Manning and the Colts beat the inept Kansas City Chiefs 23-8, and while the star quarterback's numbers were good - 30-for-38 for 268 yards - his performance was mediocre. At least it was for the most prolific passer of his generation.

He threw three interceptions, did not complete a deep pass and, ultimately, was bailed out by his defense.

"You have to keep playing," said Manning, who improved to 4-6 in the playoffs. "Every time you drop back to throw, your goal is to possess the ball on the next play. Three times, I was very poor on that. As soon as it gets you second-guessing, as soon as it gets you gun-shy, that's when you have problems."

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The beleaguered Indianapolis defense was so good that Manning's miscues did not stop the reigning AFC South champions from advancing to the next round at Baltimore.

"Our defense was awesome today," Manning said. "We made some mistakes and the defense made sure we didn't pay for it."

A defense that yielded 173 yards rushing per game this season allowed only 44 to Pro Bowl back Larry Johnson and the Chiefs.

Kansas City's initial first down came with three minutes 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Indianapolis had four sacks, two by Dwight Freeney, and two interceptions. The Chiefs managed 126 total yards.

"We heard it all about having the worst defense," Freeney said. "Now we can here this: We have the best run defense in the playoffs."

Meanwhile, Adam Vinatieri made three field goals and rookie Joseph Addai rushed for 122 yards and a TD for the Colts (13-4). Wisely, with Manning unable to throw deep, Indianapolis gave Kansas City (9-8) a steady dose of short passes that wore out the Chiefs.

"We didn't get any rhythm offensively," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "I thought our defense hung in there for the most part, but I think they got a little fatigued."

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