After stopping run for 2 weeks, Colts face Brady challenge

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The Indianapolis Colts' resurgent defense shut down two of the NFL's top runners to reach the AFC championship game. <br/><br/>When the Colts play longtime adversary New England

Tuesday, January 16th 2007, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The Indianapolis Colts' resurgent defense shut down two of the NFL's top runners to reach the AFC championship game.

When the Colts play longtime adversary New England on Sunday, they will face a different test against the league's most resilient postseason quarterback.

Tom Brady already owns three Super Bowl rings and masterfully rallied the Patriots (14-4) to a 24-21 victory at San Diego on Sunday to advance to the conference title game. His next challenge is a Colts defense buoyed by the return of former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders.

Sanders was limited to four-regular season games but one of them was the Colts' 27-20 win at New England in November. Indianapolis held the Patriots to 349 yards and intercepted Brady four times in the victory.

Sanders played in his second straight game Saturday, the first time he has been in consecutive games since the first two weeks of the season _ before he needed arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

``I don't know what it is, all I do is go out and do what I do,'' Sanders said. ``Since I've been back, it seems like the guys have a lot more energy, but we're in the playoffs, so that may be it, too.''

These old division rivals have met seven times since Indianapolis moved from the AFC East in 2002. New England won the first four, including two home playoff games, and the Colts have won the last two _ both regular-season games at New England.

Indianapolis' suddenly sturdy defense could be the key in this one.

Coach Tony Dungy insisted all season that his team's biggest problems were fixable. Many thought it was impossible after a season during which the Colts (14-4) surrendered a league-high 173 yards rushing per game, even giving up a hefty 375 yards to Jacksonville in December.

Yet Dungy never lost faith in his system or his players, and they've responded.

``We're playing better,'' Dungy said. ``We're tackling a little bit better. We've always had a pretty good rush in the long-yardage situations, but in the third-and-5, third-and-6, we've tackled the underneath throws a little bit better.''

The Colts blew what many considered their best Super Bowl chance last season with a shocking home loss to Pittsburgh. This season, they stumbled into the playoffs with four losses in six weeks, and conventional wisdom suggested the Colts would make another quick postseason exit.

Instead, a defense long considered the greatest impediment to a Super Bowl run, has played more like the '85 Chicago Bears than the '06 Colts for two straight weeks.

``I think we're playing consistently well for 60 minutes, and we're playing with an intensity that's been unmatched,'' former Pro Bowl linebacker Cato June said. ``We're having fun doing it, and showing that all the stuff in the regular season doesn't matter.''

Kansas City managed 126 total yards in a 23-8 wild-card loss and Larry Johnson carried only 13 times for 32 yards.

At Baltimore on Saturday, the Colts were more impressive. While the Ravens produced 244 yards in offense, Jamal Lewis ran for just 53 yards and Indy beat the NFL's top-ranked defense at its own game in a 15-6 victory _ keeping the Ravens out of the end zone.

Whatever the explanation, the improved defense has been able to get off the field quickly and played well enough to overcome two sub-par games from two-time MVP Peyton Manning.

Kansas City and Baltimore were a combined 3-of-22 on third-down conversions.

``It's not the 3-4, it's not the people, it's not the scheme,'' Dungy said. ``It's doing your job on every play, and I thought that we did. The one thing that we've done well in this postseason is that we've played well on third down.''