It’s another Manning vs. Brady match up. Both teams have won their first playoff game and now the two future hall of famers stand in each other’s way.
The Broncos faced a hopeful and determined Chargers team who barely made it into the playoffs due to the losses of both the Ravens and the Dolphins. San Diego proved their strength, however, by defeating a favourited and now devastated Kansas City Chiefs. The next game against Denver was close but the Broncos held on to a 24-17 victory.
On the other end, the Patriots are playing strong and have caused Denver much reason to fear due to their decisive victory against the Colts. With a 43-22 win, the Patriots are feeling confident coming into next week. So what can we expect? Well we’ve seen it 13 times. Brady and Manning will be playing against each other for the 14th time come next week with Brady having won 9 of these. It is important to note though that Manning has better overall stats when these two teams play, throwing for more touchdowns and having a better completion percentage. It is a difficult comparison to make.
To win Manning will need full help from his defense. Brady performs stunningly in the playoffs and there will no doubt be a shootout through the air. Also the running game needs to get those extra yards when it counts to open up throwing and give Peyton an extra chain of downs to put one in the endzone. Thirteen games between these two allstars and yet there its still difficult to predict. It’s a battle every time, and next week will be no different.