Enough About Brady and Manning; Broncos-Patriots Is So Much More Than That

The problem with lofting Tom Brady and Peyton Manning into its lone pantheon as the greatest sports rivalry of all time — better than Larry and Magic or Wilt and Russell — is two-fold.

One, they’ve never taken the field at the same time during play, a factor epidemic of football in general. Two, for all their illustrious history, Sunday will only be the 16th time they’ve gone head-to-head.

While that might amount to a full NFL season, it’s a pittance compared too the amount some of sports history’s greatest rivals faced off against each other.

But truly, the biggest issue with hyping Brady-Manning until it explodes into quarterback deification (here’s looking at you, Jim Nantz) is that it ignores the more meaningful matchups that are to slated take place on the gridiron Sunday, when the 6-1 Broncos visit Gillette Stadium to take on the 6-2 New England Patriots.

Will Darrelle Revis defend All-Pro wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, or will he spend part of the evening chasing Emmanuel Sanders? Will Brandon Browner shadow Julius Thomas in order to preside as a physical presence on the tight end? Does that leave Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington to cover some combination of Sanders and/or Wes Welker? And will the Patriots be willing to, once again, take the ball out of Manning’s hands and into Ronnie Hillman’s, allowing him to run rampant, a la the Jets’ Chris Ivory a fortnight ago and Knowshon Moreno the last time these two teams face off in the regular season?

Likewise, the Broncos’ pass rush against Brady with stalwarts DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller (16 sacks between them) will be fascinating to watch. So too will be watching old friend Aqib Talib in his first, strong season with Denver, and old nemesis T.J. Ward get re-introduced to Foxborough, one year after the then-Browns safety put a hit on Rob Gronkowski that ended up tearing the Patriots tight end’s ACL.

The Brady-Manning argument will never be settled, but it also manages to break clashes like this one down to the most simplistic equation. Really, as it always has been, this collision is more about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick vs. Manning, and thusly, Broncos head coach John Fox vs. Brady than it is anything else.

Brady-Manning has become a sports talk radio debate of grandiose cliché. This game deserves better.

The picks

Our roundup of nationwide picks for Sunday’s Broncos-Patriots game.

ESPN.com staff: Two out of 13 pick the Patriots (Chris Mortensen and Keyshawn Johnson).

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Patriots 31, Broncos 28. ““AAAWWWK!” gushes the Upset Bird. “Manning vs. Brady. Awesome! Aawwksome!” It’s the Game of the Week because it’s an AFC Championship Game rematch and mostly because Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are all-time greats showing no letup, with a combined 40 TDs vs. only five interceptions this season. It’s the Upset of the Week (though admittedly not a huge one) because Brady and Bill Belichick are money at home. Pats have won 13 regular-season dates in a row there, and Denver has lost four in a row in Foxborough. An early lead may be key for the Brady Bunch, as Broncs have leaped to 20-0 and 24-0 leads in teams’ past two meetings. Looking for better defense from the Tri-Cornered Hats. “A reference to the Patriots’ original, pre-stylized logo,” notes U-Bird. “Gino Cappelletti would be proud. Aawwk!”

Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com: Broncos 31, Patriots 27. “The seemingly annual Tom Brady-Peyton Manning meeting should be an offensive treat again. Both quarterbacks come in hot as can be, but only one can walk off a winner. It will be Manning, who I think will win it with a late drive. Not having Chandler Jones hurts the Patriots. This will be a classic.”

CBSSports.com staff: Five out of eight pick the Broncos (Denver by 3 ½).

Yahoo sports: All Broncos.

USA Today staff: Four out of seven pick the Broncos.

Foxsports.com staff: Five out of seven pick the Broncos.

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 27, Broncos 24. “In fifteen prior Brady-Manning contests, the home team is 10-5. The Broncos would win easily in Denver. The Pats find a way to prevail in Foxboro.”

Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk: Broncos 34, Patriots 20. “The Patriots have really turned things around recently and are probably the second-best team in the AFC right now. Unfortunately, the best team in the AFC is coming to town. Denver’s offense will put up big numbers and win more easily than most people are expecting.”

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: Broncos 42, Patriots 31. “The Patriots will need to win this game with offense, because they shouldn’t be planning on stopping Peyton Manning much here. Bill Belichick is used to doing some fancy scheming to confuse him, but Belichick’s injury-riddled personnel can only take away a limited part of Manning’s passing game. Once again, like the AFC title game, they will fail to put much pressure on him and let him pick them apart for big yards. Once they worry about trying to handle Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, former Patriot Wes Welker will make a big play or two just to stick it to Belichick again.

There will be a lot on Tom Brady here, and the way he’s playing, New England should be cool with that. Rob Gronkowski missed that January meeting, and will be a load for Denver’s linebackers and safeties. They’ve also found a big-play element with Brandon LaFell and more versatility from Shane Vereen and Tim Wright. Still, when you stack all that up against Manning’s weapons, it comes up short.

Brady is facing the much nastier pass rush with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, and also the tougher secondary overall with Chris Harris Jr. and another motivated former Patriot, Aqib Talib. There’s also safety T.J. Ward, who took out Gronk while with the Browns last season. The Broncos are just fully loaded for this on the road, while the Patriots are far from it.”

David Steele, Sporting News: Patriots 27, Broncos 24. “For what it’s worth (and it’s probably worth nothing), Manning won the last meeting, in the AFC title game in Denver in January, and Brady won the last game at this site, last November. Well … it might mean something if you buy the Manning/cold-weather theory. He’s 8-11 lifetime in temperatures below 40 degrees. It was cold in Foxboro for last season’s overtime Patriots win. It was in the 60s for the AFC title game.

And the forecast for Sunday in Foxboro, according to the Weather Channel (drumroll, please) … a high of 44, a low of 30, with winds of 20-plus miles an hour. It’s a late-afternoon kickoff and early-evening finish. Such drama!

Hey, it’s easier to make a call based on that than on how both teams are playing, because as usual, they’re the ones everyone else in the AFC is chasing. Both are on four-game winning streaks. The Broncos and Patriots are first and third in the NFL in scoring. Manning is first in the league in passer rating, Brady is fifth. Strap in. And respect the weather.”

Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Broncos 34, Patriots 30. “This game will obviously be a ratings magnet. One of the more interesting things I heard discussed on the radio this week was how the Broncos’ back seven is almost all new, thanks to free-agency defections, injuries and additions. Middle linebacker Nate Irving, who started just a handful of games last year, has been made a full-timer, as has outside linebacker Brandon Marshall. The other outside linebacker, Von Miller, missed almost half of last season. Ditto for safety Rahim Moore. Safety T.J. Ward, meanwhile, was signed this offseason, along with corner Aqib Talib.

Can the host Patriots’ high-powered offense (ranked third in points scored) rack up touchdowns against a Denver defense that is ranked sixth in points per game allowed? Will New England tight end Rob Gronkowski pull a Smaug again a week after swatting Bears defensive backs away like a bunch of clunky Dwarves? Will Bill Belichick use his ground attack more than he did in last year’s AFC Championship Game, when the Pats ran the ball just 16 times?

Hmm. Is there anything else about this one that I’m missing?”

NFL.com staff: Three out of five pick Denver.

Neil Greenburg, Washington Post: Win probability: Broncos 51.4 percent.

Boston Globe staff: Four out of six pick the Patriots (Denver by three).

It says here: Patriots 34, Broncos 31 (OT). A second overtime loss for Manning this season might mean the rules are changed by mid-week.