As the NFL conference games are coming up this week, we see a usual game being played. When the Broncos face the Patriots this weekend it will be the seventeenth time Tom Brady and Peyton Manning face off against each other. This rivalry is something that always has meaning to it. For example, this weekend they will be playing for a chance to win the Super Bowl. In the fourteen years these two have played each other their playing styles have changed for the better and worse and their stats are amazing.

When the two first played each other was in 2001 when Manning was at Indianapolis the game was a 44-13 Patriots blow out. It was a matchup with the 199th pick and the first overall pick, and the 199th pick won and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year. From 2003 on they would meet every year in their careers except for 2008 and 2011 when Brady and Manning were on the Injured Reserve. They have met each other in the playoff five times including this year and the record is currently 2-2. They have met three times in the conference championship which Manning has a 2-1 record against Brady.

The two have had some unforgettable games though. There are three in particular that nobody will ever forget. These were the 2007 AFC championship game, a Colts win in 2009, and Patrios win in 2003. In the 2007 AFC championship game Manning led an extraordinary comeback from being down 21-3 and went on to win the Super Bowl. In 2009 the Colts won with help from bad call from Bill Belichick on fourth and two in their territory in a 35-34 thriller. In 2003 the Patriots won 38-34 with the help from four Manning interceptions.

Since the two have played sixteen games against each other they have an entire season’s worth of stats. The average points scored for the games has been 29.9 points for Brady’s team and 24.5 for Manning’s team. Manning has racked up 4809 yards passing while Brady has 4013 yards in the sixteen games. Tom Brady has had 31 TDs and 13 INTs, while Peyton Manning has had 33 TDs and 22 INTs. They have both risen to the occasion for each game.

This weekend may be their last game to ever play each other again. Winning this game will give Tom Brady a chance to cement himself as the best quarterback of all time. Manning needs this to give him a chance to win the elusive second Super Bowl win. Coming into this game Tom Brady is healthy and his team is on a roll. Manning, however, has been injured for a good portion of this season and has had to lean on his defense. Although this game may not be a s good as year’s past, I know these two will give it their all. Do you think the Broncos or the Patriots will win this game?