Game of the Week: Broncos vs. Patriots

Look, you don’t need a special primer to get psyched up for this one. It’s Manning vs. Brady! Only two of the five best quarterbacks of all-time going head-to-head for the thirteenth time. One of the quarterbacks may be wearing different colors this Sunday, but the superlative knowledge and talents of both future Hall of Famers will be as constant as ever. For this edition of Game of the Week, we’re going to take a look back at three of the best regular season duels Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have been a part of…

Who: Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

When: 3:25 P.M., Sunday, October 7th

Network: CBS (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms)

Key Past Manning-Brady Regular Season Games:

1. November 30, 2003: Patriots 38, Colts 34. Manning and Brady had faced off twice in 2001 in the last season that the Colts and Patriots were division rivals, but this was the first matchup with serious stakes involved for both teams. The Patriots and Colts were both 9-2 coming into the Thanksgiving weekend showdown at the RCA Dome and both quarterbacks lived up to the hype. Brady was an efficient 26-of-35 for 236 yards and two touchdowns and Manning threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns himself. The Colts looked primed to come all the way back from a 31-10 deficit when they drove down to the Patriots 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Unbelievably, though, the Patriots held up on all four downs, hanging on to a 38-34 victory that would eventually give them home-field advantage over the Colts in the AFC Championship Game that was played two months later. And I think we know how that one turned out.
2. September 9, 2004: Patriots 27, Colts 24. The Patriots and Colts opened up the 2004 regular season with another barn-burner, this one in Foxborough. Brady threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, but in a foreshadowing of their incredible offensive performance to come that season, the Colts seemed to move the ball up and down the field at will. Manning threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns and Edgerrin James added 142 yards on the ground. Unfortunately for Manning and the Colts, they shot themselves in the foot too often to secure the victory; James fumbled on the goal line with under four minutes left and Manning took a costly sack at the end of the fourth quarter to back up Mike Vanderjagt’s field goal attempt to 48 yards. “Our idiot kicker” suffered his first miss in 42 attempts and the Patriots hung on for a 27-24 victory.
3. November 15, 2009: Colts 35, Patriots 34. You may remember a few subplots from this game. It was the first Manning-Brady game after Brady’s knee injury in 2008 and the Patriots seemed primed to wreck Indianapolis’ perfect season, stretching out to a 31-14 fourth quarter lead behind Brady’s 375 yards and three touchdowns. But, as if there was any doubt, Manning refused to quit, leading a pair of scoring drives to cut the Patriots’ lead to 34-28. On the Patriots’ following drive, a certain 4th-and-2 situation arose that Bill Belichick chose to handle in a certain controversial manner. Obviously, New England failed to convert and Manning hit Reggie Wayne with a one yard touchdown pass with sixteen seconds left to give the Colts a highly improbable 35-34 victory.

Steve Stone’s Said in Stone Cold Lock of the Game: “My partner that day was Hank Sauer, a former home run hitter and baseball executive with the San Francisco Giants. Hank was my Triple A Fresno manager, and we had a cocktail after the round.”

Projected Final Score: Patriots 31, Broncos 27

Team to Bet On If Gambling Were Legal: Broncos (+6.5)