Top 10 Brady vs. Manning games

The two most iconic quarterbacks of this era will go head-to-head yet again on Sunday night when Peyton Manning leads his Denver Broncos (9-1) into Foxborough, where he'll meet old nemesis Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (7-3). 

The contest will mark the 14th meeting between the sure-fire Hall of Famers (playoffs included).

[Courtesy ESPN]

Here are the 10 best games in the storied history of Brady vs. Manning...

10. 2001 Week 3 – Patriots 44, Colts 13 

The game that will go down in history as the first start in the illustrious career of Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.

The Patriots pivot -- at the time a fresh-faced 24-year-old -- threw for only 168 yards in the contest, but New England still came away with a dominant 44-13 victory due in large part to the defense, which returned two Manning interceptions for touchdowns.

It was that fateful day 12 years ago that spawned the great debate that has surrounded these two men for much of their careers: who is the better quarterback? 

(See here, here and here for various takes on the matter).

9. 2005 Week 9 – Colts 40, Patriots 21 

Wile E. Coyote finally catches the Roadrunner!

After losing the first six meetings between the two superstars, Manning gets his first victory after throwing for 321 yards and three touchdowns.

Score one for the bad (good?) guy.

Side note: As outlined by USA Today, this was also the game that saw Colts President Bill Polian showcase just how much he disliked the Patriots organization.

...Polian, no fan of New England vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, who was reported to be complaining in the press box when Pats backup Doug Flutie scrambled on a meaningless final play. “Break his leg,” Polian said, according to Tom Curran of The Providence Journal. 

8. 2010 Week 11 – Patriots 31, Colts 28 

The first game on our list that came down to the wire. 

(Get used to that idea).

Manning had a huge night on the stat-sheet, finishing with 396 yards and four touchdowns, and with less than a minute remaining he looked destined to help the Colts overturn a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit.

But it was his third and final interception of the day that sealed Indianapolis' fate, as Manning was picked off by James Sanders at the Patriots' 6-yard line to kill the comeback.

7. 2004 Week 1 – Patriots 27, Colts 24 

Winless in four attempts against Brady and the Patriots at this point, the talk begins to surface that Manning simply can't beat the Michigan alum.

This game didn't help allay that narrative. 

Brady was the star of the show, throwing for 335 yards and three touchdowns. Despite that, the Colts still had a chance to tie the game in the final minute.

But some idiot kicker (also known as Mike Vanderjagt) missed a 48-yard field goal with 24 seconds left on the clock, which would have (in all likelihood) sent the game to overtime. 

6. 2006 Week 9 – Colts 27, Patriots 20

Brady shows that he is indeed human, as the Golden Boy throws four interceptions while being unable to find the end zone - something that has only happened twice in his career.

Across the field, Manning goes for 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as the Colts never trail in the game.

5. 2007 Week 9 – Patriots 24, Colts 20 

Perhaps the most highly-anticipated meeting in the series, the two teams came into this contest with a combined record of 15-0.

The Colts were the defending Super Bowl champions. The Patriots' offense looked unstoppable, scoring at least 34 points in each of their previous 8 games.

Hyperbole was in the air.

Brady and the Patriots overcame a 10-point deficit in the last eight minutes of the fourth-quarter, en route to completing the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history.

Not only did Brady steal the win, but he also took one of Manning's records in the process, as ESPN notes:

"It was Brady’s ninth straight game with at least three passing touchdowns, breaking Manning’s NFL record from 2004."

4. 2009 Week 10 – Colts 35, Patriots 34 

Leading by six with just over two minutes to go, Bill Belichick was looking to put the game away by going for it on fourth-and-two from the Patriots' 28-yard line.

As you can see by the scoreline, it didn't work out well for New England.

Brady and co. would turn the ball over on downs, and Manning took advantage four plays later by hitting Reggie Wayne for the game-winning score. 

That play capped off a 17-point comeback.

Spoiler: this isn't the only comeback on the list. Neither is it the largest.

3. 2003 AFC Championship – Patriots 24, Colts 14 

The first post-season meeting between the two men is one Manning would probably like to forget.

He was intercepted four (!) times -- Ty Law being responsible for three of them -- and was also sacked the same number of times.

I presume his facial expression after the game looked something like this:

2. 2003 Week 13 – Patriots 38, Colts 34 

Despite becoming the first quarterback to throw for four touchdowns against Belichick's Patriots in this game, Manning was unable to come away with a victory.

With less than a minute remaining the Colts found themselves with four chances to win the game from New England's two-yard line, but could not get into the end zone. 

Edgerrin James got the ball on first, second and fourth down.

We're still not sure why.

1. 2006 AFC Championship – Colts 38, Patriots 34 

Hey, Peyton can win the big one. Who knew?

After the Patriots took a 21-3 lead in the second quarter (thanks in part to a Manning interception being returned for a touchdown), many assumed the Colts were going to come up short once again.

Instead, the future Hall of Fame pivot engineered the greatest comeback in AFC Championship Game history, finishing with 349 yards and one touchdown in the contest.

The 18-point comeback allowed Manning to win his first (and to date, only) Super Bowl title two weeks later.