FOXBORO, Mass. - Peyton Manning doesn't want revenge. He just wants to win in Foxboro.

His four-interception flop there in last season's AFC championship game fits a pattern: an 0-5 record with seven touchdown passes and 15 interceptions at the home of the New England Patriots.

He'll lead the Indianapolis Colts back into Gillette Stadium on Thursday night in the NFL's season opener. Had he played better there eight months ago, his team and not the Patriots might be Super Bowl champions.

"They just played well in the times we have played them," Manning said. "They had a bunch of games (last season) where it was down to the last possession and they were able to win those games and that is probably one of their biggest strengths."

He knows it's not a good idea to try to make up for the Colts' 24-14 loss in the AFC title game.

"It was very frustrating and disappointing to lose that game when you get close like that," Manning said. "But I think that has cost a lot of teams in the past, that they haven't been able to put the previous season behind them."

The Patriots have won 11 straight at home, in the regular season and playoffs, and allowed just 68 points there in the last regular season - an NFL record for an eight-game home schedule.

Nine of their defensive starters are back. Keith Traylor replaces Ted Washington at nose tackle, and Ty Warren takes over for Bobby Hamilton at end. But the Colts have scored more than 400 points in four of the last five years, and Manning was the NFL's co-MVP last season.

"That doesn't frighten us at all," New England defensive end Richard Seymour said. "I just think it's a challenge, and they're going against one of the best defenses in the league."

The Colts were 12-4 last season but Manning is 2-8 in his career against the Patriots. New England quarterback Tom Brady is 4-0 against the Colts.

"Most of the games have been pretty close," said Brady, who didn't throw an interception in the eight regular-season home games last year. "You don't want to get down on a team like this by a bunch of points because they can run out the clock on offense."

Last Nov. 30, the Patriots stopped the Colts on three consecutive plays from the 1-yard line in the closing seconds and won 38-34 in Indianapolis. Their defense seems just as strong now.

But the Colts have won their last five season openers, four on the road, while the Patriots lost last year's opener 31-0 at Buffalo a few days after they released safety Lawyer Milloy, who joined the Bills in time for that game.

"I thought the team was prepared, but, obviously, they were much more prepared than we were for that game," kicker Adam Vinatieri said. "They were a lot more fired up, so this game we're definitely going to have to bring a lot of intensity."

New England must deal with a balanced offense led, as usual, by Manning, running back Edgerrin James and wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Indianapolis faces a Patriots offense with a major new contributor, Corey Dillon.

He was obtained in a trade with Cincinnati to boost a running game that ranked 27th in the NFL last season.

"He will give them confidence that they can pound the ball and (put) things away a little bit more when they have the lead," Colts coach Tony Dungy said.

Add him to an offense that includes Brady, receivers Troy Brown, David Patten, Deion Branch and David Givens and wide receivers Daniel Graham, Christian Fauria and rookie Benjamin Watson, and the Patriots should be tough to stop - particularly because the Colts have made changes at linebacker and have been banged up in the secondary.

"It doesn't matter who we play (against). We just want to go out and show how good we are," Colts safety Mike Doss said. "You can't think if you go up there and win we're going to walk into their locker room and take their rings."

Had they won there last Jan. 18, they might have their own Super Bowl rings.

"They will be gunning for us. I guarantee they'll give us their best shot," Vinatieri said. "They've been discussing and trying to get to this week since that game was over."