FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots, seeking their first NFL title in 10 years and the fourth of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era, took advantage of mistakes by Indianapolis and led the Colts 14-0 after the first quarter of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday night.

Indianapolis return man Josh Cribbs, attempting to make a fair catch, muffed a Ryan Allen punt right into the arms of oncoming linebacker Darius Fleming. The ball was recovered at the Colts 26, and six plays later, running back LeGarrette Blount scored from less than a yard out 4:45 into the game.

Blount thought he scored on the previous play, but the call was overturned on review.

Brady hit wide receiver Julian Edelman twice on the short drive.

With 1:20 left in the opening quarter, the veteran quarterback threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback James Develin, who broke a tackle and got in for a 14-0 lead.

Down 7-0, the Colts marched to the New England 33, but running back Dan Herron dropped short pass then also couldn’t hold a long one that would have been a touchdown.

Former Patriots placekicker Adam Vinatieri, setting an NFL record by appearing in his 30th postseason game, then missed badly missed a 51-yard field goal, and the Patriots promptly went 59 yards for their second touchdown.

Blount’s TD was his fifth rushing score with the club, tying him with Brady and Curtis Martin for the most career postseason rushing TDs by a Patriot.

New England cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game in the first quarter but only missed a handful of plays.

Brady, starting his fourth straight AFC Championship Game, went over the 6,800-yard postseason passing mark, retaking the all-time lead from Peyton Manning.

NOTES: Patriots DT Chris Jones was a surprise scratch, a day after the club brought DT Joe Vellano back from the practice squad. New England was also missing C Bryan Stork (knee), shifting RG Ryan Wendell to center. … The Colts had three unusual absences — LB Josh McNary was arrested on a rape charge this week, RB Trent Richardson was sidelined due to personal reasons, and OT Xavier Nixon missed the team flight. … Tarps covered the field turf until hours before game time. Rain started just before kickoff. .. The Patriots averaged 48 points per game in the last three wins over Andrew Luck and the Colts, 41.2 per during a five-game winning streak in the series that predated Luck’s arrival. … Former Patriots greats Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi and Troy Brown were on the field for the coin toss. … Game-time temperature was a balmy 51 degrees but wind was gusting over 15 mph. … The start of the game was delayed 10 minutes because the NFC Championship Game went into overtime.