On November 29th, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will face off for what could be the last time ever. The two have been arguably the two best quarterbacks on the two of the best teams in football for over a decade running. The road to the Super Bowl has always seemed to run through these two quarterbacks. Each of their respective places in the Hall of Fame are irrefutable after their long, decorated careers. The culmination of the Brady-Manning rivalry marks the end of an era in football.

Each of their tales are all but etched into stone. The selection of Brady in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft has served as perhaps the most remarkable draft story ever the unhold. Brady won three championships in his early years in the league, all the while maturing into one of the league's premier signal callers. It seemed that Brady always saved his best performances for when it mattered most, a master of the two minute drill, a true clutch player. Manning, however, entered the league with enormous hype surrounding him, being selected first overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. Always a statistical monster, Manning will likely hold every major passing record by the time he retires. Manning was often tasked with carrying his entire organization, and eventually critics began to question his lack of playoff success as his career went on. More often than not, Brady would get the best of Manning when the two played each other, with Manning eventually getting a championship of his own in 2006.

Yet, as the sun sets on the days of Brady and Manning, two ascending superstars are poised to replace them as the the premier rivalry at football's most important position: Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck. Each of their career arcs draw direct parallels to that of their predecessors. Wilson, the late round draft pick, the clutch performer, already reaching the Super Bowl twice in his first three years in the league. Wilson has often been thought of as a good, not great quarterback, more of a product of superb surrounding talent and coaching than an elite player. Luck, on the other hand, entered the league as the most celebrated prospect since, fittingly enough, Peyton Manning. Joining one of the worst rosters in the league, Luck has carried the team to three playoff appearances in his first three years in the league. Like Manning, Luck has always been able to produce gaudy statistics, and is already commonly regarded in the top handful of quarterbacks in football, yet hasn’t been able to capture the postseason success of Wilson or Brady. If the years go on without Luck capturing the elusive Super Bowl victory, excuses will begin to pile up and become a knock against his legacy much like it did for Manning.
Obviously, Luck and Wilson’s playing styles differ greatly from that of Manning and Brady. Although regarded as highly advanced for his age in terms of football knowledge and awareness, Luck has often played as a gunslinger type, with a sort of reckless confidence in his arm that, although leading to some eye catching throws, also results in far too many mistakes. Manning, on the other hand, has always been a cerebral type of quarterback that has used his unmatched field awareness and accuracy to succeed, despite his diminishing arm talent. For Wilson, much of his game is predicated on his scrambling ability and his cannon for an arm, while Brady is sometimes statuesque in the pocket and relies mostly on the short passing game at this point in his career. These differences in playing style, although in part due to the differences in age, represent the new age of quarterbacks coming into the league, with a greater emphasis on mobility and arm strength as offenses transition away from the West Coast offense of old and more towards the more open Spread Offense of college football.

Part of what made Brady and Manning’s rivalry so special, however, was the head to head matchups. The Manning-Brady Bowl, as it came to be known, became an annual event and one of the most anticipated games of the year. The two have even met three times with a Super Bowl appearance on the line. Because Luck and Wilson play in different conferences, the two will rarely ever play against each other.Other great quarterback rivalries have existed without yearly individual matchups, much like the Elway-Marino rivalry of the 80’s and 90’s.  Thus, the rivalry will be one of this new, internet age of football. Supremacy will be won through accomplishments, statistics, and narrative alike, fought through debate as to who is the greatest, perhaps never finding a definitive answer.
Football has always been a game of matchups, of rivalries, and of legacy. In recent years, however, it has become a game of storylines and narrative as much as anything else. The story behind the game has become just as important the games themselves, with each week rewriting the proverbial  history books of the sport. These storylines are only amplified at the games most important position, with the best of rivalries holding every bit as much intrigue as the greatest of team rivalries. The Steelers and the Ravens, The Bears and the Packers, Manning and Brady, Smith and Sanders: the rivalry of Wilson and Luck will one day be spoken of in the same breath as any of the greatest rivalries.