It’s been said that the NFL inspires a unique kind of devotion, thanks to the helmets that protect the players’ heads and shield their faces from plain view. Fans are known to root for the insignia far more than they do for the player, as they do in the NBA.
When Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and his arch nemesis from New England, Tom Brady, take opposite sides of the field on Sunday night for the eighth time since 2001, that theory basically can be tossed out the window.
Nevermind that the Colts (8-0) and Patriots (6-2) are again two of the best teams in the AFC. Regardless of the score, NBC will spend as much of its evening as possible gushing over Manning and Brady, and there’s a good argument that they should, given that in the prime of their respective careers, they compose what could be the greatest quarterback rivalry ever, if not in the last decade.
“These guys know what to expect,” said NBC analyst Tony Dungy, Manning’s former coach in Indianapolis, explaining during a conference call why the two quarterbacks have been able to succeed. “They’re going to be on top of every detail. There’s not anything that they’ve seen that’s going to fool them, and then I think that both have the right weaponry around them. The fact that the system fits them perfectly, and they’ve got all-star players everywhere around them is really what helps.”
There’s no good answer to whether Manning in 2004 (4,557 yards, 49 touchdowns, 67.7 completion percentage, 121.1 rating) or Brady in 2007 (4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns, 68.9 completion percentage, 117.2 rating) had the more impressive MVP campaign. The QBs themselves would say neither since both failed to capture the Super Bowl those seasons.
On Sunday, a decision between Brady and Manning will once more be made, with their transcendence represented by the particular playing styles they represent.
“You can just see [Manning is] the best pure passing quarterback in the NFL,” said former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, who also is now in the studio with Dungy and the Football Night in America gang. “But I also — and maybe just having played with this guy and seeing it happen so often — Tom Brady is my quarterback with a minute left and we’re down four points and we need a touchdown because he’s done it.”
