ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- When Buffalo backup quarterback Rob Johnson looks at the Indianapolis Colts it makes him shiver. He sees hope and confidence crushed -- not to mention his ribcage -- all in one play.

Johnson was injured against the Colts in the fifth game last season and lost his starting job to Doug Flutie. Everybody knows the rest of Flutie's story.

When 26-year-old Johnson looks at 23-year-old Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, it makes him restless. He sees time and people passing him by.

Manning is at the top of his game in only his second year and Indianapolis has soared from the cellar to the penthouse.

"The only way you get better is to play," said Johnson, who will get his first start of the season for Buffalo (10-5) against the Colts (13-2) on Sunday.

"You could see that with Peyton last year," added Johnson, who has thrown just two passes this season and has as many sacks as completions (one).

"He took every snap and he was rough early on, and now he's probably the best quarterback in the league. He didn't get that by sitting on the bench."

Manning got where he is the hard way. After tossing 28 interceptions and absorbing 22 sacks as a rookie, the Colts QB is the leading passer in the AFC and fourth in the league with a 91.5 rating, a 20.3-point improvement over last year.

Manning has thrown 313 completions and Marvin Harrison has caught 111 passes for 1,612 yards, far and away the best performance of any receiver in the NFL.

Johnson has watched an unspectacular and inconsistent Doug Flutie lead the Bills to second place in the division and a wild-card playoff berth.

Bills coach Wade Phillips says he's giving his backup quarterback his eighth career start and seventh with Buffalo because Johnson deserves some playing time and Flutie can use some time off.

The Bills respect Johnson's arm and patience.

"He could have bitched and whined but he kept his mouth shut," said veteran running back Thurman Thomas, who missed 11 games after sustaining serious internal injuries on Buffalo's first play of the season -- against the Colts. "He watched Flutie perform and go to the Pro Bowl last year. You have to take your hat off to a guy like that."

Flutie played his way to the Pro Bowl, was the league's Comeback Player of the Year and signed a $22 million contract extension. He pitched products for charity and played in a rock 'n roll band with his brother.

Johnson, who signed a a $25 million contract before last season after just one NFL start with Jacksonville, wasn't happy about being sent to the bench. He's still not happy, but at least he's not whining about it -- much.

"Sure it has," Johnson said when asked if inactivity stunted his development at a crucial time in his career. "It hasn't helped. I'm going to be 27, and I haven't played too much. You see other people in there and you think, `I wish I was getting those snaps and getting better that way."'

The Bills are glad Johnson is getting a chance. "This way if something happens to Doug, we have a quarterback ready who can step in and not miss a beat," said receiver Eric Moulds. "You need that in the playoffs."

Moulds acknowledges big differences between the two: "Rob throws the ball a little bit better deep than Doug does, and Doug is more of a scrambler. Rob will sit in the pocket a little bit more and take chances going down the field."

The Colts, who have won 11 in a row, also can throw in the NFL's most prolific running back, rookie Edgerrin James.

"I didn't anticipate that we would be in this position now," said coach Jim Mora, whose AFC East championship team has engineered a remarkable turnaround from 3-13.

Harrison isn't surprised.

"Everything has come together," Harrison said. "I knew what I was capable of doing all along. It was just a matter of getting the right people in here -- Peyton, (offensive coordinator) Tom Moore -- having a good team and having a defense that gets us the ball."

It's that defense that worries Mora most.

"I'm concerned about our defense," Mora said. "Last week we played poorly on defense against Cleveland. If we had played as well as we could have played, they wouldn't have scored 28 points. They had been averaging about 12 a game."

Indy still can gain homefield advantage for the AC playoffs with the proper alignment of teams, points and planets.

One playoff scenario has the Colts needing as many points as possible, but Mora knows how tough it could be.

"When we're playing against the best defense in the league," he said, "running up the score does not even enter my mind."

INDIANAPOLIS Season schedule and results

BUFFALO Season schedule and results

September 12 Buffalo W 31-14 September 19 @New England L 28-31 September 26 @San Diego W 27-19 October 10 Miami L 31-34 October 17 @NY Jets W 16-13 October 24 Cincinnati W 31-10 October 31 Dallas W 34-24 November 7 Kansas City W 25-17 November 14 @NY Giants W 27-19 November 21 @Philadelphia W 44-17 November 28 NY Jets W 13-6 December 5 @Miami W 37-34 December 12 New England W 20-15 December 19 Washington W 24-21 December 26 @Cleveland W 29-28 January 2 @Buffalo 1:00pm ET

September 12 @Indianapolis L 14-31 September 19 NY Jets W 17-3 September 26 Philadelphia W 26-0 October 4 @Miami W 23-18 October 10 Pittsburgh W 24-21 October 17 Oakland L 14-20 October 24 @Seattle L 16-26 October 31 @Baltimore W 13-10 November 7 @Washington W 34-17 November 14 Miami W 23-3 November 21 @NY Jets L 7-17 November 28 New England W 17-7 December 12 NY Giants L 17-19 December 19 @Arizona W 31-21 December 26 @New England W 13-10 January 2 Indianapolis 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

Copyright 1999 STATS, Inc. Commercial distribution without the express written consent of STATS is prohibited.