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The Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry is a series of games that took place between 2001 and 2015, involving two quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL): Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Brady has played for the New England Patriots since 2000, when he was the 199th selection in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He has been the starter since 2001, after Drew Bledsoe was injured early in the season, and has been so since, with the exception of 2008, when he tore his ACL in the opening game. Manning was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft with the number 1 pick, and played for the Colts until a neck injury caused him to miss the entire 2011 season. Prior to the 2012 season, Manning signed with the Denver Broncos, whom he played for up to his retirement following the 2015 season.
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Rivalry
Manning and Brady played each other seventeen times. Brady led the head-to-head series 11–6, though Manning went 6–5 in their last 11 meetings. From 2001–2015, the two quarterbacks met at least once every season, with the following exceptions: the Colts and Patriots, longtime AFC East division rivals from 1970–2001, did not meet in 2002 following the NFL's divisional re-alignment; Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 of the 2008 season; Manning missed the entire 2011 season due to recovery from multiple neck surgeries, as well as the 2015 regular-season meeting due to recovery from a torn plantar fascia. Brady led the Colts–Patriots series 8–4 and also led the Broncos–Patriots series 3–2, though Manning's two wins with the Broncos both occurred in the AFC Championships in 2013 and 2015. Brady led the series in Foxborough 8–2 (7–2 at Gillette Stadium), while Manning led the series in Indianapolis/Denver 4–3. The home team won each of the final seven games, with the last road win for either quarterback in the rivalry coming in Brady's 2007 win at Indianapolis.
The two quarterbacks met five times in the NFL Playoffs, in which Manning led the playoff series 3–2. Each of the five games were won by the home team. Brady led 2–1 vs. Manning's Colts' teams, while Manning's Broncos' teams led 2–0. Four of the five matchups were in the AFC Championship Game, with Manning winning three out of four, one with the Colts and two with the Broncos. The winner of those games went on to be the eventual Super Bowl winner, with the exception of the 2013 matchup.
Career statistics
Note: Tom Brady's statistics are updated as of February 6, 2017, while Peyton Manning's statistics are final.
