Holmes set a franchise playoff record with 176 yards rushing Sunday.\nStill, the Chiefs' 13-3 regular season ended with a first-round playoff loss for the third straight postseason -- at home, where they were unbeaten this season; it also happened in 1995 and '97. They had won 13 straight at Arrowhead.\nTheir Missouri brethren, the St. Louis Rams, also fell in a first-round playoff game and, like the Chiefs, also were unbeaten at home.\nThe Chiefs, losers of seven in a row to the Colts, got unlucky at the start of the second half. Holmes broke free for a 48-yard run but fumbled when hit by David Macklin at the Colts' 22 , and Macklin recovered.\nManning promptly guided the Colts downfield. Only Kansas City's first big defensive play of the game -- Shawn Barber throwing to James for a 5-yard loss -- slowed the juggernaut.\nVanderjagt's 45-yard field goal made it 24-10.\nHolmes atoned by scoring from the 1 after a 24-yard sprint. Manning merely shrugged and engineered a 64-yard drive capped by a 19-yard pass to Wayne.\nIf Indy was feeling comfortable, though, it was shaken 13 seconds later when Hall streaked 92 yards. The All-Pro, who had kick returns for scores in four straight regular-season games, got the first in Chiefs playoff history. He had 208 yards on seven returns.\nAs could be expected from the Colts' proficient offense, they scored immediately. Manning hit Stokley down the middle for a 29-yard touchdown to finish a 70-yard drive, indicating early that Kansas City's struggling defense was in for a long afternoon.\nAnd, not surprisingly, the Chiefs responded with a 73-yard drive during which Holmes had 44 yards on seven carries. But he slipped on a third-down run, and Morten Andersen kicked a 22-yard field goal.\nThe Colts resumed the attack, moving 76 yards on six plays, with Manning hitting Marvin Harrison on a 38-yard pass. James surged through a huge hole into the end zone for a 14-3 lead with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter.\nBack came Kansas City, converting three third downs with big gains before Hall slipped free near the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown, his first postseason reception and also the first playoff TD throw of Trent Green's career.\nManning's second touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to seldom-used fullback Lopienski -- the first time the rookie touched the ball in the NFL -- completed a 71-yard drive to make it 21-10. Again, the Chiefs never looked capable of stopping the Colts.\nNot that Indianapolis was any stauncher defensively. Again, Kansas City marched downfield, only to have Tony Gonzalez's 27-yard touchdown reception negated by a suspect offensive interference call. The usually dependable Andersen botched a 31-yard field goal -- his first miss inside the 40 since 2001.\nKansas City's Jason Baker did not punt either; both teams were too busy scoring.\nIt was the first time in NFL history that there were no punts in a playoff game.