Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have met 16 times, and Brady owns the overall record at 11-5. However, this time seems different. They’re both nearing the eventual end of their respective Hall of Fame careers. This will most likely be the final time we get to feast on a Brady-Manning Bowl, even if Manning makes a run at one more season as he has been rumored to desire.
Manning is certainly in the twilight of his career. He’s lost a lot of the features that have made him one of the greatest to ever play, and that’s no knock on him; it’s natural. He’s been through a tremendous amount in the past five seasons, and at one point it looked as if he’d never play again.
With the thought of finality hanging over our head we will get one final shot at watching the two greatest quarterbacks of this generation take shots at one another on Sunday.
Brady – Manning. Denver Broncos – New England Patriots. One last time.
Looking at the game we know a few things:
1. The Broncos defense versus the Patriots offense is the highlight of this game. Can the Broncos stop Gronk? Will Brady find other ways to beat them? Will the Patriots have to rely on the run game?
Those questions will most likely be the deciding factor.
2. With all the pomp surrounding the quarterback battle, are we burying the story? Manning – Brady is a great story title, but it’s not what it once was. The biggest story this week has been the drama surrounding the Broncos defense and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said that the way to stop him was to hit him low. Some took this as a warning that they’re aiming for the fragile lower body of the massive tight end. Did Talib mean they were trying to hurt him? I’d like to think he didn’t. The best way to bring Gronkowski down is via a good tackle. Go high and he’ll shrug you off. But that has spurned a war of words between the teams. That’s a big story to watch. Any potential penalties that could come from extra-curriculums would be costly in the AFC Championship.
3. Manning isn’t what he once was, but he’s still Manning. We don’t expect 400 yards and five touchdowns, do we? I don’t. A winning formula would involve Manning hitting a couple of touchdown passes while not turning the ball over. The Broncos need to find success via the ground to win. If they rely on Manning to win it, I don’t have high expectations for the Broncos. However, the people that assume Manning is going to throw up hobbled passes all night should be warned. He’s still one of the top-three ever to play the game. He still has a mind that rivals anything the internet can produce. That craftiness is enough to make him dangerous.
So, who wins and why?
The Broncos win if they force two turnovers, hold Brady under 400 yards, and have at least 100 rushing yards.
The Patriots win if they shut the Broncos run game down and find targets outside of Gronkowski to pick up chunk yardage.
It’s not that simple, but it’s the starting game plan to success for each team.
Another critical factor Sunday evening will be field position, even more than most games. Manning and Brady both love heroics. It will not surprise me at all if we have a hectic two-minute drive to send a team to the Super Bowl.
Sunday should be wild; it’s to be expected this year in the playoffs. Let me know who you think will win the game and why in the comments below.
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