Tom Brady, Peyton Manning to face off for 15th time since 2001

The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos will face off in the AFC Championship, as familiar foes Tom Brady and Peyton Manning battle for another Super Bowl ring.

By James Brady@jamesbradyisme Jan 13, 2014, 8:32am EST

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The Denver Broncos were successful in beating the San Diego Chargers in a rubber match on Sunday, and with the New England Patriots stymieing the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, we have our AFC Championship game. It's a matchup of No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, so the system works, but it's more than that. It's a game between two very familiar foes.

Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 record this season, while Tom Brady captained the Patriots to a 12-4 mark. What's more interesting at this point, though, is the history between these two players. On Sunday, Jan. 19, Manning and Brady will play each other for the 14th time, and the fourth time in the playoffs.

The first time these two met was in Week 3 of the 2001 season, when Brady made his first career start. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards against the Colts, winning the game by a landslide. Still, that was more due to Manning's three interceptions than strong play by Brady.

They met again later that season, and the Patriots won big again, this time with the help of three Brady touchdowns, the first time he'd thrown that many in his career.

Brady and the Patriots have been victorious in 10 his 14 matchups against Manning, counting the 34-31 overtime victory in Week 12 of this season. Brady has thrown 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions against Manning's teams, while Manning has thrown 27 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Brady has a completion percentage of 67.0 against Manning's 62.4 in these matchups.

The most important games among the 14? Why, two AFC Championship games, of course!

In 2003, the Colts played the Patriots in the AFC Championship, and Manning had a horrible game. He threw four interceptions, three of which went to Ty Law, and the Patriots cruised to a comfortable 24-10 victory. Manning was sacked four times in that game, and Brady threw for 237 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

But Manning and the Colts did get revenge on Brady and the Patriots ... three years later. Manning managed to throw for 349 yards and a touchdown in a 38-34 victory in the 2006 playoffs. It an 18-point comeback, which is tied for the fifth-largest come-from-behind victory in postseason history.

Both of those AFC Championship wins led to Super Bowl titles. Here's a look at each game played between these two (asterisk marks playoff games):

Game	Manning	Result	Brady
9/30/2001	20-34 (58.8%), 196 yards, 1/3, 48.2 QBR	(A) NE 44-13	13-23 (56.5%), 168 yards, 0/0, 79.6 QBR
10/21/2001	22-34 (64.4%), 335 yards, 1/0, 106.9 QBR	(H) NE 38-17	16-20 (80.0%), 202 yards, 3/0, 148.3 QBR
11/30/2003	29-48 (60.4%), 278 yards, 4/1, 95.7 QBR	(H) NE 38-34	26-35 (74.3%), 236 yards, 2/2, 82.6 QBR
9/9/2004	16-29 (55.2%), 256 yards, 2/1, 93.5 QBR	(A) NE 27-24	26-38 (68.4%), 335 yards, 3/1, 111.2 QBR
1/18/2004*	23-47 (48.9%), 237 yards, 1/4, 35.5 QBR	(A) NE 24-14	22-37 (59.5%), 237 yards, 1/1, 76.1 QBR
11/7/2005	28-37 (75.7%), 321 yards, 3/1, 117.1 QBR	(A) IND 40-21	22-33 (66.7%), 265 yards, 3/0, 121.4 QBR
1/16/2005*	27-42 (64.3%), 238 yards, 0/1, 69.3 QBR	(A) NE 20-3	18-27 (66.7%), 144 yards, 1/0, 92.2 QBR
11/5/2006	20-36 (55.6%), 326 yards, 2/1, 93.1 QBR	(A) IND 27-20	20-35 (57.1%), 201 yards, 0/4, 34.0 QBR
1/21/2007*	27-47 (57.5%), 349 yards, 1/1, 79.1 QBR	(H) IND 38-34	21-34 (61.8%), 232 yards, 1/1, 79.5 QBR
11/4/2007	16-27 (59.3%), 225 yards, 1/1, 83.1 QBR	(H) NE 24-20	21-32 (65.6%), 255 yards, 3/2, 95.2 QBR
11/15/2009	28-44 (63.6%), 327 yards, 4/2, 97.4 QBR	(H) IND 35-34	29-42 (69.1%), 375 yards, 3/1, 110.7 QBR
11/21/2010	38-52 (73.1%), 396 yards, 4/3, 96.3 QBR	(A) NE 31-28	19-25 (76.0%), 186 yards, 2/0, 123.1 QBR
10/7/2012	31-44 (70.5%), 337 yards, 3/0, 115.4 QBR	(A) NE 31-21	23-31 (74.2%), 223 yards, 1/0, 104.6 QBR
11/24/2013	19-36 (52.8%), 150 yards, 2/1, 70.4 QBR	(H) NE 34-31	34-50 (68%), 344 yards, 3/0, 107.4 QBR
Totals	344-557 (61.7%) 3971 yards 29 TD 20 INT	10-4 Brady	310-462 (67%) 3403 yards 26 TD 12 INT