Peyton Manning is the least sacked starting quarterback in the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts’ meal ticket has been punched only twice this season.

Yet things could be better. Should be better?

“We’ve gotten him hit, man,‘’ guard Ryan Lilja said, shaking his head slowly. "If we have a game where we don’t give up a sack but might get our quarterback hit five times, that’s not a good game for us.

“Sacks are the measuring stick everybody goes by, but we watch the film and we’d rather keep him cleaner.’’

Case in point: Manning’s 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark in last Sunday’s 42-6 win at St. Louis. Just as Manning feathered a pass to Clark in the end zone, Rams defensive end Leonard Little got Manning from behind. Manning was prone when Clark grabbed the pass.

“He’s the best there is at getting rid of it just before a sack,‘’ Lilja said. "You see (Clark’s TD) on film and, ‘Hey, it’s great. We got it in the end zone. Dallas made a great catch.’

“But we don’t like to see 18 getting hit like that when he’s exposed.’’

Quarterbacks get hit, and sacked, regularly. It comes with the territory. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has been sacked a league-high 25 times, Kansas City’s Matt Cassel 23 and Washington’s Jason Campbell and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger 20 each.

Manning hasn’t been sacked since the third quarter of the second game at Miami. That’s a string of 17 quarters and 163 pass attempts, both career bests in a single season.

But he has been hit. According to postgame stat sheets, which are not official, Manning has been hit 14 times. For perspective, consider the Colts’ pass rush has been credited with 35 QB hits to go along with its 16 sacks.

“One (hit) is too many,’’ Lilja said.

When told that wasn’t realistic, Lilja agreed.

“But if you look at every single time we’ve gotten him hit, there’s a guy or two who could say, ‘Hey, I could have done this better.’

“He’s a valuable commodity. He’s hot right now and he’s a big deal for this team. You don’t like to see him on the ground, ever. It’s a bad feeling even if he does complete a pass for a touchdown.’’

Colts-49ers rewind: Mora’s rant

One of the all-time great postgame sound bites was uttered when the San Francisco 49ers last visited Indianapolis. It was Nov. 25, 2001. And it was a Jim Mora moment that has been replayed often, either as part of an all-time list or a beer commercial.

A 40-21 loss to the 49ers dropped the Colts to 4-6, prompting a reporter to ask how severely the loss hurt the team’s playoff chances.

Mora paused, cocked his head and let loose. “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me? Playoffs?’’

Manning helped feed Mora’s legendary rant by suffering four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He wasn’t too receptive to rehashing Mora’s moment.

“I don’t necessarily get a kick out of it,‘’ Manning said. "You see it every now and then when they play it on those top-10 lists.’’

Manning said he and Mora "keep in touch. We still talk. We text.’’

The postgame comments, he added, are "not something I think about a whole lot.’’

More touches for Addai

Rookie running back Donald Brown is expected to miss today’s game with a bruised left shoulder. That should mean more work for Joseph Addai , which is just fine with him.

“You’ve got to be ready for that,‘’ he said. "It’s however the game goes.’’

Historically, the more work Addai gets, the better. The Colts are 11-2 in the regular season when he has at least 20 carries. With the Colts committed to a run-by-committee approach, Addai has had at least 20 carries only twice in the past 26 games.

Chad Simpson is expected to spell Addai with Mike Hart serving as the No. 3 back.

Smith’s 1st start vs. Colts was ugly

The 49ers are hoping quarterback Alex Smith ‘s latest start against the Colts is better than his last one. The first overall pick in the 2005 draft, who replaces Shaun Hill , made his first career start on Oct. 9, 2005, against the Colts in San Francisco’s Monster Park.

Smith’s statistics: 9-of-23 passing for 74 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. His quarterback rating: 8.5.

The Colts won 28-3.