Indianapolis ? Jim Kelly or Troy Aikman. Fran Tarkenton or Terry Bradshaw. Dan Fouts or Joe Montana. Dan Marino or John Elway.

A few years from now, Peyton Manning forever will be placed into one category of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks – those who have won Super Bowls and those who haven’t. He has to get there first, though, and his next chance is coming soon.

Will the Colts-Patriots game Sunday amount to a defining moment, an all-or-nothing opportunity for Manning, who is currently The Greatest Quarterback to Never Make a Super Bowl? If he wins, maybe history will see it that way. If he doesn’t – well, certainly he’ll have other chances. Won’t he?

His coach and teammates hate that it always seems to come to this.

“It’s totally unfair to him,” tight end Dallas Clark said. “He has his job to do and he can’t do anything else. It’s sad, but that’s why you guys do what you do. He handles it great. He’s a professional.”

Manning was not available for interviews Wednesday. The Colts chose to delay his availability until Friday, when he’ll undoubtedly offer the candid, introspective, realistic thoughts on the subject that he has repeated many times over his nine years in the NFL.

It’s a career filled with records, Pro Bowls, MVP awards. But he is 5-6 in the playoffs with an 0-2 record against New England’s Tom Brady, the less-spectacular quarterback who has always been best when the stakes have been the highest. Brady is 12-1 in the playoffs with three Super Bowl rings.

Brady entered the league as a backup, a sixth-round draft pick in 2000 – the kind of player who comes with no hype or expectations. Manning was the first pick of the 1998 draft – the kind of player who has “legacy” attached to his name before he takes a snap.

“I don’t know that he’ll be judged against Tom Brady,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “But every quarterback will be judged against Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr and guys who have won Super Bowls. That’s the way it is. I think we have appreciation now for Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason and Dan Fouts and guys who haven’t won it. But at the time, we talk about how many Super Bowls you’ve won. As time goes by, history is a little easier on you.”

Payton Manning

Manning, of course, is hoping he won’t need friendly historians to cement his legacy. A Super Bowl ring is the easiest – maybe the only – way to avoid that.

Funny thing is that he finds himself on the cusp of the Super Bowl again – Manning’s second appearance in the AFC championship game – after a most un-Peyton-like run through the playoffs.

He has 438 yards in two games, fewer than he recorded in his second playoff blowout over the Broncos in 2004. He has one touchdown pass and five interceptions. His quarterback rating is 58.3.

Yet just as he has struggled, the defense that has often derailed Indy’s Super Bowl hopes has also been uncharacteristic – allowing only a single touchdown and an average of 63.5 rushing yards in two games.

“The NFL has a funny way of highlighting the quarterbacks, like it’s Peyton versus Brady,” defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “That’s all right for the media, the fans and the game, but there’s a lot more going on out there than just two quarterbacks going at it.”

Nobody can stand at the line of scrimmage and dissect a defense better, and nobody has thrown for more yards over the last nine seasons than Manning.

Come playoff time, he hasn’t been the same.

Rushed and beaten up, he threw four interceptions in the 2003 AFC title game at New England. The next year, in the divisional playoffs, he suffered a similar fate – no touchdowns, one interception in a 20-3 loss. Last season, the Colts started 13-0 and appeared destined for the Super Bowl. Manning was good in the playoffs – 290 yards and one touchdown – but not good enough to win.