![](\"http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/070117/HDR624_BradyManning.jpg\"/)
";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.appFooter = "MSNBC.com contributor Bob Cook";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.appNavStyle = 3;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.bDhtml = 0;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.appLayout = 3;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.copyHeight = 600;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.copyWidth = 485;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning.copyMargin = 9;
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","","Peyton Manning shakes hands with Tom Brady after the Colts' 2005 win in Foxboro, Mass.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051222/051222_manningbrady_hmed_5p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Travis Lindquist", "Getty Images file", "273", "396", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Peyton Manning would be excused for thinking God put Tom Brady on this earth to teach him humility. After all, Brady’s I-just-win-baby persona, pricking the balloon of Manning’s superior statistics, didn’t start with their playoff battles. It started, literally, with Brady’s first NFL start.The Patriots’ 44-17 pasting of Indianapolis on Sept. 30, 2001, in the last season of Foxboro Stadium, set the tortoise vs. hare pattern that defined the first three years of the Brady-Manning matchup. Brady would lead his Patriots on slow and steady drives, while Manning would try to hurry his way downfield, only to screw up along the way. (Actually, Brady merely piled onto New England’s domination of the Colts since they arrived in Indianapolis — 21-7 pre-Manning, 4-10 in the Manning era.)
In their most recent games, the roles have switched. Manning led a tortoise-like attack in the Colts’ 2005 regular-season victory, and Brady was a wild-throwing hare in the Patriots’ 2006 regular-season loss.
These two have history. Here is a breakdown of their past meetings:";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Brady strikes first","Tom Brady scrambles against the Colts defense.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070117/070117_manning_brady_bcol1p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "John Mottern", "AFP - Getty Images file", "298", "192", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Sept. 30, 2001:
Patriots 44, Colts 17
The Colts entered Foxboro 2-0; the Patriots were 0-2. The Colts had Manning, who had led the team to two straight playoff berths; the Patriots had Brady, who threw three passes his rookie season of 2000, and had mop-up duty after Drew Bledsoe got injured during the previous week’s 10-3 loss to the New York Jets. As it turned out, this was a game that turned both franchise’s seasons -- the Patriots, the start of their march toward the Super Bowl; the Colts, the start of their march to 6-10 and Coach Jim Mora’s “Playoffs?” rant.
Brady, as he does best, ran an efficient offense, completing 13-of-23 passes for 168 yards, and handing off 39 times, which resulted in 177 yards. Meanwhile, Manning threw two touchdowns -- to New England defenders, including Ty Law, who would become one of Manning’s favorite receivers. Manning got benched for Mark Rypien in the fourth quarter.
At the time, Colts fans, noting their team had lost in the first starts to Patriots quarterbacks Scott Zolak and Tom Ramsey, shrugged. Brady wouldn’t really amount to that much, would he?"; spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Patriots' game","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "110", "78", "", "", "", "", ""); spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Oct. 21, 2001: Patriots 38, Colts 17
The Colts offense looked great on paper. Manning was 22-of-34 for 335 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Edgerrin James rushed for 143 yards. The Colts outgained New England 484-385. But it is a game like this that Manning’s backers cite in saying, hey, the guy can’t play defense, too!
Brady again was efficient, completing 16-of-20 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. But you want efficient? New England scored 31 points -- in its first 29 plays. David Patten became the first player since Walter Payton in 1979 to have a run, pass and catch for a touchdown. All of those touchdowns were on one-play drives.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Shootout in Indy","Peyton Manning drops back.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070117/070117_manning_brady_vmed1p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Andy Lyons", "Getty Images file", "283", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Nov. 30, 2003:
Patriots 38, Colts 34
With the Colts having moved to the AFC South in 2002, the Patriots didn’t get to beat Indianapolis as often as it used to. Despite the two-year break, this game at the RCA Dome looked like the previous Brady-Manning matchups. Early in the third quarter, New England was up 31-10.
Yet Brady’s foul-ups brought Indianapolis back into the game. On two straight drives, he threw interceptions, which Manning turned into touchdowns. Handed the ball after the Colts cut the score to 38-34 on a Mike Vanderjagt field goal with 3:27 left, Brady threw three straight incompletions, taking only 30 seconds off the clock.
It turned out another New England nemesis would pop up in this game -- what Patriots coach Bill Belichick might call gamesmanship, what Colts general manager Bill Polian might call cheating. With the Colts driving near the goal line with less than a minute left, Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest clutched a seemingly injured knee, bringing the training staff out and slowing down the Colts’ no-huddle offense. “Seemingly” is the operative word because three plays later, on fourth-and-goal from the 1, McGinest burst through the line and stopped Edgerrin James with 14 seconds to go.
Brady finished 26 of 35 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Manning was 29 of 48 for 278 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Manning also learned, after the game, that McGinest knew that when Manning patted his rear end on that fourth-and-goal play, that meant a run.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","THE game","Brady looks for a receiver in the snow.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040118/040118_litkeBrady_hmed_4p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Mike Blake", "Reuters", "273", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Jan. 18, 2004: Patriots 24, Colts 14
(AFC championship)
Here was the game where Brady vs. Manning became BRADY VS. MANNING. The two quarterback’s statistics, for the most part, were somewhat similar. Brady was 23-of-37 for 237 yards and a touchdown. Manning was 23-of-47 for 237 yards and a touchdown. Of course, the difference was Brady threw one interception, and Manning threw four. With three catches, Law was one of Manning’s most frequent targets.
The game also established the pattern for how to beat Manning: control the ball, and force Manning to catch up in a hurry. New England had a 32:14-27:46 advantage in time of possession, but most importantly, its opening drive, for its only touchdown, was a grinding, 13-play affair. However, Manning kept the Colts in the game by continually driving Indianapolis deep into New England territory. Then he took them out by throwing picks. The Colts’ turnovers, including a Marvin Harrison fumble, occurred at the Patriots 5, the Colts 41, the Patriots 14, the Colts 26 and the Patriots 30.
There was more of what Belichick might call gamesmanship, what Polian might -- well, did -- call cheating. The New England defenders held the Colts receivers so much, the receivers’ parents demand the defenders take their hand in marriage. The NFL ruled after this game that officials needed to tighten their calls on defensive interference and holding.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Our idiot kicker","Brady gets off a pass under pressure from Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040909/040909_tom_brady_vmed_9p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Brian Snyder", "Reuters", "259", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Sept. 9, 2004:
Patriots 27, Colts 24
Brady had his best statistical game against Indianapolis, completing 26-of-38 passes for 335 yards, three touchdowns and an interception at Foxborough. But like their last regular-season meeting, the Patriots tried to give away the game, and Manning and the Colts just wouldn’t take it.
Brady threw two third-quarter touchdowns to put New England ahead 27-17, but also threw an interception in the fourth quarter with the Colts down only three points. But on the ensuing drive, for the second time in the second half, James fumbled deep in Patriots territory. Then on the Colts’ final, last-second chance, Vanderjagt missed a 48-yard field goal, his first miss after an NFL-record 42 straight.
Manning completed 16-of-29 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns and a first-quarter interception. But he also took a 13-yard sack from McGinest that set up his idiot, liquored-up kicker (according to Manning's Pro Bowl rant about Vanderjagt) for a longer kick.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Shut down","Manning walks off the field after the loss.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050116/050116_manning_vmed.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Charles Krupa", "AP", "298", "186", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Jan. 16, 2005:
Patriots 20, Colts 3
(AFC divisional playoff)
Manning had just completed a regular season in which he threw a record 49 touchdown passes, and he had lit up Denver for five more touchdowns in the wild-card round. So of course he wouldn’t get in the end zone against New England!
The Patriots ran the tortoise vs. hare strategy better than they ever had before. Brady’s first touchdown drive was 15 plays and 87 yards, taking up 8:16 of the second quarter. He killed the fourth quarter with a 14-play, 94-yard touchdown drives that lasted 7:24. The run-pass ratio of those two drives was 20-9. Brady finished a pedestrian-looking 18 of 27 for 144 yards and a touchdown. He completed those 18 passes to 10 different receivers.
Meanwhile, Manning matched most of his numbers from the previous New England playoff game. He was 27 of 42 for 238 yards. At least he only threw one interception. Of course, Ty Law wasn’t on the New England roster anymore.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Peyton wins one","Manning throws against the Pats' defense.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051107/051107_manning_hmed_10p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Winslow Townson", "AP", "272", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "
Nov. 7, 2005: Colts 40, Patriots 21
Even Manning had to be amazed at how easily he smote the Patriots for his first win in Foxborough. This time, Manning was the tortoise, leading an offense that controlled the clock, 36:17-23:43. The Colts’ second touchdown drive was 17 plays, 86 yards and nearly nine minutes of game clock. Manning’s numbers looked more Manning-like: 28 of 37 for 321 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception for old times’ sake. James rushed 34 times for 104 yards, and didn’t fumble, for once.
Brady didn’t look horrible. He was 22 of 33 for 265 yards and three touchdowns, with no picks. But the Patriots barely ran, gaining 34 yards on 14 carries. Plus, Belichick was making wacky calls, like a third-quarter onside kick, that blew up in his face. For what looked to be the first time in his life (at least his life outside Cleveland), Belichick appeared to be outcoached.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Two straight!","Manning winds up for a pass downfield.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061105/061105_manning_vlg_10p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Elsa", "Getty Images", "236", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Nov. 5, 2006:
Colts 27, Patriots 20
The morphing of Manning to tortoise and Brady to mistake-prone hare continued in this game. Brady was a meager 20 of 35 for 201 yards and four interceptions, although Ty Law was not on the Colts’ roster. Granted, two of those interceptions bounced off his receivers’ hands, including one to Kevin Faulk as New England drove for its last chance at a game-tying touchdown. But still, Brady never looked comfortable, even though he faced little pressure (he wasn’t sacked).
Manning was 20 of 36, but he had 326 yards, two touchdowns and only one perfunctory interception. He overcome another idiot kicker, former Patriot Adam Vinatieri, who honked two field goals back in his old home stadium. (OK, Manning would probably never refer to Mr. Clutch as an idiot kicker, even if Vinatieri did get liquored up, especially what with Vinatieri bailing him out with five field goals in the Colts’ 15-6 divisional playoff victory over Baltimore.)
New England’s running game was a bit better, gaining 148 yards. Then again, that was below the 173-yard average Indianapolis’ rotten rushing defense allowed all season. For more evidence on how much one player makes a difference to the Colts defense, New England was one of the few games safety Bob Sanders played in the regular season.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Colts take title","Manning celebrates a touchdown in the 2007 AFC title game.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070121/070121_colts_pats_vmed8p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Doug Benc", "Getty Images", "218", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Jan. 21, 2007:
Colts 38, Patriots 34
After two straight regular-season wins, Manning & Co. finally came through when it mattered most.
New England came to Indy for the AFC title game, and promptly opened up a 21-3 lead in the second quarter after Asante Samuel intercepted Manning and returned it for a 39-yard touchdown. But the Colts staged the biggest rally in NFL championship game history -- and got a monster of a monkey off their back.
Manning threw for just one touchdown, but finished with 349 yards on 27-of-47 attempts. Most impressive was his poise when the Patriots took a 34-31 lead with just under four minutes remaining. Manning drove the Colts 80 yards and capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge from running back Joseph Addai.";
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("","Still perfect","Tom Brady breaks away from Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071104/071104_brady_vmed_5p.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Michael Conroy", "AP", "258", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i-1].body = "Nov. 4, 2007:
Patriots 24, Colts 20
It figures that the first-ever meeting between two teams at least 7-0 would involve the Patriots and Colts.
Brady's bunch entered the game on pace to break several scoring records, including points per game (41.1). The Colts, no slouches themselves, averaged more than 30 points an outing. But defenses would rise in this game, forcing four turnovers in the Patriots' 24-20 win.
Brady threw three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Kevin Faulk with just over three minutes left. The Patriots' defense would cement the win, forcing Manning into a few plays later."; spt_NFL_Brady_Manning[i++] = new Array("spt_1103_brady_or_manning","Who do you want?","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Test-Dev/donna/msnbc10/bg_medblue2.gif","","", "lv", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "40", "1", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data