Colts Hold Off Jets in AFC Title Game for Super Bowl Trip

Hate on the New York Jets and their fiery coach all you want, but give them credit: against a heavily favored Indianapolis Colts team, they held on as long as they could.

But even with a great game from Mark Sanchez, Peyton Manning's outstanding performance -- 377 yards passing and three touchdowns -- was too much, and the Colts advanced to the Super Bowl, beating the Jets 30-17 in the AFC championship game Sunday.

The Colts, who started the season 14-0 before losing to the Jets in Week 16, will make their second trip to Miami for a Super Bowl in four years. It will be Indianapolis' fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Indianapolis took the lead for good midway through the third quarter, when Manning connected with Pierre Garcon on a 4-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-17 Indianapolis.

Before that, the Colts found themselves down as much as 17-6, thanks to a sloppy start. New York took 14-6 lead in the second quarter when Sanchez hit tight end Dustin Keller for an 8-yard touchdown, and following a Colts' turnover, extended that advantage to 17-6 on a Jay Feely field goal just before the two-minute warning.

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Video: Rex Ryan Loses His Cool Indianapolis answered before the half, though, with Manning finding Austin Collie for a 16-yard score with 1:13 left in the second quarter. That cut New York's lead down to four and changed the momentum heading into the second half.

"We talked about being patient against these guys,'' Manning said. "We knew it would be a four-quarter game. They have an excellent defense.''

Manning later added a third TD pass -- with 8:52 left in the game, he hit tight end Dallas Clark for 15 yards, a score that put Indianapolis ahead 27-17, and essentially ended the Jets' hopes.

"Peyton Manning's the real deal, obviously," Jets coach Rex Ryan said on CBS' postgame show. "The guy threw for a billion yards, there's a reason he's the MVP of the league."

Colts kicker Matt Stover added a late field goal, his third of the day, for the final count.

New York landed the first big blow of the game in the second quarter. Following a short Stover field goal, a Sanchez-to-Braylon Edwards touchdown pass quieted the Indianapolis crowd and put the Jets on top, 7-3. Stover added his second field goal moments later.

Sanchez finished 17 of 30 for 257 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

- FanHouse's Chris Burke contributed to this report.