Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning: Who was Better in Sunday's Game?
Whenever Tom Brady and Peyton Manning step onto the field, fans know they're in store for an excellent game.
They're two of the greatest quarterbacks in the game today. In fact, they're two of the all time greats at their position.
The Colts and Patriots have become bitter rivals in recent years, mostly because of the fierce competition created by these two men.
In the most recent edition, Brady got the better of Manning with a 31-28 win. But, was he the better quarterback?
Read on for grades on each drive, culminating in a final grade for each quarterback's performance.
Peyton Manning Drive 1
1 of 20
3/5, 35 yards, 1 interception
Manning's Colts got the ball first and drove down the field to the New England 46, before Manning's pass to Blair White was intercepted by Brandon Meriweather.
On the drive he converted a third down play with a four-yard pass to Austin Collie.
Drive 1 Grade: D
Tom Brady Drive 1
2 of 20
2/2, 26 yards, 1 touchdown
After getting the ball on the Indianapolis 32, Brady didn't waste any time and led a four-play drive for a touchdown.
He completed his first throw to BenJarvus Green-Ellis for four yards and after two subsequent runs, he hit Wes Welker over the middle for 22 yards and a touchdown.
The drive only took 2:02 and gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
Drive 1 Grade: A
Peyton Manning Drive 2
3 of 20
2/4, 22 yards
Trailing 7-0, Manning took the ball and immediately threw an incomplete pass, intended for Pierre Garcon.
After a 15-yard pickup on second-and-10, Manning failed to get another first down. He hit Reggie Wayne for seven yards on third-and-nine.
The Colts were forced to punt after holding onto the ball for less than two minutes.
Drive 2 Grade: C
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Tom Brady Drive 2
4 of 20
7/8, 61 yards, 1 touchdown
The second drive for the Patriots lasted through the end of the first quarter and into the beginning of the second.
He was nearly perfect for the second straight drive. It ended when he threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this time to Aaron Hernandez for eight yards.
The touchdown was the 244th of his career, tying him with John Hadl for 15th place on the all time list.
Drive 2 Grade: A
Peyton Manning Drive 3
5 of 20
5/7, 62 yards, 1 touchdown
Down 14-0 already, the Colts desperately needed a touchdown and Manning gave them one.
The drive seemed doomed for failure after two incomplete passes left them with a third-and-10, but Manning completed a pass for 14 yards to Austin Collie for a first down.
On the next set of downs, he converted yet another third down with a 17-yard pass to Pierre Garcon.
The drive ended when Manning threw a touchdown pass to Gijon Robinson on third-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Drive 3 Grade: A
Tom Brady Drive 3
6 of 20
3/4, 41 yards
Tom Brady responded to the Manning touchdown by driving right back down the field in 4:19 and handing the ball off to BenJarvus Green-Ellis for the touchdown to go ahead 21-7.
He also made a clutch throw on third-and-three from the Indianapolis 11, completing a three-yard pass to Danny Woodhead.
Drive Grade: A
Peyton Manning Drive 4
7 of 20
8/10, 82 yards, 1 touchdown
This was Manning's most impressive drive of the first half, in terms of statistics, situation, and results.
The Colts got the ball on their own 15-yard line with just 3:34 left in the half. 12 plays later, they were in the end zone, having scored a touchdown on Manning's 11-yard pass to Reggie Wayne with just four seconds left.
Drive 4 Grade: A
Tom Brady Drive 4
8 of 20
1 carry, -1 yards
This one doesn't really count. Tom Brady just took a knee to end the half.
Drive 4 Grade: Incomplete
Tom Brady Drive 5
9 of 20
2/2, 12 yards
The Patriots got the ball first in the second half with a seven-point lead. The drive started out promising when Brady hit Welker for nine yards on the first play, but eventually stalled.
Brady took a crucial sack on the subsequent first down and failed to move the chains, resulting in a punt.
Drive 5 Grade: C
Peyton Manning Drive 5
10 of 20
4/6, 35 yards
This drive started out quite well as the Colts efficiently moved the ball from their own seven-yard line to Patriots 48. But then it stalled.
The Colts ran the ball for one yard on first down and then Manning threw back-to-back incomplete passes, both intended for Pierre Garcon, to end the drive.
Drive Grade: C
Tom Brady Drive 6
11 of 20
3/3, 20 yards
Brady helped the Patriots extend their lead once again. He was flawless on this drive, completing all three of his passes and letting the ground game take over.
Two of his three passes went for first downs and helped to establish the run. Danny Woodhead finished off the drive with a 36-yard touchdown carry.
Drive 6 Grade: A
Peyton Manning Drive 6
12 of 20
1/2, 5 yards, 1 interception
On this short-lived drive, Manning completed his first pass to Blair White. He then went deep and was picked off by Devin McCourtey at the New England 39.
This didn't exactly aide the comeback effort.
Drive 6 Grade: F
Tom Brady Drive 7
13 of 20
2/3, 23 yards
This drive seemed like it would seal the game for the Patriots. One play was run, then the third quarter ended and the drive continued in the fourth.
Brady didn't do much here, but he didn't need to because the ground attack was working well again. His one incompletion came on third-and-six on the Colts seven-yard line and cost the Patriots a touchdown.
But, he still led his team to a field goal and a 31-14 lead.
Drive 7 Grade: B
Peyton Manning Drive 7
14 of 20
4/5, 20 yards, 1 touchdown
Manning was terrific in this drive. He took his field 73 yards in just 2:26 and pulled the Colts to within 10 points of the Patriots. He was helped by Donald Brown's 36-yard run, but still made all the throws he needed to.
The five-yard touchdown pass to Blair White was his third of the game.
Drive 7 Grade: A
Tom Brady Drive 8
15 of 20
0/2, 0 yards
Three-and-outs are never good, especially when your team is trying to hang onto a lead against Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter. Yet that's exactly what happened here.
Brady misfired twice, once to Wes Welker and once to Deion Branch. The Patriots had the ball for a staggering 40 seconds.
Drive 8 Grade: D
Peyton Manning Drive 8
16 of 20
6/6, 60 yards, 1 touchdown
This was the best drive of the game for either quarterback. The drive only went 58 yards, but Manning still threw for 60 yards thanks to Donald Brown's -2-yard carry.
Manning did what he does best: come up big when he needed to. Remarkably, this drive only lasted for 2:18, yet another efficient possesion.
Drive 8 Grade: A
Tom Brady Drive 9
17 of 20
0/1, 0 yards
This was the second straight drive where Brady failed to move the ball at all. BenJarvus Green-Ellis started the possession off with a 14-yard run, but then was stuffed on two straight plays.
Brady followed those three runs up with a an incomplete pass to Wes Welker on third-and-seven.
When Manning is making a charge, you have to do better than this.
Drive 9 Grade: D
Peyton Manning Drive 9
18 of 20
4/7, 45 yards, 1 interception
It seemed as though Manning was going to work his magic and complete a ridiculous fourth quarter comeback, but it was not to be.
In field goal range, needing only a field goal to tie the game and force overtime, Manning lofted a pass deep right to Pierre Garcon. As he watched the ball, it was picked off by James Sanders, killing any shot that the Colts once had at winning the game.
That was the worst possible thing Manning could have done.
Drive 9 Grade: F
Tom Brady Drive 10
19 of 20
2 carries, -1 yards
This drive doesn't really count as Brady was just taking a knee to end the game.
Drive 10 Grade: Incomplete
Overall Results
20 of 20
Peyton Manning:
38/52, 396 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
Final Grade: C
Tom Brady:
19/25, 186 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 intereceptions
4 carries, -2 yards
Final Grade: A
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")