The New England Patriots reached their second Super Bowl in three years with a 24-14 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots egded through the AFC Championship Game at Foxboro, despite making hard work of it in snowy conditions.

It was the 14th straight victory for New England, who were Super Bowl winners two years ago.

They will take on either Philadelphia Eagles or Carolina Panthers, who meet in the NFC Championship game on Sunday.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had enjoyed the perfect postseason, but it turned into a nightmare as he was intercepted three times by Ty Law and once by Rodney Harrison, who also forced a fumble.

Jarvis Green had three of New England's four sacks as Manning wilted under the constant pressure.

Manning had thrown eight touchdowns and no interceptions as the Colts scored 79 points in wins over Denver and Kansas City.

But Indianapolis could never get going and when they were forced to punt for the first time in the playoffs, the snap went over the punter's head and resulted in a safety.

New England quarterback Tom Brady finished 22-of-36 for 227 yards, which included a seven-yard touchdown pass to David Givens on the first drive of the game.

Two field goals from Adam Vinatieri and the safety on the botched punt made it 15-0 to New England at half-time.

The Colts cut the gap to 15-7 with a two-yard touchdown from Edgerrin James at the start of the third quarter, but two more New England field goals restored the advantage.

Indianapolis scored with 2:27 left on a seven-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Pollard but Christian Fauria recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Colts got the ball back, but the Patriots defense held them and Vinatieri kicked his fifth field goal from 34 yards to round off the victory.

Manning finished 23-of-47 for 237 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions.