AFC Championship | Another Vinatieri moment?

INDIANAPOLIS — Picture it now: The seconds are winding down in the AFC Championship Game, the Indianapolis Colts are down by two points, they're driving into New England Patriots territory and all they need is a field goal to win it.

Can there be any more satisfying sight than Adam Vinatieri, the best clutch kicker in NFL history, trotting onto the field?

"It's interesting," the 34-year-old Vinatieri said. "It's a fun situation. Looking back at the beginning of the year, to have these two teams playing together at the end, it's fun."

The Patriots certainly wouldn't call it fun to see their former kicker — who booted two winning field goals in Super Bowls — do a number on them in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday at the RCA Dome. They tried to re-sign Vinatieri in the offseason, but lost out to the Colts, who were willing to do just about anything to change their luck in the kicking game after Mike Vanderjagt missed a last-second field goal in the Colts' playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, destiny brings Vinatieri to the team he played for from 1996 to 2005.

"Obviously, these two teams have been very successful and made the playoffs a bunch of years in a row," he said. "Last year, both teams got knocked off before they could get to that level. So you never know what to expect, but I assumed that the Patriots were going to be a good team this year, same as I assumed that the Colts were going to be a good team. So if you keep winning, inevitably your crossroads will meet."

Does he envision a last-second kick? Not necessarily.

"I just want to win. That's all I care about," he said. "If we get that opportunity, great. If I'm on the sidelines cheering on our defense to hold their offense so we can win, great. It doesn't matter. For them, for us, you have to be prepared to play your role, whatever role that is. I just want to win the game. It doesn't matter how we do it."

Vinatieri says he still keeps in touch with several Patriots players.

"Ken Walter and Josh Miller and Lonie Paxton, the guys I hung around a lot," he said. "We'll be friends long after football's done. But this week, there's really nothing to talk with them. They're preparing for their game and we're preparing for ours. We'll be friends long after this week, but this week, it's not about being friends. It's about winning football games."

Vinatieri was a one-man offense in the Colts' 15-6 win over the Ravens last week, kicking a record-tying five field goals to account for all the Colts' scoring. He also surpassed Gary Anderson as the all-time leading playoff field-goal kicker with 34. Vinatieri was 25 for 28 on field goals in the regular season, and he has made his past 15 attempts overall.

"This game means a lot for both teams, but don't get me wrong, it's one of those things that for the Colts, we've always kind of felt if we're going to take the next step, you've got to knock off the champ," he said. "It's kind of a rite of passage. You don't get the honor of playing in the Super Bowl unless you beat everybody leading up to that."

Even if it's the team that once called you its hero.