The NFL has never had a game in which two quarterbacks with more than 150 wins under their belt face off. That's going to change on Sunday, but the matchup in question, particularly between said quarterbacks, has become commonplace. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will meet for the 16th time in their careers when the New England Patriots play host to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning is 2 decades of NFL dominance
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have combined for some of the most impressive records and milestones in NFL history. To only focus on the head-to-head would do them both a disservice.
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It’s one of the greatest rivalries in football, even if the two quarterbacks don’t necessarily play it up. They’re always gracious losers or modest winners, and there’s not generally a bad word to be said from either of them. But they’ve been the top two quarterbacks in the league for as long as they’ve both been around, and when their teams clash, it always dominates the headlines.
And for good reason, even if the head-to-head is a little lopsided.
Brady holds the head-to-head record at 10-5, with three wins in the past four games against his rival. The Broncos, though, managed to win the most recent game, and it was a big one. Manning’s Broncos downed Brady’s Patriots, 26-16 in the AFC Championship last season, punching their ticket to the Super Bowl. They eventually lost, but that’s neither here nor there.
There are so many records and accomplishments between both quarterbacks that acting as though Brady’s head-to-head edge is the most important does a disservice to both of them. Manning ranks second in NFL history with 173 wins, while Brady’s 154 wins are good enough to put him in third. Only Brett Favre has more career victories (186). John Elway and Dan Marino are the next two quarterbacks on that list.
Brady has the highest win percentage of all quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era, though, at .774 (154-45-0). Manning ranks fourth on that list with a career win percentage of .700 (173-74-0). He’s also trailing Roger Staubach (.746) and Joe Montana (.713).
Manning previously set the record for most wins in his first 200 career starts with 136 wins, but Brady is well ahead of that at this point. Brady will be making his 200th start in Sunday’s game, and he’s already got the 154 wins and that record locked up.
There are also plenty of pertinent quarterback stat-specific records or milestones to discuss, too. Brady ranks fifth all time in completions (4,359), fourth in touchdown passes (377), sixth in passing yards (51,208), third in postseason touchdowns (43) and second in postseason passing yards (6,424). That said, he ranks first in postseason completions (590) and holds the record for postseason wins with 18.
Manning, however, comes out on top in most of those stats. He is second in completions (5,706), second in passing yards (67,098), second in wins (173), second in postseason completions (572), fourth in postseason touchdowns (37), and sixth in postseason wins (11). He holds the top spot in postseason passing yards with 6,589, and holds the coveted NFL touchdown record with 513, having surpassed Favre’s mark earlier this season.
Last season, Manning led the Broncos in the league’s most prolific offensive attack in history. He broke Brady’s previous record for single-season touchdown passes of 50 with 55 of his own. Manning also had a separate season with 49 scores in 2004, which was the record Brady broke with his 50 in 2007. You getting all of this?
Sunday’s match will be another in a competitive head-to-head slate between the two. It will also be a game between the two top teams in the AFC and is one of the most-anticipated games of the season.
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