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Savor the 14th meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning coming this Sunday.  It will be gone all to soon.  

It’s the best personal rivalry in the NFL since Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas.

As we enter this coming weekend’s game, Brady holds a 8-5 advantage over Manning in their head to head matchups.

I had been thinking about this story for a while.  My plan had been to approach it as the last hurrah of two fading gunslingers.

Manning’s arm strength was in serious question this season as he recovered from multiple neck surgeries.  Brady’s numbers had been decent, but the Pats entered week 4 with their first losing record since an 0-1 start to the 2003 season.  

I was afraid both quarterbacks were starting to lose the battle to the only undefeated opponent in history.

Well, tell Father Time to go catch a nap, put the sickle back in the tool shed (Wait, that’s Death. Tell him the same thing.) and we’ll call him when we need him.

Brady and Manning came off two stellar performances, each setting records.

I’m still getting used to seeing Peyton Manning in the orange and blue of Denver rather than the Indianapolis Colts’ classic blue and white.  Maybe it took Manning a few weeks to do the same but he is starting to look more natural in his uniform and in his play.  

The Broncos 31 point victory was their largest over the Raiders since 1962, the year before Al Davis joined the team. 

Manning had his second straight game without an interception, completed 79% of his passes for over 300 yards and registered three touchdowns.  The Broncos didn’t punt once.  He might not be what he was, but he’s darn close.

Brady was looking at a seven point halftime deficit.  More importantly an unheard of 1-3 record was staring back at him if he couldn’t rally his team.

We can safely say he rallied his team.  The Pats put up 45 second half points, the most by any trailing team since 1950.  They scored six straight touchdowns.  As Brady tore apart the defense passing the football, the Bills went to an extra defensive back to combat it.  

Then Brady did what Brady does.  He went to the ground game, running a no huddle offense so the Bills couldn’t adjust, and engineered a rushing offense that produced two 100 yard rushers.  

The Bills could have put 11 holograms on the field defensively and put up a better fight.

I’m really looking forward to seeing these two in a battle.  The rivalry will end some day, but it’s not time just yet.

Maybe we have taken this feud for granted.  In a 32 team league, to think these two have matched up so many times is remarkable.  As the scheduling is formatted, the conference division winners play one another.  The fact that Brady and Manning have led their teams to so many division titles is another testament to their consistency.  We as fans have benefitted.

These great rivalries are really quite rare.

Until the late 60’s there were only 12 teams in the league, so seeing them play one another was fairy common.

One that stands out in the early NFL history besides Starr-Unitas is Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman.  Later in the Super Bowl era are Troy Aikman and Steve Young, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubauch, and Terry Bradshaw and Ken Stabler.  

After those, we really would have to reach to find what I would consider a true rivalry with league history in play.  Joe Montana didn’t really have that one opponent that defined him.  The same can be said for John Elway.  Dan Marino and Jim Kelly had some great battles but they combined to lose five Super Bowls with no wins.  That in itself is impressive but might soon be forgotten without their names on a Lombardi trophy.

As I write this, New England is a touchdown favorite over Denver this Sunday.  I have no particular dog in this fight at this point.  If I do made a bet I’ll have to root against one of these two quarterbacks.  Whether you bet or not, as a fan you owe it to yourself to watch this game.  It really is history in the making.  And one day, Father Time will have his victory.  All we’ll be left with is “Remember when...”