Vinatieri boots five FGs, boosts Colts over Ravens

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Peyton Manning couldn't get Indianapolis into

the end zone and, for once, it didn't matter.

That's because Adam Vinatieri provided the Colts with all the

offense they needed to advance to the AFC championship game.

Elias Says

Vinatieri Adam Vinatieri went 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts and provided all of his team's points in the Colts' 15-6 victory at Baltimore. He is now 34-for-42 on field-goal attempts in postseason play, and during Saturday's game, he surpassed Gary Anderson's previous NFL records of 33 postseason field goals and 40 attempts. Vinatieri also tied Matt Bahr's NFL record of scoring the most points in a postseason game in which he scored all of his team's points. Bahr made five field goals in the Giants' 15-13 win at San Francisco in the 1990 NFC Championship Game. • Read more Elias Says.

Signed during the offseason specifically for his playoff

experience, Vinatieri kicked five field goals Saturday to put his

name in the NFL record book and carry Indianapolis past the

Baltimore Ravens 15-6.

"Adam's been exceptional all year," Colts coach Tony Dungy

said. "You just feel like you're going to make it every time when

he goes out there. In games like this, it's necessary."

Although unspectacular, Manning was efficient enough to make up

for some of his previous playoff failures and keep alive his hope

of playing in the Super Bowl for the first time. All he needed to

do was get the Colts close enough for Vinatieri, who did the rest.

"I'm not sure if we ever won one before in the nine years I've

played here without scoring a touchdown. My guess is no," Manning

said. "You want to get touchdowns and it was frustrating to have

to settle for field goals. But we saw how our defense was playing

early, and we thought field goals would be enough -- if we got

enough of them."

Vinatieri won two Super Bowls with late field goals and scored

117 points in the postseason for New England. He was signed by

Indianapolis as a free agent to replace Mike Vanderjagt, who missed

a 46-yard field goal with 17 seconds left last season in the Colts'

21-18 playoff loss to Pittsburgh.

Vinatieri justified the acquisition with a flawless performance

against the Ravens, connecting on field goal tries of 23, 42, 51,

48 and 35 yards. The fourth kick gave him an NFL-record 33 career

postseason field goals.

"Baltimore is the No. 1 defense in the league. Points are at a

premium with them," Vinatieri said. "It's hard to score on those

guys. The way our defense played -- they stepped up and kept them

out of the end zone the whole time -- sometimes you win like that."

Indianapolis (14-4) never trailed in eliminating the No.

2-seeded Ravens (13-4), who were coming off a first-round bye and

poised to extract a measure of revenge against the franchise that

broke the hearts of Baltimore fans by sneaking out of the city to

Indianapolis in March 1984.

"This football team is as disappointed as our fans are, which

is matched tenfold by the players," Ravens coach Brian Billick

said. "(The fans) were deserving of better than that, but it just

wasn't going to happen and we will move forward now."

Not until next year. The third-seeded Colts, however, will next

face the winner of Sunday's game between San Diego and New England.

If the Patriots win, the game will be in Indianapolis.

Vinatieri, who kicked three field goals last week against Kansas

City, broke the mark of 32 held by Gary Anderson. The

record-setting kick came with 10:57 left in the third quarter and

put the Colts ahead 12-3.

That was enough support for a defense that during the regular

season finished last against the run. The Colts didn't allow a

touchdown, held Jamal Lewis to 53 yards rushing and also forced

four turnovers -- intercepting Steve McNair twice and recovering two

fumbles.

"You can't turn the ball over in a championship-style game,"

Billick said. "That's an awful lot to overcome."

Like Vinatieri, McNair was obtained during the offseason because

of his success in the playoffs. With McNair leading the way, the

Ravens finished with nine wins in 10 games for the best

regular-season record in franchise history.

But he went 18-of-29 for only 173 yards, and Baltimore managed

only two field goals by Matt Stover in its first playoff game since

2003.

Manning finished 15-of-30 for 170 yards. The victory improved

his career playoff record to 5-6.

Baltimore fans were looking forward to this game since the Colts

advanced with a 23-8 win over Kansas City last week. Many in

Baltimore have never really gotten over the Colts' move to

Indianapolis nearly 23 years ago, and those emotions came to the

forefront Saturday.

In a tribute to former Baltimore Colts quarterback John Unitas,

who wore No. 19, someone in the lower deck unfurled a sign that

read: "19 WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN 18," the number worn by

Manning.

The record crowd of 71,162 did all it could to hinder Manning's

calls at the line, but he appeared undaunted by the noise from the

outset. After the Ravens went three-and-out on their first

possession, Manning put together an 11-play drive that produced a

field goal.

The volume of the crowd dimmed even further during the ensuing

drive, when Ravens tight end Todd Heap lost a fumble at the

Baltimore 31 after being hit by Colts cornerback Nick Harper.

Referees ruled Heap down, reversed the call after Dungy challenged

the call, and Vinatieri followed with a field goal for a 6-0 lead.

Baltimore halved the deficit with a 40-yard field goal early in

the second quarter. Ed Reed then picked off a pass by Manning, and

the Ravens moved to the Indianapolis 5 before Antoine Bethea

intercepted McNair's third-down throw at the 1.

It was the closest Baltimore would get to scoring a touchdown.

The Colts then held the ball for six minutes before Vinatieri

kicked a 51-yard field goal that hit the crossbar and bounced

through.

"I don't want to say I missed it. I just didn't hit it as good

as I could," Vinatieri said. "Thank goodness it was just long

enough."Game notes
The Colts ended a four-game road losing streak. ...

Baltimore was 42-14 at home since the start of the 2000 season.