Throughout his NFL career, Peyton Manning faced the New England Patriots 19 times. His Colts and Broncos teams won six games to 13 losses, and in those games, Manning completed 453 of 723 passes for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, and a passer rating of 89.8. This included five postseason games from 2004 through 2016 — Manning’s teams won three of those games, including the 2015 AFC Championship game victory that led Manning to his final Super Bowl, his final Super Bowl win, and his final game.
This week, on the occasion of Manning’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bill Belichick was effusive in his praise of Manning.
“He is definitely the best quarterback I’ve coached against,” Belichick told Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. “There have been quarterbacks who called their own plays, but it was nowhere near the same as what he did. He basically called every play by adjusting and/or changing the play once he saw what the defense was doing. He excelled at using the cadence and recognizing blitzes, and more than any one single offensive player, he forced us to change and adapt defensive game plans.”
Fair points all, though Manning’s streak as the best quarterback Belichick has ever gameplanned against will likely take a hit leading up to Week 4 of the 2021 season. That’s when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Gillette Stadium, and Belichick will have to array his defense against Tom Brady — who, you may remember, had a fairly successful run with Belichick over the years.