INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Peyton Manning saw Marvin Harrison fall to

the turf after a 16-yard catch and was getting ready to huddle for

the next play.

"All of a sudden, I see Marvin sprinting for the end zone,"

Manning said. "When something like that happens, it tells you

maybe it's going to be your day."

Indeed it was.

The NFL's co-MVP passed the Indianapolis Colts to a 41-10

victory over Denver on Sunday that put to rest any questions about

Manning's ability to win a big game.

"Every ball he threw was perfect," said Brandon Stokley, who

caught two of Manning's five touchdown passes.

No kidding. And when things weren't perfect, the Broncos were

helping the Colts out.

That was most apparent late in the first quarter when Harrison

caught a pass at the Broncos 30, lay on the turf untouched as two

Denver players argued over who missed the assignment. He got up and

ran to the end zone to give Indianapolis a 14-3 lead, and help send

the Colts to Kansas City for a second-round game next Sunday.

Manning threw for touchdowns on each of the Colts' first four

possessions and finished 22-of-26 for 377 yards and five TDs, the

third time in 17 games this season he had five or more TD tosses.

That made Manning the first ever to do that. His four TD passes in

the first half tied a playoff record held by 10 others, most

recently Kerry Collins of the Giants in the NFC title game three

years ago.

When he left game in the fourth quarter he had a perfect passer

rating of 158.3 for the second time this season, the fourth perfect

playoff game in NFL history.

"It was awesome to see from the sidelines," Colts coach Tony

Dungy said of his quarterback's first postseason win in four

starts.

Manning might have had five TDs in the first half had time not

run out and forced Mike Vanderjagt to kick a field goal. No

problem: Manning threw his fifth on the first series of the second

half.

Denver's day was defined by that one 46-yard TD pass from

Manning to Harrison.

Three Broncos -- Lenny Walls, Kelly Herndon, Kennedy and Al

Wilson -- surrounded Harrison, but when no one touched him down,

Harrison casually rolled over and started running for the end zone.

No whistle. Touchdown.

"We were yelling, we both lost our poise because he caught the

ball," said Walls, who said he and Kennedy were arguing about who

blew the coverage instead of going after Harrison. "It was just a

bad play. You can't let that happen in the playoffs."

"Coach always tells us to keep going until someone blows the

whistle," Harrison said. "I tried to get up slowly so I wouldn't

get knocked in the head, so I got up and ran."

It probably wouldn't have mattered the way Manning was playing.

On the first drive, Manning threw a 23-yard TD pass to Stokley.

Manning also hit Stokley for an 87-yard TD just inside the 2-minute

warning.

In between came two TDs to Harrison, the no-touch score and a

23-yarder. Manning's fifth was to Reggie Wayne from 7 yards out on

the first possession of the second half.

In fact, Indianapolis scored on every possession until Edgerrin

James fumbled 1:38 into the final period. And the Colts never

punted.

Could Manning have caught the Broncos napping?

You wouldn't think so, considering that he threw for six TDs

against New Orleans this season and five against Atlanta, becoming

just the fifth QB to throw for five or more touchdowns in the

regular season.

But Denver could have been overconfident after coming into the

RCA Dome just two weeks ago and beating the Colts 31-17. The

Broncos rushed for 227 yards in that game, held the ball for nearly

45 minutes and limited Manning to 146 yards and no TDs.

This time, he was 16-of-18 for 327 yards by halftime. Harrison

finished with seven catches for 133 yards, and Stokley four for

144.

But Manning was the show, dispelling the perception that he

somehow choked in "big games."

"I hope people think this was a big game," Dungy said. "We

kept hearing about Peyton's failure to win big games. I guess this

was a big one."

As for Denver, the defenders who stared at Walls weren't the

only Broncos dozing on the job. Left guard Dan Neil was called for

three holding penalties and a chop block in the first half alone --

45 yards of penalties in all.

Jake Plummer, forced to abandon the running game, threw two

interceptions to David Macklin, the Colts' nickel back who has been

a target for opponents all season.

"We did absolutely nothing today," said tight end Shannon

Sharpe, who is considering retirement.

"I don't know if I've ever in 14 years of play felt the way

I've felt today. I was looking at what was happening and I kept

thinking 'you've got to be kidding me. You've got to be kidding

me.' "

Game notes

The Broncos have not won a playoff game since the 1999

Super Bowl after which John Elway retired. They are 0-2 since then.

... This was the first home playoff win for the Colts in

Indianapolis. Their last home win was in Baltimore in January 1971.