A MIDWESTERN MATCHUP

INDIANAPOLIS -- Peyton Manning's head was down, but he had to sneak a peak.\nWith less than 30 seconds left, the Colts holding on to a four-point lead and the ball in notorious comeback kid Tom Brady's hands, Manning looked up -- just in time to see Colts cornerback Marlon Jackson intercept Brady and send the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl, sealing the biggest comeback in AFC Championship history.\nManning and the Colts defeated the New England Patriots 38-34 after waiting years to get a shot at the Patriots at home in the RCA Dome, but it wasn't easy.\n"Our team went the hard way the whole year, but they hung tough," head coach Tony Dungy said.\nThe Patriots looked like they would run away with the game early, racing to an early 21-8 lead in the first half on the legs of their running backs and a few gutsy fourth-down calls.\nNew England drew first blood after Brady fumbled a handoff at the goal line that was recovered in the end zone by offensive lineman Logan Mankins.\nCorey Dillon put the Patriots up 14-3 on a 7-yard run, then cornerback Asante Samuel jumped in front of Marvin Harrison, picked off Manning's pass and sprinted 39 yards for the score to make it 21-3 with 9:25 left in the half. The touchdown silenced the loud crowd and even drew boos from Colts fans. But it only set the stage for the drama that was to come.\nThe Colts came out on fire in the second half, scoring 18 straight points to tie the game at 21 on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Manning and a 1-yard pass to Dan Klecko, followed by a two-point conversion to tie it up.\nThe Patriots responded quickly on the legs of a 80-yard kick off return by Ellis Hobbs that set up a leaping 6-yard touchdown catch from Brady to wide receiver Jabar Gaffney.\n"It was really hard," Brady said. "We were three minutes away from winning the AFC Championship, but the Colts played great."\nThe Colts responded with a goal-line fumble of their own, recovered by center Jeff Saturday for a 1-yard touchdown.\nDespite giving up points to the Colts, the New England front seven battered Peyton Manning with three sacks, and they often forced him to throw the ball earlier than he wanted. The New England secondary dominated the Colts' wide receivers throughout the first half, knocking down several would-be touchdowns.\nColts safety Bob Sanders broke up a third-down pass with 2:27 left in the game to give the Colts another chance at redemption. Manning and the offense took advantage.\nBrian Fletcher made a 32-yard catch, followed by a scary moment for the Colts when Reggie Wayne, after a 14-yard reception, fumbled the ball in the air before catching it again. New England was penalized for roughing the passer, giving the Colts field position near the red zone. \nWith just over a minute left in regulation, Colts running back Joseph Addai scored on a 3-yard run to give the Colts their first lead of the game.\nTom Brady, who has had 24 game winning drives in his career, was left with one minute on the clock, still down four points. But Jackson prevented another comeback with an interception with just over 30 seconds left.\n"This is such a special moment," Manning said. "It's hard to put into words."\nThe game was Manning's first playoff comeback ever, and it will send him and Dungy to the Super Bowl, in Miami, for the first time in both of their careers. Dungy will join Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith as the first black head coaches to coach in the Super Bowl.