Tom Brady and Peyton Manning matching up against each other was the highlight of so many games between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. The teams were consistently at the top of the AFC when the two quarterbacks were playing.
The two played against each other 12 times in the regular season, with Brady and the Patriots winning nine times. After losing the first two playoff meetings, Manning won the last three, including two with the Denver Broncos.
Tom Brady’s Pats Dominated Peyton Manning’s Colts Early
The first meeting on Sept. 30, 2001, was Brady’s first career start after taking over for the injured Drew Bledsoe. Coming into the game, it looked like a mismatch on paper, with Manning the first overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft and Brady the 199th player taken in the 2000 draft.
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In that first game, the Patriots jumped out to a 23-0 lead by the third quarter and went on to an easy 44-13 win. Brady completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, while Manning went 20 of 34 for 196 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
There were two matchups in 2001 since both teams were still in the AFC East, and New England had another blowout win in Indianapolis less than a month later. The Patriots went on to win the first of six Super Bowls with Brady as quarterback in January 2002.
The Patriots won the first four Brady-Manning regular-season matchups overall. Manning passed for over 266 yards per game with eight touchdowns and five interceptions, and Brady averaged more than 235 pass yards per game with eight touchdowns and three interceptions in that sample.
Manning defeated Brady and the Patriots for the first time in 2005, when the Colts won 40-21 on the road. Manning had 321 pass yards and four touchdowns, while Brady tossed three touchdowns in the loss.
That following January, New England would go on to eliminate Indianapolis for the second straight year in the playoffs on the way to a third title in four seasons.
Manning’s Turning Point Against Brady
Following the 2006 regular season, the Colts hosted the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game for the first time. Indianapolis was upset at home by the Pittsburgh Steelers the season before, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
It appeared the Patriots were on their way to another Super Bowl when they headed to halftime with a 21-6 lead. Indianapolis tied the game at 21 in the third quarter, but New England went on to take the lead three different times the rest of the game.
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Joseph Addai’s three-yard rushing touchdown gave the Colts a 38-34 lead with a minute left. Brady’s interception in the final twenty seconds clinched the win and sent Indianapolis to the Super Bowl.
Manning had 349 passing yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing score in the win. Brady had 232 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Colts went on to defeat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI, and Manning was named the game’s MVP.
The Patriots went on to win 18 straight games in 2007, including a 24-20 Week 9 road victory against the 7-0 Colts. New England’s dreams of an undefeated season ended in Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants and Peyton’s brother, Eli.
Peyton Moves to Denver
The rivalry continued when Manning joined the Broncos for the 2012 season. The first game against New England with Denver had the same result as the first game with Indianapolis. Despite Manning passing for 337 yards and three touchdowns, the Broncos fell behind by 24 points before losing 31-21.
Brady and the Patriots won all three regular-season games against Manning’s Broncos but lost in the AFC Championship Game in Denver twice.
The final meeting between the two was in the AFC Championship Game following the 2015 season. Brady passed for 310 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while Manning had 176 passing yards and two touchdowns in Denver’s 20-18 win.
Manning and the Broncos then went on to win Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers in the final game of the legendary quarterback’s career.
In head-to-head matches, Brady had the upper hand, winning 11 of the 17 games played against Manning.
Brady had 4,323 pass yards with 32 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in those encounters against Manning’s teams.
Meanwhile, Manning threw for 4,985 yards with 35 touchdowns and 22 interceptions against Brady-led Patriots teams.
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