DENVER – Andrew Luck signaled his rise as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks by leading the Indianapolis Colts past Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 24-13 on Sunday in an AFC divisional playoff.

Luck completed 27 of 43 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns in outdueling Manning, who starred in Indianapolis for 14 years and led the team to a Super Bowl title before being released in 2012 after missing the season before with a neck injury.

The Colts made Luck the top overall pick and Manning then signed with the Broncos as a free agent but his quest for a return trip to the Super Bowl with the Broncos fell short, stopped by his former team and his own erratic play.

Indianapolis (13-5) advanced to next Sunday’s AFC championship at New England, a 35-31 winner over Baltimore in Saturday’s divisional playoff. It is the Colts’ first trip to the conference championship since 2009, when Manning was their quarterback.

Manning was nowhere near his past championship form, however. He finished 26 of 46 for 211 yards passing but was notably off target, especially on mid-range and deep passes.

Luck was intercepted twice but kept the Colts’ offense on the move threading the ball to his receivers in tight spaces and fending off pressure and keeping plays alive with his nimble footwork.

Up by four at the half, the Colts stretched their lead to 21-10 midway through the third quarter. Luck kept the drive alive by dropping a third-down pass among three defenders 32 yards downfield into the hands of tight end Coby Fleener. He finished the march off with a 15-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks.

Later in the third, the Colts benefited from a replay review that found the ground caused what had been initially ruled a fumble by punt returner Josh Cribbs. But the Broncos did cut the deficit to 21-13 on Connor Barth’s second field goal. The 41-yarder with 13:50 remaining was set up by safety Rahim Moore’s interception of Luck.

But Luck answered by leading a clock-killing drive lasting more than eight minutes, capped by Adam Vinatieri’s 30-yard field goal, gaining a two-score separation with 4:06 left to play.

And that was just too much to overcome for the heavily favored Broncos, who lost at home for the first time this season.

The Colts took a 14-10 halftime lead, scoring twice around a fumble by Manning.

On a 3rd-and-12 play, linebacker Jonathan Newsome blew past left tackle Ryan Clady and knocked the ball from Manning’s arm as he got ready to pass. Linebacker Jerrell Freeman recovered the ball for the Colts at the Denver 41-yard line.

Luck completed a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Donte Moncrief to advance the ball to the 8, and after a third-down defensive holding call on cornerback Aquib Talib gave the Colts a fresh set of downs inside the 5, Luck hooked up with tight end Dwayne Allen from 3 yards out for the touchdown.

Dan Herron’s 6-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter evened the score at 7-all, offsetting Manning’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas culminating the Broncos’ first offensive series.

Barth kicked a 45-yard field goal for Denver with 2 seconds left in the second quarter, a score that was set up when an ill-advised deep throw by Luck was picked off by cornerback Bradley Roby.

NOTES: Colts RB Trent Richardson was a healthy scratch. Richardson played only one snap in Colts’ wild-card win over Cincinnati last week. … LaRon Landry started at safety ahead of Sergio Brown for the Colts. Landry reclaimed the position he held before serving a four-game suspension early in the season related to use of performance enhancing drugs. … Broncos QB Peyton Manning has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 13 consecutive postseason games, the longest active streak in the NFL and matching the third longest in league history. Sunday’s loss dropped Manning’s all-time playoff record to 11-13. … CB Bradley Roby became the third rookie in Broncos history to record a postseason interception with his ‘pick of an Andrew Luck pass late in the second quarter.