It's one of sport's all-time best head-to-head rivalries, worthy of being placed in the same sentence as Ali-Frazier and Magic-Bird.
New England's Tom Brady is playing in his eighth conference championship and seeking his sixth Super Bowl appearance. Denver's Peyton Manning, meanwhile, is in his fourth conference championship game and looking for a third Super Bowl appearance.
In the 14 previous head-to-head battles, Brady is 10-4 against Manning, and that includes a 2-1 advantage in the NFL playoffs. But the quarterbacks have split the last eight meetings.
Brady has 3403 passing yards, 26 TDs and 13 interceptions in those match-ups. Manning has 3971 passing yards, 29 TDs and 20 interceptions.
A look at the previous Brady-Manning Bowls:
1. Patriots 44, Colts 13
When: Sept. 30, 2001, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 3)
Brady: 13-of-23, 168 yards
Manning: 20-of-34, 196 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs
Signature moment: Manning threw two pick sixes; the second by Ty Law part of a 21-point fourth quarter for New England.
Fallout: Brady replaces an injured Drew Bledsoe for good and gets the Patriots their first win after a 0-2 start.
2. Patriots 38, Colts 17
When: Oct. 21, 2001, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 6)
Brady: 16-of-20, 202 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 22-of-34, 335 yards, 1 TD
Signature moment: Brady threw a 91-yard TD pass to David Patten for a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
Fallout: New England improves to 3-3, and eventually Brady leads a run that culminates with a win against St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI.
3. Patriots 38, Colts 34
When: Nov. 30, 2003, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 13)
Brady: 26-of-35, 236 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Manning: 29-of-48, 278 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: The Colts have a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but the Patriots stop Edgerrin James on goal-to-go on first, second and fourth down.
Fallout: The Patriots win the matchup of 9-2 teams, and that helps New England get home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs.
4. Patriots 24, Colts 14
When: Jan. 18, 2004, at New England
Stage: AFC Championship
Brady: 22-of-37, 237 yards
Manning: 23-of-47, 237 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs
Signature moment: Manning throws four interceptions and takes four sacks in the loss.
Fallout: The gives New England another Super Bowl appearance, and this time Brady leads a win against Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
5. Patriots 27, Colts 24
When: Sept. 9, 2004, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 1)
Brady: 26-of-38, 335 yards, 3 TDs, INT
Manning: 16-of-29, 256 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential game-tying field goal in the final minutes.
Fallout: The Patriots extended a 16-game winning streak and enjoy a 14-2 regular season. Indianapolis finished 12-4 behind a NFL record 49 TD passes from Manning.
6. Patriots 20, Colts 3
When: Jan. 16, 2005, at New England
Stage: AFC divisional playoffs
Brady: 18-of-27, 144 yards, 1 TD
Manning: 27-of-42, 238 yards, 1 INT
Signature moment: Brady broke a 6-3 game open with a 5-yard TD pass to David Givens with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Brady added a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Fallout: Brady improved to 6-0 against Manning and leads the Patriots to a win against the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
7. Colts 40, Patriots 21
When: Nov. 7, 2005, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 22-of-33, 265 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 28-of-37, 321 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Manning's 30-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison with 5:53 remaining clinches his first head-to-head win against Brady.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 8-0 and eventually start out 13-0 but lose in an upset in the divisional to Pittsburgh. New England finishes 10-6 and loses to Denver in the divisional round.
8. Colts 27, Patriots 20
When: Nov. 5, 2006, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 20-of-35, 201 yards, 4 INTs
Manning: 20-of-36, 326 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Brady has a game to forget with four interceptions.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 8-0 and eventually win home-field advantage in the AFC.
9. Colts 38, Patriots 34
When: Jan. 21, 2007, at Indianapolis
Stage: AFC Championship
Brady: 21-of-34, 232 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Manning: 27-of-47, 349 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Signature moment: The Patriots jump out to a 21-3 lead, but Indianapolis rallies to tie the score twice before Joseph Addai's go-ahead TD run with 1:00 remaining.
Fallout: Manning finally gets a playoff win against Brady and leads the Colts to a win against the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
10. Patriots 24, Colts 20, at Indianapolis
When: Nov. 4, 2007, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 9)
Brady: 21-of-32, 255 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Manning: 16-of-27, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Signature moment: New England rolls in with an 8-0 record, and erases a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter with two TD passes by Brady.
Fallout: Brady leads the Patriots to a 16-0 record with a NFL record 50 TD passes, but New England loses to the New York Giants in XLII.
11. Colts 35, Patriots 34
When: Nov. 15, 2009, at Indianapolis
Stage: Regular season (Week 10)
Brady: 29-of-42, 375 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Manning: 28-of-44, 327 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs
Signature moment: Bill Belichick opts to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line wit 2:08 remaining. The Colts held, and Manning threw the game-winning TD to Reggie Wayne four plays later.
Fallout: The Colts improve to 9-0 and start 14-0 before their first loss. Indianapolis loses to New Orleans in Super Bowl XLIV.
12. Patriots 31, Colts 28
When: Nov. 21, 2010, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 11)
Brady: 19-of-25, 186 yards, 2 TDs
Manning: 38-of-52, 396 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs
Signature moment: The Colts rally with 17 fourth-quarter points, but James Sanders intercepts Manning in the final minute.
Fallout: Both teams lose to the New York Jets in the AFC playoffs.
13. Patriots 31, Broncos 21
When: Oct. 7, 2012, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 5)
Brady: 23-of-31, 223 yards, 1 TD
Manning: 31-of-44, 337 yards, 3 TDs
Signature moment: Brady leads two TD drives in the third quarter, one capped by a one-yard TD in the fourth quarter, to put New England ahead 31-7.
Fallout: The Broncos win out until the AFC divisional playoffs against Baltimore. The Ravens beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship the following week.
14. Patriots 34, Broncos 31, OT
When: Nov. 24, 2013, at New England
Stage: Regular season (Week 12)
Brady: 34-of-50, 344 yards, 3 TDs
Manning: 19-of-36, 150 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Signature moment: Wes Welker, brought over from New England in the off-season, failed to field a punt in overtime that resulted in a Patriots' fumble recovery. Stephen Gostkowski then kicks the game-winning 31-yard field goal.
Fallout: The Broncos managed to get home-field advantage behind Manning, who set NFL records with 5477 passing yards and 55 TDs.
