The Colts advance to face the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI Feb. 4 in Miami, while the Patriots were left to swallow a bitter disappointment.
New England had been 15-0 all time in the playoffs when leading at the half.
"We never closed the door, and when you don't close the door on a good football team, they're not going away," said Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour. "They kept fighting, and they made the plays when they needed to make them. Usually, we're on the opposite end of the stick. We were 30 minutes away and just couldn't seal the deal."
The Patriots had led, 21-6, at the half, controlling much of the action. But quarterback Peyton Manning, who had been dogged by his inability to lead the Colts to the Super Bowl, finally had his day. He finished 27 of 47 for 349 yards and one touchdown, leading a final 80-yard drive to give the Colts the go-ahead score.
It was a stunning turn for the Patriots.
"It's hitting all of us in this locker room pretty hard," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "We know our season is over this year. It will take a little while to swallow this one."
Brady had promised a classic last week and the teams didn't disappoint. This was an indeed an instant classic. The second half was simply sizzling, adding another epic chapter to this still-growing rivalry.
In the end, it came down to this: Holding a 3-point lead with 3:22 left, the Patriots couldn't run out the clock and faced the challenge of stopping the Colts, who started at their 20-yard line with 2:17 remaining. It was too tall a task, with the big strike coming when Manning found tight end Bryan Fletcher down the left side of the field for a 32-yard gain.
After Addai scored the go-ahead touchdown -- with Manning thrusting his arms into the air in celebration -- the Patriots had one final chance. Taking over at their 20 with two timeouts and 54 seconds on the clock, Brady marched the team to the Colts' 40 before he was interceped by Marlin Jackson with 16 seconds left, setting off an eruption in the RCA Dome.
