Patriots Lead Colts 14-3 in 2nd Quarter

INDIANAPOLIS - Asante Samuel returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown just after Corey Dillon's 7-yard scoring run as the New England Patriots took a 21-3 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the second quarter of Sunday's AFC championship game.

The Patriots were also handed a gift when Tom Brady's fumbled handoff to Laurence Maroney squirted through several Colts into the end zone and was recovered by left tackle Logan Mankins.

On third-and-1 from the Indy 4, Maroney dropped the handoff from Brady and kicked it forward. Somehow, under the big pile, the ball squirted out from underneath three Colts defenders and trickled into the end zone, where Mankins fell on it for his first career score.

It was the first time Indianapolis had trailed in the postseason - typical of how the Colts have lost other recent playoff games to the Patriots.

New England is trying to join the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers as the only teams with four Super Bowl victories in six years. The Colts last played in a Super Bowl 36 years ago when they defeated Dallas at Miami.

After the Patriots scored, Manning countered with a time-consuming, 14-play drive that stalled at the New England 25 after right tackle Ryan Diem was called for holding.

The Colts settled for a 42-yard field goal from ex-Patriot Adam Vinatieri to make it 7-3 with 48 seconds left in the quarter. The kick extended Vinatieri's career record to 35 playoff field goals, and was the 27th in a row he's made at the RCA Dome.

The rivalry between New England and Indianapolis has evoked even stronger passions since the Colts left the AFC East in 2002.

Sunday's game was the seventh meeting between the teams since the division change, with the Patriots holding a 4-2 advantage, including two straight playoff wins - both in Foxborough, Mass., following the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

But Manning and the Colts have had the upper hand on their old nemesis recently. They won the two previous games, both regular-season contests at New England, including a 27-20 victory in November.

Indy fans had waited since 2003 to get the Patriots back to the climate-controlled environment of the RCA Dome. That time, the Patriots stuffed Edgerrin James four straight times near the goal line to preserve a 38-34 victory that eventually gave New England the home-field advantage for the AFC championship game.

Indianapolis has won four straight AFC South titles and earlier this season became the first team in league history to go 9-0 in consecutive seasons.

New England played without safety Rodney Harrison, out with an injured right knee. He hasn't played in any of the Patriots three postseason games this year.