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INDIANAPOLIS - The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have two of the best quarterbacks in the game right now, if not the best.

But the outcome of tonight's AFC Championship Game at the RCA Dome (6:30 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12) may rest with the people standing next to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in their respective backfields, waiting to take handoffs and run with the football.

Running the ball successfully adds balance to an offense, extends possessions and keeps the other team's offensive unit off the field. The first reason would seem to be the best one why the Colts will want to run, while the second and third would seem to fit the Patriots' needs.

Right now, the Colts have the edge in rushing offense in the playoffs. They also have a suspect run defense that could be to the Patriots' benefit, but have at least temporarily reversed that trend of vulnerability against two good rushing teams in Kansas City and Baltimore.

For the Colts, the stud has been rookie Joseph Addai, the first-round rookie out of Louisiana State. He amassed 1,081 yards on 226 carries and seven touchdowns in the regular season, and was ably assisted by sixth-year veteran Dominic Rhodes (187-641, five TDs). For the Patriots, the leading characters in this drama are 10th-year veteran (and likely Hall of Fame candidate) Corey Dillon (199-812, 13 touchdowns) and first-round rookie Laurence Maroney (175-745, six TDs).

The Colts' duo has run for 1,722 yards and scored 12 touchdowns; the two lead Patriot backs had 1,557 yards and 19 TDs - pretty much a wash. But the playoffs have been a different story.

With Manning struggling, the Colts have had to rely upon their backs a little more and have gotten solid production - 161 yards from Addai and 124 from Rhodes. The Patriots have also had their offensive struggles in two playoff games, but have had to rely upon Brady's arm and his rapidly-improving receivers more. Maroney has 74 yards, Dillon 71 and Kevin Faulk 48 in 18 fewer carries than the Colts' duo (70 totes).

Colts' coach Tony Dungy is happy to have had alternative weapons in his arsenal, especially with Manning having thrown five interceptions in the playoffs.

"They have worked together very well," Dungy said of Addai and Rhodes. "They're really interchangeable parts. We run the same plays for both guys. When one gets winded, the other one is going in, no matter how the rotation goes. So we just feel like whoever is in there has the do the job, and we have confidence in both guys. That's big this time of year."

Rhodes was the horse with the finishing kick against the Ravens, enabling the Colts to control the clock and win a game in which the offense could not get into the end zone.

"It's important at that stage of the game," Dungy said. "If you have to close it out and win the game, you don't want to have to rely on throwing. That was a very good run defense with physical guys. I thought Dominic ran fantastic, and our line came off. That was huge, to be able to take seven minutes off (the clock), and we only threw one pass on that drive. That was what we needed."

The whole playoff experience is new to Addai, and he knows he has to keep his emotions in check as the Colts continue to take steps up the ladder.

"I know everybody's going to step their game up in the playoffs," he said. "I've been told that since preseason. So I think the biggest thing for me is to keep doing what I've been doing and not trying to go out there and be a hero and trying to make something big happen. Just keep doing the small things I've been doing and I think I'll be all right."

Dungy said he respects the New England defense, which allowed the fourth-lowest total of points in league history this year and has been especially effective inside its own 20. "They're playing well," he said. "They play very smart. They play fundamentally sound. They're tough to score on. They play very good football in the red zone. They stop people in the red zone. They do the things they need to do to win games."

"This is a smart defense," added Rhodes. "We're going to have to be ready to execute, hold on to the ball and make plays, because they'll be in the right places to stop us from doing what we want to do. It's a sturdy defense with tough, physical guys, smart guys, who always execute their game plan. We just have to execute ours."

The Patriots' running backs have been in lock-down mode lately. Dillon hasn't spoken to the media all season and Maroney is under the unofficial rookie ban on talking. But they also haven't had a lot to crow about lately.

For the first time in his career, Dillon did not have a single 100-yard rushing game in 2006 (although he came close in a 17-14 loss to the Jets with 98 yards on 11 carries). Maroney had one (125 yards on 15 carries against Dillon's old team, Cincinnati), but he missed two games with injured ribs and has appeared to run tentatively since.

That apparently hasn't lessened the Colts' high regard for what the Patriots' backs can do.

"They definitely are a good group of guys," Colts' safety Bob Sanders said. "They run hard, they have really deceptive speed. Maroney, he's a great inside runner and he also can run outside. He likes to bring it up the middle and then break your leverage by running outside. And also, their third-down back, Faulk is a good receiver-type back. So they have three good solid guys that have driven them to where they are today and they have just done a great job."

In the first game against the Colts on Nov. 5, Maroney ran for 63 yards Dillon 48 and Faulk 24 at a time when the Colts clearly had the worst run defense in the league.

"You get confidence when you make plays," said Colts' defensive tackle Anthony "Booger" McFarland. "It's kind of hard to get confidence when you're not making plays. The more plays you make, the more confidence you get, and I think that's just attributed to going out there playing hard and making plays and not missing as many tackles.

"I've said all along, our biggest problem this year is we missed a lot of tackles," he said. "When we play fast and tackle the football, I like my chances every Saturday and Sunday we play, just because that's the type of guys, that's the type of talent we have. If we continue to do that this Sunday, we'll be fine."

Addai had only 43 yards and Rhodes 13 in that game against the Patriots, but the Colts won because Manning was at the top of his game. That's a legitimate fear today, that there's no way Manning can have three sub-par playoff performances in a row.

"I hope we bust out," Colts' center Jeff Saturday said. "I hope we score 40 points. But the reality is, in playoff games, defenses usually tend to decide those things. Defenses play tight ball games.

"Our defense has done a great job both weeks," he said. "It sure takes a lot of pressure off the offense. When you can punt the ball away and the defense gives it back to you after a three-and-out or after a drive with no points (by the opponent), it's extremely exciting and motivating for an offense."

The Colts' passing offense produced 4,397 yards and 31 touchdowns in the regular season. Manning went to one of his usual suspects, Marvin Harrison, 95 times for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Reggie Wayne took a step up with 86 catches for 1,310 yards and nine touchdowns. Even Addai got into the act, placing third with 40 catches for 325 yards.

No doubt, the challenge for the New England secondary will be to defend the run successfully without giving Manning the opening to terrorize them from the air.

"You obviously want to contain not just Marvin and Peyton, but Reggie on the other side, who is in his own right a No. 1 receiver, and Dallas Clark, who is one of the better tight ends in the game," said Patriots' safety Artrell Hawkins. "And their running game has been coming on lately and they have played a lot more physical in the past couple of weeks than people give them credit for. So you go into the game with the mindset that you're going to compete, and that when it comes down to it you just want to make the plays that count, that are going to help you win the game."

Ellis Hobbs, the brash second-year cornerback who has endured an up-and-down season, knows he'll most likely draw Harrison for an assignment. But he's trying to limit the extra pressure he might feel about it.

"I understand the situation we're going into and the type of player he is," he said. "At the same time, you have to go out there and have confidence in yourself … keep a positive attitude the whole time and go out there and play the way you know how to, and keep doing what you did to get here, as far as physical football and having fun."

It would help matters considerably if the Patriots can get some pressure on Manning and push him out of the pocket. He'll never be confused with Fran Tarkenton there, but his smarts and the complementary talent surrounding him allow him to make plays even when all hell is breaking loose.

"When you look at the offense, you always think of Peyton Manning as a pocket passer, which he is, but he does have ability to get outside of the pocket and can make plays on the run and ad-lib at times," defensive end Richard Seymour said. "And then when you also look at the receivers, they are not just standing waiting on the ball. They are still running routes and they are still moving around.

"His ability to ad-lib and their receivers just staying alive is something that we have to aware of defensively, not just the defensive front but also the secondary, running after a so-called broken play," Seymour added.

For the Patriots, the goals are clear. They must rediscover the weaknesses in the Colts' run defense and exploit them, serving a two-fold purpose - to keep the ball for long stretches of time, and to give the Colts' defensive front (especially speed rusher Dwight Freeney, who has enjoyed some success against left tackle Matt Light in the past) pause to consider from where it will be attacked.

Brady has gotten great production in the playoffs out of two wide receivers who were seen as weaknesses earlier in the season. Jabar Gaffney has 18 catches for 207 yards and Reche Caldwell 12 for 130 in playoff games, more productivity than Harrison (6-93) and Wayne (10-87) thus far.

"It's just been steady progress," Brady said. "There's been a bunch of work. Those guys have come to work every day and really worked hard to make those improvements. Those guys have stayed healthy and have been out at practice, and I think any time you can put together, whatever, 110 practices, then you count the 22 games we've played this year, you can see why Reche has really progressed and why Jabar, at this point, has really taken those steps forward.

"The receiver position has become very much a strength of this team," Brady added, "and it needed to be in a game like last week where we needed to keep a back in and a tight end in to protect because of the pressure they were bringing."

Tight ends Benjamin Watson and Daniel Graham will have to be a big part of that attack, and Brady can always count upon the ageless Troy Brown to bail him out of a tough spot.

Finally, it may come down to the kickers - and the Patriots have to feel a lot better about their situation with rookie Stephen Gostkowski having hit his first game-winning kick last Sunday in San Diego.

On the other side of the ball is a familiar face - Adam Vinatieri, owner of all of the Patriots' greatest game-winning kicks, who boomed five field goals through the uprights last week at Baltimore to send the Colts into the championship game. If nothing else, the Patriots' defensive effort has to have as one of its major goals keeping the Colts at the very extreme edge of Vinatieri's range (now up to 50 yards inside the RCA Dome, where he has never missed) if they are going to limit his chances to affect the outcome.

"He's had a great year for the Colts this year," Patriots' coach Bill Belichick said. "We certainly know what he's capable of doing. He's an outstanding player."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com