During the first decade of the 2000s, the NFL had quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, of the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts, respectively, as league figures, and each of their confrontations was epic. Now, both franchises will face each other in Frankfurt, Germany, for the second game of the 2023 NFL season on German soil. However, everything indicates that it will be a lackluster duel between two teams with a losing record after nine weeks of activity that will leave fans longing for an unmatched rivalry.
Brady and Manning met 12 times, including playoffs, between 2001 and 2010 with a score of 8-4 for the Patriots QB. TB12’s first NFL start was against Manning’s Colts in Week 3 of 2001; The Michigan graduate just had to manage the ball and not make mistakes for New England to win. At that time, they were division rivals since both franchises were in the AFC East, but after the league rearranged, Indianapolis moved to the South division and they never had two regular season games again.
New England dominated Indianapolis in the first six meetings between Brady and Manning. The Patriots even managed to win the 2003 AFC Championship Game after four interceptions by the Colts’ QB; The Patriots would later win Super Bowl XXXVIII over the Carolina Panthers. The sixth victory of the team led by Bill Belichick came in the divisional round of the 2004 playoffs, on New England’s way to lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy in SB XXXIX.
Manning’s first win came in 2005, when the Colts won 40-21 thanks to three TD passes from the QB and rushing scores from Edgerrin James and Dominic Rhodes. A year later, they met in both the regular season and the Conference Championship Game and Indianapolis emerged victorious on both occasions. The playoff matchup was unforgettable as Peyton and company rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Brady.
All the duels were epic, but in 2007 it was too significant because both teams went undefeated into the Week 9 duel. In the fourth quarter, Brady generated two offensive drives in which the Patriots scored touchdowns in each one and won 24-20. Both QBs suffered in the game due to the great work of both defenses; TB12 threw two interceptions and was sacked twice, while Manning suffered an interception and a fumble after three sacks against.
Manning’s last confrontation with Brady as a Colts player was in 2010. The Patriots managed to win 31-28 despite Indianapolis’ comeback attempt. The rivalry continued when Manning moved to Denver. However, it was not the same as in the first decade of the 2000s.
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New England and Indianapolis, the nonexistent rivalry
After Manning’s departure to Denver in 2010, the rivalry between the Patriots and the Colts stopped being epic and became something ordinary that the New England franchise has dominated; They have won eight of the last nine meetings. So lackluster have been the matchups between the Patriots and Colts that the last game had Mac Jones and Sam Ehlinger as starting quarterbacks. For the duel at Deutsche Bank Park, the QB1 will be Gardner Minshew and Jones.
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2023-11-09 23:00:05
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