By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --  Peyton Manning keeps raising the standards.

He wants to complete 70 percent of his passes, lead the league
in third-down conversions and be No. 1 in red-zone touchdowns
every season. The victories, he figures, will follow.

But are the expectations getting too lofty, even for the
three-time MVP?

In the Colts' 18-14 victory over San Francisco, Manning went 31
of 48 for 347 yards, numbers that would constitute season-highs
for most other quarterbacks this side of Boston. In Manning's
case, his passer rating of 86.0 was a season low and afterward,
he acknowledged the offense was out of sync.

On Wednesday, Manning insisted the Colts still have work to do
on an offense that ranks No. 4 in the NFL.

"We want to convert more third downs and we were 0-for-4 in the
red zone last week. That's not good enough," he said. "We really
need to try to score more touchdowns on offense, and, of course,
you're always looking to improve."

Clearly, Manning was not perfect against the 49ers. He overthrew
receivers, underthrew receivers and even threw wide. Yet there
was more to it than Manning having an off day.

Three-time Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne caught a career-high
12 passes for 147 yards despite playing with a strained groin.
Team president Bill Polian told radio listeners Monday that
could explain some of the timing problems. Manning also was
sacked three times after enduring only two sacks in the first
six games and was under pressure more than usual.

Yet he topped 300 yards for the sixth time in seven games and
became the fastest player in league history to 4,000
completions, breaking Dan Marino's previous mark by 10 games.

Indy is now 7-0 for the fourth time in five years and is the
last remaining unbeaten team in the AFC.

What's wrong with numbers like that? Nothing, teammates believe.

"When you set the standard so high, if you make one mistake, I
guess that's what happens," receiver Pierre Garcon said. "I
think he played well."

The problem for Manning is living up to his nickname, Perfect
Peyton, is darn near impossible.

Yes, he ranks first or second in the NFL this season in
completions, completion percentage, yards passing, touchdown
passes and passer rating, he's been incredibly efficient.
Manning remains on pace to break single-season league records in
yards passing and completion percentage and he needs five more
300-yard games to break the NFL's season mark of 10, which is
shared by Drew Brees and Rich Gannon.

Things are about to get much tougher, though.

Only one of Indy's first seven opponents, Seattle, ranks in the
top half of the league in total defense and only one of the
Colts' first seven opponents, Arizona (4-3), has a winning
record.

This week, Indy hosts AFC South rival Houston (5-3), then
welcomes AFC East-leading New England (5-2) to Lucas Oil
Stadium. After that, they head to Baltimore (4-3) and back to
Houston.

"We are getting into the teeth of our schedule right now,"
Manning said.

Since 2003, Manning is 22-5 in November with 59 TD passes and 24
interceptions - six coming in one game. The Colts have won eight
straight in the month and haven't lost a November game in nearly
two years. The last loss: A 23-21 defeat at San Diego on Nov.
11, 2007.

Manning, now 33, is also doing things a little different this
year.

Last Friday, he gave backup Jim Sorgi some extra work in
practice, using the opportunity to rest his right arm -
something Manning has rarely done in 12 NFL seasons.

"I just kind of felt like I needed it that day," Manning said.
"I don't really feel it will be something we do every week. The
thing is you want your arm as fresh in December as it is in
September. So it's something (the throws) we're monitoring."