by Patrick Gegg

Created on: February 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 27, 2010

The New England Patriots squeaked past 2007 Superbowl defending champions on Sunday. The near-even match perhaps foreshadowed the 2008 Superbowl. And it featured the NFL's top quarterbacks, head-to-head: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

For a few NFL seasons now, the vast majority of fans have arrived at a crossroads when asked, "Who's the best quarterback in the league today?". It's either Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, or Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts.

Peyton Manning is the former number one draft pick out of The University of Tennessee. He won many prestigious awards, including the Johnny Unitas Award for the nation's top quarterback and the Maxwell award for the nation's top player. He was 3-1 in bowl games, and set many school records.

Drafted no.1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998, he started every game his rookie season, throwing for 26 TDs and 28 INTs. Although setting five different rookie records, the Colts finished 3-13.

The next season, Manning greatly improved, and the Colt's record was 13-3. In the second round of the playoffs, Manning played a very poor game against the Tennessee Titans in a 19-16 loss.

Manning and the Colts got back to form in the 03-04 season, with Manning garnering the MVP award, but once again in the playoffs Manning would fall, this time in the AFC title game to the New England Patriots, 24-14. Manning threw three interceptions and had a QB rating of 35.5.

The next season, Manning recieved the MVP award again, as he broke two distinguished records, setting a new mark for TD passes(49) and QB rating(121.1). But just like the previous season, Manning and the Colts fell to the New England Patriots 20-3 in the AFC title game.

In 2005, Manning and the Colts would not face the Patriots in the playoffs, but in the dvisional round, they would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18, after another sub-par Manning performance.

After this loss, Manning endured more criticism then ever before, as his playoff record was 3-6. People all across the nation were saying that Peyton couldn't win the big game, or that Peyton choked in the playoffs.

In the 2006-07 season, Manning and the Colts were 12-4 going into the playoffs, with one of the worst run defense's in history. However, despite two terrible Manning performances, the Colts advanced to the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots.

Down 21-6 at halftime, Manning helped lead a comeback, which resulted in a dramatic win over the Tom Brady led Patriots

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