It certainly energized a Colts defense that was flying all over the field at the start of the second half. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis kept Brady under pressure most of the afternoon and when middle linebacker Gary Brackett picked off a Brady pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter that led to Manning’s sneak, Indy seemed in control.

But Brady, who had 30 touchdown passes in the first half of the season, putting him on course to shatter Manning’s three-year-old record of 49, finally awoke. The long pass to Moss was New England’s first gain longer than 19 yards. It came on a scramble by Brady, who extended his record with at least 3 TD passes a game to start the season to nine games.

Moss proved to be a key throughout, finishing with 9 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. That came in the first quarter, when he easily leaped high over 5-8 Tim Jennings to pull in a 4-yard TD.

Coach Tony Dungy said the Colts had prepared for Moss, knowing the Patriots would go to him when they needed a big play. Yet, they were unable to contain him when it counted most.

“We didn’t have the answer for Randy Moss today,” Dungy said. “We had a lot of attention paid to him trying to stop him from catching the deep balls but he caught the deep one at the big time of the game. That was really the play of the game, got them a quick score.”

The Colts played without Marvin Harrison, their top receiver, who missed his third straight game with a knee injury. Starting left tackled Tony Ugoh also was out and the Colts lost Tony Gonzalez, Harrison’s replacement, with a finger injury in the first half.

In the end, that wasn’t as much a factor as Brady. He threw for 153 of his 255 yards in the fourth quarter as the Patriots broke a three-game losing streak against the Colts, who beat them here 38-34 in the AFC title game last season and went on to win the Super Bowl by beating Chicago.

In that championship game, New England squandered an early 21-3 lead. On Sunday, though, the defense chipped in.

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“Look at our situation last year,” said Colvin, who grew up in Indianapolis and used to make popcorn at Colts games when they first moved here from Baltimore. “We were not playing 60 minutes and we turned an opportunity into a failure.”

This time, the Patriots failed early. But they survived late, when it was most important.

Notes: Moss has 11 touchdown catches in nine games, tying the New England record for a season. ... Addai ran for 112 yards and had 5 catches for 114 yards to become the first player in Colts history to go into triple figures in rushing and receiving in the same game. ... The Colts had a 13-game winning streak going back to last season ended. ... This was the third straight season they had started 7-0. They were 9-0 last season and 13-0 two years ago.

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 4 games STEELERS 23, RAVENS 20, OT: Baltimore loses first game of season REDSKINS 26, COWBOYS 24: Dallas can't contain Portis in 1st loss BEARS 24, EAGLES 20: Goal-line stand boosts Chicago JETS 56, CARDINALS 35: Favre throws career-high 6 TDs BUCS 30, PACKERS 21: Ryan's 3 FGs lift Tampa CHARGERS 28, RAIDERS 18: San Diego tops rival 10th straight time BILLS 31, RAMS 14: Buffalo 4-0 for first time since 1992 CHIEFS 33, BRONCOS 19: Johnson rushes for 198 yards for K.C. BROWNS 20, BENGALS 12: Anderson throws TD TITANS 30, VIKINGS 17: Tennessee 4-0 for first time ever PANTHERS 24, FALCONS 9: Smith honors Lucas after TD JAGUARS 30, TEXANS 27, OT: Scobey kicks game winner SAINTS 31, 49ERS 17: McAlister scores first TD of year