ShareThisFOXBORO, Mass. - When the New England Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will rekindle one of the sports world's greatest individual rivalries.
They've been the best quarterbacks of their generation, so whenever the two teams meet, Brady vs. Manning is always the top storyline. It's arguably the greatest quarterback rivalry in NFL history.
So the debate over who is the better quarterback will rage on this week just like it does every time the two teams meet.
The pro-Brady side will argue that the five-time Pro Bowl selection has more championship hardware (three Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVP awards, one AP NFL MVP title, etc.), the NFL's best winning percentage in the Super Bowl era (.765, 104-32) and a better playoff record (14-4) than Manning (9-9), not to mention his numerous franchise and NFL records.
His NFL single-season passing touchdown record (50) that eclipsed Manning's mark of 49 is at the top of that list. He also became the fastest quarterback to reach 100 regular-season wins as a starter (131 starts). He did all of that with inferior receivers than Manning's throughout most of his career.
The pro-Manning side will overlook the fact that Manning has only one Super Bowl title and Super Bowl MVP Award and his .500 playoff record and point to the fact that he's been selected to the Pro Bowl five more times than Brady, has been named the AP NFL's MVP three more times, and has more regular-season wins than Brady (137 to 104).
They'll talk about his impressive career numbers -- 52,791 career yards and 382 touchdowns, compared with Brady's 33,020 yards and 242 touchdowns -- overlooking the fact that Manning has played four more seasons than Brady and has had better receivers throughout most of his career.
No matter which side you're one, there's no question that both are future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Both quarterbacks are having MVP-caliber seasons this year despite going through some personnel changes throughout the year that have made life a little bit more difficult. But both are demonstrating why they are so essential to their team's success.
Both are accurate passers, rarely making mistakes and both their teams a solid chance to win every week.
As far as Patriots coach Bill Belches is concerned, the competition between the two is not even close.
"I have a lot of respect for Peyton Manning," Belches said. "I think he's a tremendous quarterback, but there's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady."
Brady is a big reason why the Patriots are 7-2 -- are tied for the best record in the NFL with the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons. Despite the trade of Randy Moss, his best deep threat receiver just four games into the season, Brady has still completed 64.5 percent of his passes (196-for-304) for 2,176 yards and 17 touchdowns with only four interceptions. His 98.8 quarterback rating is ranked fourth in the league.
"He has just been outstanding. He's gotten better every year," Manning said of Brady. "I know from talking to our defensive players what kind of challenge it is to get ready to play against his ability to make big-time throws, his ability to look off defenders, to read the defenses."
Brady's coming off his best performance of the season, a 350-yard, three-touchdown passing game over the Steelers. He completed 69.8 percent of his passes (30-of-43) in the victory and even had a rushing touchdown.
But as impressive as Brady has been this year, Manning has been even better. The Colts offense has been decimated by injuries, but Manning has his team at 6-3. He's completed 64.2 percent of his passes (248-for-386) for 2,663 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions for a 93.9 quarterback rating.
"He's a great competitor," Brady said of Manning. "I love watching him. I mean, he's been a great quarterback for a long time, so I think whenever I'm watching film of other opponents that we're playing, I'm always looking for Colts games because I want to see how he's playing."
Manning is coming off one of his worst games of the year. He completed a season-low 55.6 percent of his passes (20-for-36) for a season-low 185-yards and no touchdowns in Indy's 23-17 triumph over Cincinnati.
He's been without his top tight end -- Dallas Clark (IR with hand/wrist injury) -- for the last three games, while talented wideout Anthony Gonzalez (IR) played in only two games this year. Indy's second-leading receiver, Austin Collie (concussion), has missed two of the last three games, starting running back Joseph Addai has missed the last three games, and starting receiver Pierre Garcon missed two games earlier this year.
Despite the injuries, the Colts have still been able to move the ball. In fact, their offense is ranked a lot higher (4th) than New England's (18th) largely because of Manning, who is ranked third in the league in passing yards, while Brady is ranked 11th.
"He does a good job no matter who's in there," said Belichick of Manning. "There are not a lot of bad plays from him. Not many at all. He does a great job in managing the team, getting the team in the right play. (He's) a very accurate passer (and) he takes what you give him."
Brady is 7-4 in his career against the Colts, including a 2-1 record in the postseason. He has completed 67.1 percent of his passes in eight regular-season games (5-3) against Indy for 2,037 yards and 17 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
Manning is 7-11 in his career against the Patriots. He has completed 62.0 percent of his passes for 3,995 yards and 32 touchdowns with 20 interceptions in 15 regular-season games against the Patriots and is 6-9 in those contests.
(Contact Robert Lee at roblee(at)projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Providence Journal
