Brady Tom - Brady vs Manning: the untold story of the rivalry that transformed the NFL

Tom Brady was warming up at the old Foxboro Stadium prior to the first start of his career. It was the third game of the 2001 season, and the New England Patriots were already desperate. They had lost their first two games to the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets, they had just lost starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe with a sheared blood vessel in his chest that nearly killed him, and head coach Bill Belichick feared owner Robert Kraft was going to fire him even though it was only his second year in New England.

The Patriots were playing the Indianapolis Colts and their young superstar Peyton Manning, who was in his fourth season and already established as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Brady was a forgotten sixth-round pick in 2000. Hed thrown just three passes as a rookie but had played the final series after Bledsoe was hurt against the Jets and threw ten passes in the loss. Now all the pressure of the season was on him. If it had been put to a vote right then whether, thirteen years later, either Manning or Brady would have won four Super Bowls and three Super Bowl MVPs, Manning would have been a landslide winner, carrying all six New England states, especially the great state of Massachusetts.

Brady had fought for every snap he received at the University of Michigan and had overcome the indignity of having 198 players, including 6 quarterbacks, taken ahead of him before the Patriots wrote his name on the draft card that is displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Now, however, with Bledsoe out indefinitely, the Patriots starting job belonged to him.

The greatest rivalry in National Football League history began with a pregame introduction that was hardly necessary.

Hey, Tom, a player wearing the Colts white jersey number 18 said, extending his hand.

Brady looked up. The player introduced himself.

Peyton, he said to Brady.

Of course, Brady knew who he was. Everybody knew Peyton Manning. He was the number-one overall pick in the 1998 draft. He was the new fresh face of the league, with Dan Marino and John Elway nearing the end of their careers. Brady was impressed that Manning knew his name.

Brady smiled, but resisted saying what was going through his mind: No shit. I know who you are.

Thats funny, Manning said when the story was relayed to him years later.

It was a very polite thing for him to do, especially being on our field, Brady said. That really speaks to his character. He always does the right thing, says the right thing, acts the right way.

Manning learned from his father, Archie, to introduce himself even when he thinks the person knows who he is. Its a Southern thing, Archie said. Thats how he does it. Thats what he taught his three sons.

I like when people introduce themselves to me, because I meet a lot of people. So it helps, Peyton Manning said. I dont assume anybody knows who I am automatically.

That was the start of an intense rivalry and a terrific friendship. Brady vs. Manning. Manning vs. Brady. Regardless of who comes first, they have been magiclike Magic vs. Bird.

Brady won that first meeting by 31 points over a Colts team that Manning, who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the game, said was pretty terrible. Since then, Brady vs. Manning has been the most compelling matchup in the NFL. Through the 2014 season, they faced each other 16 times. Its Brady 115, including 22 in the playoffs. Brady won the first two postseason matchups, including one AFC championship game when Manning played for the Colts. Manning won the next two, an AFC championship game with the Colts and another one in his second season with the Broncos in 2013.

The argument has been going on for more than a decade in stadiums, living rooms, luxury boxes, sports bars, fantasy leagues, and wherever they have high-definition televisions: Who is better, Brady or Manning?

The red, white, and blue confetti, the Patriots colors, coming down on Brady for the fourth time in his illustrious career after the Patriots beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix provides one answer. Brady leads Manning in Super Bowl victories 41. He leads him in Super Bowl appearances, 63. But hes also had the benefit of playing his entire career for Belichick, arguably the greatest coach since Vince Lombardi. Manning played for Jim Mora, Tony Dungy, and Jim Caldwell in Indianapolis, then three years for John Fox in Denver, and then for Gary Kubiak, who took over the Broncos in 2015. None of Mannings coaches approach Belichick in stature.

Who has been the better quarterback? Manning is the greatest regular-season player, not just quarterback, in the history of the NFL. You want Manning in the regular season. You dont lose much by taking Brady, but you definitely want Brady in January and on the first Sunday in February. By the time Brady picked up his fourth ring, he was 218 in the playoffs with the best postseason winning percentage in league history. Manning was just 1113.

When Brady won his first Super Bowl, he was the youngest quarterback to hold the trophy. When he won his fourth Super Bowl, he was the fourth-oldest quarterback to win it all. He has stood the test of time. The thirteen-year period between his first and latest Super Bowl victories is the longest sustained run of excellence of any quarterback in NFL history. The ten-year gap between his third and fourth titles is also the longest for any quarterback. Brady won the first nine playoff games of his career, resulting in three Super Bowl titles.

Manning holds the NFL records for touchdown passes in a season and career and for most passing yards in a season, and hell likely finish with the most passing yards in a career and most victories by a quarterback. Mannings career numbers blow away Bradys. He has won a record five Most Valuable Player awards. Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, and Brett Favre are next with three. Brady has two. ButBrady has all those rings.

Sports is all about great rivalries. The gold standards: Manning vs. Brady. Ali vs. Frazier. Magic vs. Bird. Palmer vs. Nicklaus. Wilt vs. Russell.

The Manning-Brady rivalry doesnt have the sociological implications of Magic and Bird, of course, and they are never on the field at the same time, but their greatness and popularity transcend the ultimate team sport. Manning was number two in jersey sales and Brady was number four in 2014, impressive when by now theyve been around long enough that anybody who wants their jersey has already purchased it. They have played four elimination games against each other. Their rivalry defines an entire era of the NFL. Bradys most recent title tied him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana for the most Super Bowl victories by a quarterback, and jumped him over Montana as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Manning has had more heartache than happiness in the postseason. The Broncos loss in the divisional round of the playoffs to the Colts following the 2014 season was the ninth time his team was eliminated in its first playoff game, the most one-and-dones ever for a quarterback and the sixth time he had lost a home playoff game. Brady has been one-and-done twice in his career and lost three home playoff games.