Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
As NFL players have started their off –season workouts to get ready for the upcoming NFL season, It got me thinking about how different this year is going to be because when all of us fans turn on the TV number eighteen won’t be on the field in uniform on Sunday afternoon, Sunday night or Monday night football this upcoming season! Did I mention how I will miss hearing the word Omaha at the line of scrimmage and seeing Peyton Manning go up against Tom Brady of the New England Patriots? With that being said let's take a look at some of the great matchups these two have had. “According to Sporting News.com” these are some of the great games the two quarterbacks have had against one another.
Patriots 44, Colts 13
When: Sept. 30, 2001, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 3)
Brady: 13-of-23, 168 yards
Manning: 20-of-34, 196 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs
Signature moment: Manning threw two pick sixes; the second by Ty Law part of a 21-point fourth quarter for New England.
Fallout: Brady replaces an injured Drew Bledsoe for good and gets the Patriots their first win after a 0-2 start.
2. Patriots 38, Colts 17
When: Oct. 21, 2001, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 6)
Brady: 16-of-20, 202 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 22-of-34, 335 yards, 1 TD
Signature moment: Brady threw a 91-yard TD pass to David Patten for a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
Fallout: New England improves to 3-3, and eventually Brady leads a run that culminates with a win against St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI.
3. Patriots 38, Colts 34
When: Nov. 30, 2003, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 13)
Brady: 26-of-35, 236 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Manning: 29-of-48, 278 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: The Colts have a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but the Patriots stop Edgerrin James on goal-to-go on first, second and fourth down.
Fallout: The Patriots win the matchup of 9-2 teams, and that helps New England get home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs.
4. Patriots 24, Colts 14
When: Jan. 18, 2004, at New England
Stage: AFC championship
Brady: 22-of-37, 237 yards, TD, INT
Manning: 23-of-47, 237 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs
Signature moment: Manning throws four interceptions and takes four sacks in the loss.
Fallout: The gives New England another Super Bowl appearance, and this time Brady leads a win against Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
5. Patriots 27, Colts 24
When: Sept. 9, 2004, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 1)
Brady: 26-of-38, 335 yards, 3 TDs, INT
Manning: 16-of-29, 256 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential game-tying field goal in the final minutes.
Fallout: The Patriots extended a 16-game winning streak and enjoy a 14-2 regular season. Indianapolis finished 12-4 behind a NFL record 49 TD passes from Manning.
6. Patriots 20, Colts 3
When: Jan. 16, 2005, at New England
Stage: AFC divisional playoffs
Brady: 18-of-27, 144 yards, 1 TD
Manning: 27-of-42, 238 yards, 1 INT
Signature moment: Brady broke a 6-3 game open with a 5-yard TD pass to David Givens with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Brady added a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Fallout: Brady improved to 6-0 against Manning and leads the Patriots to a win against the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
7. Colts 40, Patriots 21
When: Nov. 7, 2005, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 22-of-33, 265 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 28-of-37, 321 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Manning's 30-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison with 5:53 remaining clinches his first head-to-head win against Brady.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 8-0 and eventually start out 13-0 but lose in an upset in the divisional to Pittsburgh. New England finishes 10-6 and loses to Denver in the divisional round.
8. Colts 27, Patriots 20
When: Nov. 5, 2006, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 20-of-35, 201 yards, 4 INTs
Manning: 20-of-36, 326 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Brady has a game to forget with four interceptions.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 8-0 and eventually win home-field advantage in the AFC.
9. Colts 38, Patriots 34
When: Jan. 21, 2007, at Indianapolis
Stage: AFC championship
Brady: 21-of-34, 232 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Manning: 27-of-47, 349 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Signature moment: The Patriots jump out to a 21-3 lead, but Indianapolis rallies to tie the score twice before Joseph Addai's go-ahead TD run with 1:00 remaining.
Fallout: Manning finally gets a playoff win against Brady and leads the Colts to a win against the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
10. Patriots 24, Colts 20, at Indianapolis
When: Nov. 4, 2007, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 21-of-32, 255 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Manning: 16-of-27, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Signature moment: New England rolls in with an 8-0 record, and erases a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter with two TD passes by Brady.
Fallout: Brady leads the Patriots to a 16-0 record with a NFL record 50 TD passes, but New England loses to the New York Giants in XLII.
11. Colts 35, Patriots 34
When: Nov. 15, 2009, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 10)
Brady: 29-of-42, 375 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Manning: 28-of-44, 327 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
Signature moment: Bill Belichick opts to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line wit 2:08 remaining. The Colts held, and Manning threw the game-winning TD to Reggie Wayne four plays later.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 9-0 and start 14-0 before their first loss. Indianapolis loses to New Orleans in Super Bowl XLIV.
12. Patriots 31, Colts 28
When: Nov. 21, 2010, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 11)
Brady: 19-of-25, 186 yards, 2 TDs
Manning: 38-of-52, 396 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs
Signature moment: The Colts rally with 17 fourth-quarter points, but James Sanders intercepts Manning in the final minute.
Fallout: Both teams lose to the New York Jets in the AFC playoffs.
13. Patriots 31, Broncos 21
When: Oct. 7, 2012, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 5)
Brady: 23-of-31, 223 yards, 1 TD
Manning: 31-of-44, 337 yards, 3 TDs
Signature moment: Brady leads two TD drives in the third quarter, one capped by a one-yard TD in the fourth quarter, to put New England ahead 31-7.
Fallout: The Broncos win out until the AFC divisional playoffs against Baltimore. The Ravens beat the Patriots in the AFC championship the following week.
14. Patriots 34, Broncos 31, OT
When: Nov. 24, 2013, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 12)
Brady: 34-of-50, 344 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 19-of-36, 150 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Wes Welker, brought over from New England in the offseason, failed to field a punt in overtime that resulted in a Patriots' fumble recovery. Stephen Gostkowski then kicks the game-winning 31-yard field goal.
Fallout: The Broncos managed to get home-field advantage behind Manning, who set NFL records with 5,477 passing yards and 55 TDs.
15. Broncos 26, Patriots 16
When: Jan. 19, 2014, at Denver
Stage: AFC championship
Brady: 24-of-38, 277 yards, 1 TD
Manning: 32-of-43, 400 yards, 2 TDs
Signature moment: Manning hit Demaryius Thomas for a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter which gave the Broncos a commanding 20-3 lead.
Fallout: The Broncos were blown out 43-8 in Super Bowl 48 by the Seattle Seahawks. Manning dropped to 1-2 in Super Bowls.
16: Patriots 43, Broncos 21
When: Nov. 2, 2014, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 33-of-53, 333 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Manning: 34-of-57, 438 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Signature moment: Brady's five-yard touchdown pass to Shane Vereen with eight seconds left in the first half opened up a 27-7 lead.
Fallout: New England went on to take the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, and Brady won his fourth Super Bowl by leading the Patriots to a 28-24 win against Seattle Seahawks