They Will Write Books About This

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Hey, did you hear that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady a facing off again this Sunday?

No?

Yeah, it’s like a total thing.

 

So, maybe it’s only me but I feel like this Sunday’s game is less about the inextricably linked legacies of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and more about the moment. This is a big game regardless of the quarterbacks.

The Broncos are 6-1-0, with an overtime loss in Seattle the only blemish on their record. They are the only one-loss team left in the AFC and if anything, they may be a better overall team than last year’s record-shredding offensive juggernaut. There’s a lot of football left to play but with a win this Sunday, Denver will hold the high ground for home field throughout the playoffs. Looking at the rest of their schedule, I don’t see a game where they won’t be the favorite. Could they lose in San Diego in their Week 15 match up? Maybe.

If the Broncos win this Sunday, they should finish 14-2-0 at worst. Even if the Patriots run the table after this Sunday (and they will have to play three of the following four games on the road against the Colts, Packers and Chargers), the best New England could do would be 13-3-0. The Indianapolis Colts probably have a better shot at challenging the Broncos for home field but after they had their bells rung by Big Ben and the Steelers, their upcoming schedule may not be as easy as it looks.

It’s mathematically incorrect to call a Week 9 game a “must win” so maybe we should call this a “sure would be good to win this one so Week 17 isn’t a must win” game. Despite the four-game winning streak and the 6-2-0 record, the Patriots haven’t created any separation in the race for the AFC East. Buffalo is 5-3-0 and looks much better with Kyle Orton at quarterback (and yes, I never thought I’d write “…looks much better with Kyle Orton at quarterback”) and the enigma wrapped in a riddle that is the Miami Dolphins are hanging around at 4-3-0. New England can ill afford to lose a home game. Conference games aren’t quite as important as division games but they do figure prominently in tiebreakers.

So.

Big game.

Even without the historical context, it’s a big game.  Two of the best teams in the league, 6-1-0 vs. 6-2-0, playoff implications; that’s more than enough.

Okay.

Yes.

It is more than that, much more than just another big regular season game. It’s Manning. Belichick. Brady. They’ll all have busts in Canton someday. The games they’ve played are already legend. This Sunday’s game will only add another chapter to their mythic pigskin narrative. You really can’t make this stuff up. The Brady-Manning rivalry is unprecedented and unlikely to be duplicated. This will be the 16^th time they’ve faced each other and who’s betting against them meeting again in the playoffs? It’s the greatest football movie ever and it ain’t over yet.

It isn’t the Super Bowl but it’s the next best thing.