FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Andrew Luck used his arm, athleticism and football intelligence to get the Indianapolis Colts to the brink of the Super Bowl.

But on one of the brightest stages and in the biggest game of his career, Luck needed help. The kind of help Tom Brady has in New England and Russell Wilson has in Seattle.

On a rainy, windy night at Gillette Stadium, Luck and the Colts learned once again that it takes a complete team, not one that relies heavily on its franchise quarterback, to get to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots continued their dominance over the Colts when they embarrassed them 45-7 in the AFC Championship Game.

"They're a team that tries to make you play left-handed," Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. "If you can only play with one hand, you're going to struggle."

Colts owner Jim Irsay spent time huddled with general manager Ryan Grigson and chief operating officer Pete Ward inside a hallway outside of the locker room after the game. Then Irsay said what everybody who watched even a few series of the game realized about the Colts.

"To get to this championship level, we have to be able to be a tougher team," Irsay said. "We knew this was a measuring stick that we wanted to get over and we didn't, so it's disappointing."

The Colts showed signs of being a complete team when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card matchup and the Denver Broncos in the divisional round. You thought they would be ready for the Patriots this time after losing by an average of 26 points to them in the previous three matchups.

Wrong.

The Colts curled up in the fetal position against New England. They let the Patriots keep hitting them, without much resistance.

Luck, Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano are now 0-4 against the Patriots, with the average margin of defeat being 29 points.

It'll remain that way as long as Bill Belichick is the coach of the Patriots or until Grigson puts better talent around Luck. The Patriots could still be competitive without Brady. But if you take Luck away from the Colts, they're not good enough to win the AFC South, one of the worst divisions in the NFL.

Irsay knows it, too. That's why he brought up the Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers when mentioning the elite teams.

Just as Peyton Manning did, Luck covers up a lot of the Colts' flaws. They lacked a pass-rusher all season, the offensive line was inconsistent and they need a running game to keep defenses honest.

"We have to be able to stop the run, we can't turn it over and I think what's missing, again, trying to continue to bring in the team I talked about, which is a really tough defensive team, a team that can run the ball, surround Andrew with that," Irsay said. "We're not that far away. But we have to take the next step. It's a maturation process for him, along with getting additional help."

Luck's final stat line was not good. He was 12-of-33 for 126 yards and two interceptions.

The Patriots did what any good team would do: defend the pass by dropping their linebackers back into coverage and give help over top on receiver T.Y. Hilton. The Patriots dared the Colts to run the ball because they know Indianapolis doesn't have much of a running game.

The Colts rushed for 83 yards and their receivers couldn't win their one-on-one matchups against the Patriots' defenders.

Luck was pressured on 47 percent of his dropbacks, the highest percent of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He was only 4-of-15 under duress.

"It's tough," Wayne said. "You have to be able to do a little bit of everything, especially against a team like this. We couldn't get the momentum and keep it. Can't do it against a team like this."

It was no secret what the Patriots would do offensively. They were sticking with the same blueprint they used in the previous two games against Indianapolis: Run the ball, run it some more and continue to run it until they were stopped. And just as in the previous two games, the Colts couldn't stop the run.

New England followed up rushing games of 234 and 246 yards by rushing for 177 yards, including 148 yards and three touchdowns from LeGarrette Blount.

"They had success in the past running, so we expected the same thing," Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "We couldn't stop the bleeding at certain points. They ran the ball well and stuck to it. They didn't do anything we didn't expect. They didn't get cute. They ran the ball down our throats. That's a tough one to swallow."

What's also tough to swallow for some is that the Colts won't get to the Super Bowl until they surround Luck with better talent.