Brady vs. Manning: Christmas Morning for NFL Fans

By Alex Carr on October 7, 2012

This Sunday’s matchup between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots in Foxboro is going to be more than just another regular season game between two of the AFC’s top teams, it is going to be the long awaited rematch of superstar quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. As far as regular season football is concerned, a matchup featuring the two best quarterbacks of this generation, and arguably all time, is just about as good as it gets. This will be the thirteenth matchup between the two, and the first since 2010, the only difference being that Peyton Manning was then a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Even with a new supporting cast, and fresh off of a major neck surgery, Manning still looks like his old dominant self, with many football experts predicting him to break out and win the NFL Most Valuable Player award in 2012.

Brady holds the upper hand in the twelve career meetings with an overall record of 8-4, but Manning has had the Patriots’ number recently and is 4-2 in the last 6 match ups. Foxboro however, may just be Manning’s kryptonite, if there is such a thing for the four time NFL-MVP. Manning has never had much luck in New England with a career record of 2-8 and a ratio of 22 interceptions to 18 touchdowns. Strictly looking at the numbers, Manning has thrown for more yards and touchdowns while playing against Brady in his career(3484 yards, 24 TD) vs. (2,800 yards, 22 TD), but has also thrown 19 interceptions compared to 11 for the Patriots’ captain.

Regardless of what team you root for, anyone who calls themselves a football fan has to be excited for Sunday’s game, and they had better enjoy it while it lasts. Barring a postseason rematch, which is still a definite possibility, this may be the last time we see these two greats square off. Manning, 36, and Brady, 35, are already on the older end of the scale for NFL quarterbacks, and the two teams are not set to meet again until 2015, so it is hard to say whether they will ever meet in the regular season again. Moral of the story football fans, enjoy this game, because two quarterbacks of this caliber may not come around again for a very long time.

Statistics courtesy of ESPN SPORTS.