INDIANAPOLIS — You could see it on Peyton Manning's face. This loss hurt as much, if not more, than any of them.

He talked softly and looked teary-eyed. He tried to explain a game his team was supposed to win but didn't.

It wasn't just one game that got away. It was an entire season.

This was supposed to the Indianapolis Colts' year, just as 1997 — Manning's senior season — was supposed to be Tennessee's year.

The Vols couldn't win the games that mattered most in 1997. Neither could these Colts.

The underdog Pittsburgh Steelers jumped out to a 14-point, first-quarter lead; then withstood a furious fourth-quarter Colts rally for a 21-18 NFL playoff victory that put them in the AFC title game next week against Denver.

"Did he take the loss personally?" Manning was asked.

"I take every game I play personally," he said. "I'm disappointed. I can't give you a better explanation than that. It will be more disappointing tonight and tomorrow."

He knows what's coming next, the inevitable criticism that follows each of his team's crucial losses; the questions that six Pro Bowl seasons in eight years won't put to rest: Why hasn't he won more big games?

"It's not from any lack of effort on my part," Manning said. "I've never been more prepared than I was for this season. I can't tell you how much I studied for this game."

Manning was at his best when the game seemed hopelessly lost. He completed nine of 14 passes for 160 yards in the fourth quarter as the Colts pulled to within a 46-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt of tying the game.

You think Manning is disappointed? He didn't feel any worse than Vanderdjagt, whose field-goal attempt sailed wide, wide right.

"Mike has been so awesome," Manning said. "He's such a clutch kicker, such a great player."

And he hadn't missed a kick in the RCA Dome all season. So the miss was as surprising as the game.

The Colts began the day with a 3-5 playoff record with Manning at quarterback. But no other Manning/Colts team had so much going for it.

They won their first 13 regular-season games, clinched the home-field advantage all the way to the Super Bowl and were assured of another indoor venue if they made it to the biggest game of all. Moreover, they were well-rested and basically injury-free after a two-week layoff.

But you never would have guessed it by the first quarter when Pittsburgh reeled off 84- and 72-yard scoring drives. It had nine first downs to the Colts' one in the first quarter. It gained an advantage that the Colts could never overcome.

The Colts, who beat the Steelers 26-7 on the same field in late November, never resembled the team that won its first 13 games. Instead, it looked more like the team that lost two of its last three regular-season games.

The team lost more than a potentially historic winning streak in the last month of the year. A couple of losses seemed trivial compared to the loss of coach Tony Dungy, whose son, James, killed himself last month.

Colts fans will wonder how much the tragedy impacted this team. They also will wonder how costly was the lost momentum in the last month.

Then came the bizarre incident on the eve of their playoff opener. Cornerback Nick Harper was treated at an Indianapolis hospital for a knife wound after being stabbed in the leg by his wife Saturday.

When the game seemed out of reach, up stepped Harper, knife wound and all.

With 1:20 to play and the Steelers about to clinch the victory, Jerome Bettis fumbled when hit at the Colts 2-yard line. Harper picked up the loose ball and ran 35 yards to the Indianapolis 42 before being tripped up by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Jerame Tuman.

Colts fans will wonder about that, too: Could Parker have run fast enough to score if his wife hadn't stabbed him the day before?

Despite all the possible game-turning plays in the last quarter, you couldn't ignore the beginning. That's when the Steelers seized control. And that's when Roethlisberger, not Manning, was the best quarterback on the field.

Manning often overthrew his receivers in the first half. And he rarely had time to get set against a variety of blitzes from the Steelers, who took his wide receivers out of the game. Reggie Wayne had seven catches for 97 yards, and all-pro Marvin Harrison had three for 52 yards. But in the first half, they combined for only three catches, and Manning passed for just 91 yards.

"Let's just say we had some problems in protection," said Manning, whose final statistics were 22 completions in 38 attempts for 290 yards, but five sacks for 43 yards in losses. "I'll give Pittsburgh credit for their blitzes and their rush, but we did have some protection problems."

Dungy said afterwards that the Colts would bounce back and talked about building toward next season. But it was too early for his quarterback to find any solace in that.

"It's a tough feeling," Manning said. "You put so much into getting to this point. So many games. So much preparing. So many third downs."

Then, one missed kick.