The Peyton Manning-Tom Brady series, by the numbers
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On the eve of their sixteenth meeting, let's have some fun with the longtime rivalry between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Picking through the numbers:
-- Brady has a 10-5 edge in the earlier meetings (though it's 2-2 in the playoffs). The Patriots are 8-4 against the Manning-led Colts, and 2-1 against the Manning-piloted Broncos.
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-- The over is 10-5 in the 15 meetings to this point. It's 2-1 since Manning moved to Denver.
-- On four separate occasions, a team has scored over 30 points in this series and lost anyway.
-- Brady has thrown for three touchdowns in a game seven times in the series. Overall, he has 27 touchdowns passes, 12 picks, and a 96.4 rating in the series.
-- Manning posted three different four-touchdown games against New England during his Indianapolis days. He's also had a pair of three-touchdown games in this series. Add it all up: 31 touchdowns, 20 picks, 88.0 rating.
-- The home team has won all three meetings since Manning switched teams. Overall, the home team is 10-5 in the series.
-- This week marks the fifth time the home team has been the underdog in the game. The Broncos were also favored at New England last year, a game the Patriots won in overtime, 34-31.
The six biggest non-Manning fantasy performances for the Broncos and Colts in the series:
-- Knowshon Moreno: 224 rushing yards (on a whopping 37 carries), one touchdown in November 2013. It was the highest rushing total of last season.
-- Joseph Addai: 226 total yards, one touchdown in November 2007.
-- Marvin Harrison: eight catches, 145 yards, two touchdowns in November 2006.
-- Reggie Wayne: ten catches, 126 yards, two touchdowns in November 2009.
-- Harrison: eight catches, 157 yards, one touchdown in October 2001.
-- Demaryius Thomas: seven catches, 134 yards, one touchdown in last season's AFC Championship Game (he also has a 9-180-0 game in the series).
The five biggest non-Brady fantasy performances for the Patriots in the series:
-- David Patten: four overall touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing, one passing) back in October 2001, the second game in the rivalry's history.
-- Randy Moss: nine catches, 179 yards, two scores in November 2009.
-- Antowain Smith:152 total yards and two scores in the first meeting, September 2001.
-- Rob Gronkowski: three total touchdowns (one rushing) in December 2011.
-- Julian Edelman: nine catches, 110 yards, two touchdowns in November 2013.
The Five Best Games In The Series
1. Jan. 21, 2007: Colts 38, Patriots 34
The funny thing about Manning's lone championship - it certainly didn't come with the best of the Colts teams (look at the franchise point differentials, and consider where the 2006 team ranked). But Manning's second-half comeback highlighted the best Brady-Manning game of them all. It also encouraged the Patriots to move on from the Reche Caldwells of the world; before the 2007 season started, Randy Moss was in town.
2. Nov. 4, 2007: Patriots 24, Colts 20
Both teams were undefeated at the time, New England en route to 16-0. (Damn you, David Tyree.) Two late New England touchdowns in the final 8:04 flipped the result.
3. Nov. 30, 2003: Patriots 38, Colts 34
Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest clinched the victory at the gun, stuffing Edgerrin James on a predictable off-tackle carry. The 2003 Patriots started off 2-2, then never lost again, though many of their victories were of this ilk, one-score games where they made a late play (or an opponent made a late mistake).
4. Nov. 15, 2009: Colts 35, Patriots 34
It's one thing to go for it on 4th-and-2 in plus territory, it's another thing to go for it in your own territory, late in the fourth quarter, while nursing a lead. Bill Belichick's gambit didn't work, and the Internet had plenty to talk about for weeks on end.
5. Sept. 9, 2004: Patriots 27, Colts 24
Opening night, ultimately decided on a Mike Vanderjagt shank at the gun, Manning took a critical sack on the penultimate play.
Special thanks to Pro-Football Reference for their invaluable search tools.