Notes, quotes · Inside slant · Strategy and personnel

--Sunday's AFC Championship Game will be the third postseason meeting in four years between the Colts and Patriots.

--This will be the second matchup in an AFC title game between the Colts and Patriots (2003). New England won 24-14 at Foxborough, Mass.

--The Colts' all-time postseason record is 15-16. The franchise is 7-9 in the playoffs since coming to Indianapolis in 1984.

--Two of the four coaches head coaches involved in NFC and AFC Championship Games are African-American (the Colts' Tony Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith). It's the first time in league championship history that two African-American coaches led two of the four teams involved.

--The Colts own the NFL's best regular-season record since the start of the 1999 season at 89-39.

--Indianapolis is the only NFL team to reach the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons.

--The Colts have won 34 of their last 41 regular-season games.

--Indianapolis has a 23-7 record in AFC South play.

--The Colts have owned or shared the AFC South lead in 78 of 85 weeks of the division's existence.

--Indianapolis won its franchise-record fourth consecutive division title in 2006. The Colts are one of 15 teams since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to win four or more consecutive division crowns.

--The Colts have joined the 1992-95 Cowboys as the only NFL teams to win 12 or more games in four consecutive seasons.

--Indianapolis has compiled a 50-14 record over the past four regular seasons.

--The last two times that the Colts have beaten Kansas City in an early-round AFC playoff game (2003, 2006), they have gone on to play in the AFC Championship Game.

--The Colts have made the playoffs 20 times in the franchise's 54-year history.

--This year marks the 10th time since the Colts moved to Indianapolis that the team has made the postseason. It's also the ninth time in the past 12 years.

--This is the third time that Tony Dungy has guided a team into a conference championship game. He is 0-2 in those games, losing to the Rams in 1999 while he was at Tampa Bay and at New England in 2003 with the Colts.

--Dungy's teams have earned eight consecutive playoff appearances, leaving him tied with Chuck Noll and behind only Tom Landry (nine) for the most consecutive playoff appearances by NFL head coaches since 1970.

--Dungy is the eighth head coach to direct the Colts into postseason play. He is one of five Colts coaches to earn double-digit regular-season victory totals (Dungy, 5; Don Shula, 4; Ted Marchibroda, 3; Don McCafferty, 2; Jim Mora).

--QB Peyton Manning has a 4-8 career regular-season record against the Patriots.

--Manning has completed 276 of 434 passes for 3,189 yards, 22 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 12 regular-season meetings with New England.

--Manning is 2-2 in his last four regular-season games with the Patriots, completing 93 of 150 passes for 1,181 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.

--Manning has four 300-yard passing games against the Patriots. He has eight games with 250 yards or more passing against New England.

--Manning is 0-2 against New England in the postseason.

--Manning has completed 50 of 89 passes for 475 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in two postseason meetings with the Patriots.

--Manning has completed 243 of 382 passes for 2,900 yards, 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 11 previous postseason games.

--WR Marvin Harrison has caught 102 passes for 1,448 yards and 14 touchdowns in 16 regular-season meetings with the Patriots.

--Harrison has caught 51 passes for 736 yards and two touchdowns in 12 career postseason games.

--Harrison has caught 17 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns in his last two regular-season games with New England.

--Harrison has been limited to eight catches for 63 yards and no touchdowns in two postseason games against the Patriots.

--WR Reggie Wayne has caught 48 passes for 629 yards and five touchdowns in nine previous postseason games.

--TE Dallas Clark has caught 33 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns in six postseason games.

--K Adam Vinatieri played 10 seasons (1996-05) with the Patriots.

--S Dexter Reid played the 2004 season in New England.

--The Colts have allowed 127 yards over the last two postseason games combined in wins over Kansas City and Baltimore. Indianapolis had allowed nearly 173 yards per game rushing in 16 regular-season games.

--In the two postseason wins by New England, the Colts have not recorded a sack of Patriots QB Tom Brady.

BY THE NUMBERS
4 -- The Colts have one postseason interception against New England QB Tom Brady. Indianapolis, however, had four interceptions in this year's regular-season meeting with the Patriots.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"It is tough, but that's who is going to get the job done. If you can do the things you normally do, can function well, handle kickoffs, protect your punter, and all the mundane things when the stakes are really high, that's what it takes. Elevating your game to a different level because it's a bigger game. Being able to do the things you did in Week 1. That's what we stressed all year and hopefully we'll be able to do that. That is the crux of the matter." -- Colts coach Tony Dungy on what it will take to win this week against New England.

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