Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady

Whether during the regular season or playoffs, everytime these quarterbacks squared off, everyone knew they’d be in for a treat. In fact, viewers had plenty of opportunities over the years to see the quarterbacks play each other: a grand total 17 times over the course of 15 seasons. Fun fact: Tom Brady’s very first career start came against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts back in 2001. Although by no means a memorable performance by Brady, he and the New England Patriots would come away with the win 44-13. Over the next few years, Brady and the Patriots would go on to beat the Colts 5 times in a row, including twice in the postseason. However, during the onset of the 2005 regular season, the tide began to turn for the Indianapolis Colts. From 2005 to 2010, Manning would lead the Colts to 4 victories over Brady’s Patriots, 3 of which happened consecutively over the span of 2 seasons. During that period, the Patriots won 2 games against them. Even after Manning became a Denver Bronco, both quarterbacks still played one another a whole number of times. Unlike back when Manning was a Colt and Brady’s Patriots won the majority of their matchups, this time around, things were a little more even sided. While the New England Patriots beat the Broncos in all 3 of their regular season matchups while Manning was at the helm, interestingly enough, the Broncos would beat the Patriots in each of their two playoff matchups with the Sheriff at center. By the numbers, Tom Brady is 9-3 against Peyton Manning in regular season games. Meanwhile, Manning leads Brady in playoff games 3-2. In all, Brady leads Manning by 11 victories to 6. Winner: Tom Brady. Tom Brady: 1 / Peyton Manning: 0

When he finally called it a career after the 2015-16 NFL season, Peyton Manning held quarterback records in a slew of categories including passing yards and touchdowns. While most of the records he once held now belong to Brady, it’s important to note that at this time, Manning still holds the record for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single season, two records which he broke during his outstanding season with the Denver Broncos in 2013 which saw him earn MVP honors and lead his team to a superbowl appearance. As of the writing and time this video was published, Tom Brady holds several records and leads all quarterbacks in a number of categories in regular season play; passes completed, passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, wins and so so much more. Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about what he’s done in the postseason (more on that later). In other categories such as passer rating, Brady has an edge over Peyton Manning’s 96.5 mark (barring a total Brady collapse). Manning also has a slew of more interceptions than Brady. Although his longevity and ability to play more years than Manning most certainly plays a factor, having passed Manning in a number of statistical categories, along with all the amount of wins he’s piled up in regular season games, we have to give this round to Tom Brady. Winner: Tom Brady. Tom Brady: 2 / Peyton Manning: 0

What’s a good quarterback without a strong supporting cast? Throughout his tenure with both the Colts and Broncos, Manning has played alongside a number of talented players. During his days in Indy, Colts fans fondly remember the strong chemistry he displayed with wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Considered by many as one of if not the greatest Quarterback-Wide Receiver duo to ever play in the NFL, both connected on 114 touchdowns, a record that still stands today. Let’s also not forget Reggie Wayne, who trails Harrison in most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in Colts history. And thanks to a strong offensive line over the years that included the likes of Ryan Diem, Tarik Glenn and Jeff Saturday, Manning always had great pass protection. And playing alongside the likes of running backs such Edgerrin James and Joseph Addai, the Colts were arguably one of the most productive offenses in NFL history the better part of the 2000s. During his time as a Bronco, there was no shortage of weapons at Manning’s disposal. With a wide receiver group boasting the likes of Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, it’s no wonder Manning was able to keep playing at such a high level. With tight end Julius Thomas showcasing an ability to catch balls in tight windows and running back Knowshon Moreno working well as a dual threat, Manning had options upon options for who to throw the ball to. While not as efficient as the one he had in Indy, his offensive line in Denver were able to protect him well enough and allow him to run the plays he wanted to like this clever bootleg here. Tom Brady’s got his own supporting cast too. Who can forget about the huge, wacky and often unpredictable touchdown scoring tight end Rob Gronkowski. From the moment Gronk joined the Patriots, he instantly became Brady’s go-to target. The chemistry and bond shared between the two both on and off the field was so incredible that Gronkowski wound up coming out of retirement to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play with Brady again. Brady and Gronkowski have both combined for a total of 107 touchdowns, second most all-time by a quarterback and tight end or receiver tandem, trailing only behind Manning and Harrison. Another player whom Brady shared a deep friendship and had great chemistry with was Julian Edelman. Although a solid contributor during the regular season and having 3 seasons with over 1000 receiving yards, Edelman made his presence felt most during the postseason. The other two most notable offensive players to play alongside Brady during his tenure with the New England Patriots were wide receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Both are frequently shown in Brady’s highlight reels, miraculously catching one touchdown pass after another. However, interestingly enough, both were never able to capture a Superbowl ring during their time with the team. And despite often employing a running back committee, the Patriots always had a consistently efficient run game and their offensive line was and even without Brady is still frequently considered one of the best in the league. Similarly to Manning, Brady was welcomed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a roster boasting loads of talent, featuring two premier wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Though his time with the team was somewhat brief, Antonio Brown also provided even more depth at the position. The offensive line, though inconsistent prior to his arrival, seemed to stabilize upon Brady’s arrival. Leonard Fournette has emerged as the team’s leading running back and has done well in this role. And although now officially retired for a second time, we most certainly can’t forget about Gronk! While Brady played with great players over the years, they are far and few compared to the ones that Manning played with and were just not quite as skilled or memorable. Winner: Peyton Manning. Tom Brady: 2 / Peyton Manning: 1

Round 4: Football IQ and Intangibles

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When it comes to play calling and audibles, there’s no quarterback like Peyton Manning. If you’ve watched any of his games or highlights, he can practically always be seen yelling all sorts of phrases and words while throwing hand signal after hand signal. Watching him, anyone would think he’s practically an offensive coordinator on field, which he pretty much is in the grand scheme of things. Time and time again, Manning has shown effectiveness at not only reading defenses, but confusing them. Remember Omaha? The Chargers definitely do. It’s almost like watching poetry in motion. Being able to dissect opposing defenses allowed him to run the best plays at the right time on a consistent basis and, if need be, change a play that would work better (multiple times in some cases). If anything, it’s also a demonstration of his excellent communication skills, as the rest of the offense is able to pick up on what Manning wants to do on a given play. Meanwhile, things are a little more simple with Tom Brady. Not that he doesn’t call audibles or plays, but much less frequently or in the way that Manning does. Oftentimes he simply sticks with the initial play that is called. Rather, Brady’s strength relies much more on moving in the pocket, reading the defense from there and then deciding on who to throw the ball to. Regarding intangibles, when it comes gametime, each quarterback’s focus is lasersharp and second to none. During the season, these stars are men of very few words, rather focusing on their matchups instead of pregame banter. In addition, several former players have gone on record to speak about each player’s characteristics and how both men have shown themselves to be excellent leaders and teammates. So there’s no denying any of that. For every team they’ve played for, they’ve changed the culture and inspired their teammates to play better. When you see the passion and emotion they show for the game, whether a player or fan, you can’t help but feel inspired. Both players have displayed great character and intelligence throughout their careers. However, we’ve got to hand this one to the Sheriff for being such a calculated genius when it comes to running an offense and reading defensive schemes. Winner: Peyton Manning. Tom Brady: 2 / Peyton Manning: 2

Peyton Manning played a total 27 playoff games, having won 14 games and lost 13 of them. In all, he finished with 7339 passing yards, 40 touchdown passes, a 63% completion percentage, and an 87.4 passer rating. But most importantly, he’s 2-2 in 4 Super Bowl appearances. Looking back at his play come playoff time, he’s shown himself to be an excellent quarterback. Having only successfully completed 2 game winning drives his entire playoff career, some will also recall certain instances when Manning couldn’t completely find his rhythm, notably during his two superbowl losses. In addition, Colts fans will also not fondly remember how a frequent reason why they more often than not couldn’t advance further in the playoffs was thanks to, yours truly, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. and his New England Patriots. At least Bronco fans didn’t have it as bad when Peyton was around. Meanwhile, Tom Brady has played in 20 more playoff games than Manning, and his current playoff record as the 2022 regular season is underway stands at an NFL record 35 wins with 12 losses. In his postseason career, he has 13,049 passing yards (a record), 86 touchdown passes (another record), a 63% completion percentage and a 90.4 passer rating. And when it comes to Superbowls? Let’s just say he’s in a league of his own. In 10 appearances, he’s captured 7 rings, more than any player in the NFL. He even holds records in Superbowl games for passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and more. Compared to Manning, Brady was much more equipped to lead his team come playoff time, with 14 game winning drives to his name. Need a visual example to demonstrate? Look no further than the 2017 Superbowl game against the Atlanta Falcons, when he pulled a comeback for the ages leading his team to victory after being behind 28-3. So Peyton Manning’s had success in the playoffs; no one can dispute that and he’s done far better than most with 2 superbowl rings to his name. However, his play and the amount of times that he’s won is nowhere near where Brady is. So, we’ve got to give this round to Tom and declare him the winner of this showdown. Winner: Tom Brady. Winner: Tom Brady: 3/ Peyton Manning: 2