When the Patriots host the Broncos at 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS, it will mark the 16th time that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have gone to head-to-head.
Brady isn't generally someone who reflects on things in the middle of the season, but during a radio interview with WEEI-FM in Boston on Monday, Brady acknowledged that the rivalry he has with Manning is "pretty special."
"Five, six years ago you don't think about those things," Brady said, via ESPN.com. "But as you mature a little bit and realize this could always be the last one, then you do. It's pretty special."
At 37, Brady understands that Sunday's game could be the final time that he goes up against the 38-year-old Manning.
The Patriots and Broncos aren't scheduled to play again until 2017. However, that could obviously change if the the two teams meet in the playoffs or if they both finish atop their divisions (The AFC East first-place team will play the AFC West first-place team during the regular season in 2015).
"[Manning has] been one of the greatest players to ever play," Brady said. "I've been fortunate to share a field with one of the best players that has ever played the game. And every time we play a Peyton Manning-led team, it comes down to the wire. Everything is usually at stake."
Brady's not kidding. Sunday's game will mark the third time in less than 12 months that Brady and Manning have gone to head-to-head. One of those earlier games included January's AFC title game, won by Manning.
The other game between Brady and Manning last season came in Week 12 when Brady turned a 24-0 halftime deficit into a 34-31 Patriots win.
Manning has a 2-1 record against Brady in AFC title games, but Brady holds a 10-5 advantage overall.
"What can you say more about what Peyton Manning has been able to accomplish? It's been the greatest season-and-a-half stretch in the history of the NFL," Brady said. "Nobody has really matched what he has been able to do, what that offense has been able to do most importantly. When we play this weekend, we are going to have to try to match it because that is what it is going to take. They have a great team, and we are going to have to be at our best."
Speaking of being at your best, both Brady and Manning were at their best in October. Both quarterbacks threw 14 touchdown passes, both quarterbacks threw for more than 1,260 yards and both quarterbacks led to their team to a 4-0 record.
If the Patriots can beat the Broncos on Sunday, it would give them the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Although New England would be tied in the loss column with both Cincinnati and Denver, they would have beaten both teams.
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be meeting on the field for the 16th time. (USATSI)
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