Though Manning laughed it off and Brady apologized for a bulletin that was never advised to be chicken - or accessible - the New England arresting addition could be right.
After agreeable their four postseason meetings, Sunday's AFC Championship bold amid Brady's Patriots and Manning's Broncos in Denver could be the endure head-to-head antagonism amid these approaching Hall of Famers.
''It will be fun to play addition Peyton Manning-led team,'' said the 38-year-old Brady, who extends his NFL almanac with a 10th appointment championship actualization and fifth in as abounding years.
Brady's emails were submitted as allotment of the Deflategate analysis in August, and in one beatific six canicule afore the Patriots' 43-21 win over Denver in November 2014, he wrote of Manning: "I've got addition 7 or 8 years. He has 2. That's the final chapter."
Brady is 11-5 adjoin his friend, but Manning, who turns 40 in March, has won the endure two in the postseason - both in appointment championships on his home field. The a lot of contempo came two years ago this week, a 26-16 achievement in Denver as Manning threw for 400 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Brady went for 277 with a TD in the air and one on the arena in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos captivated the Patriots to 320 absolute yards.
"Tom is a acceptable acquaintance of mine, he'll consistently be a acceptable acquaintance of mine," said Manning, who is 3-0 in appointment championship amateur back a 24-14 accident to Brady at New England with Indianapolis afterwards the 2003 season.
Two seasons removed from the latest playoff meeting, their accepted roles and credible constancy in the bold arise abundant different.
Brady hasn't apparent any absolute signs of slowing down. He topped 4,000 casual yards for a fifth beeline season, led the NFL with 36 touchdowns and was best off seven times admitting ambidextrous with injuries to assorted skill-position players and the abhorrent line.
''Doing the things that you've done to get yourself in this position are absolutely important," Patriots abhorrent coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "His preparation, his blow and analysis and accepting his physique accessible and his apperception right. He does a lot of the things every day to adapt for the next day.
''Even admitting these amateur accept certitude to them that some amateur in the approved division or preseason don't have, he approaches it the aforementioned way.''
Manning played in 10 amateur while ambidextrous with assorted injuries, a lot of conspicuously a appear partially torn plantar fascia. He was relegated to a assets role backward in the division afore replacing an abortive Brock Osweiler in a 27-20 achievement over San Diego in Anniversary 17. Manning, who threw 17 interceptions all-embracing and just one of his nine touchdown passes in six home games, appears to be added of a bold administrator as his approaching grows added uncertain.
But while his physique ability be absolution him down, Manning's affection remains. Trailing 13-12 in the fourth division endure Sunday adjoin Pittsburgh, Manning confidently led the Broncos on a 13-play, 65-yard drive capped by C.J. Anderson's 1-yard TD run with 3 account remaining. Manning, who threw for 222 yards and was victimized by several alone passes, hit Demaryius Thomas for the 2-point about-face en avenue to a 23-16 victory.
"(No.) 18 is a little added amped up (for the playoffs)," Anderson told the Broncos' official website. "Making abiding we're added dialed in and abundant on this and that."
While this abeyant swan song amid the two greats provides a made-for-television storyline, the aftereffect could be absitively by how able-bodied Denver's top-ranked aegis can stop Brady and breach that averaged an AFC-high 29.1 points.
As Manning watched, a Broncos aegis that yielded 283.1 yards per challenge captivated the Patriots to 2 of 13 on third downs in a 30-24 overtime win in Anniversary 12 to end New England's achievement of a absolute division and bead Brady to 2-6 in the Mile High City. The Broncos overcame a 21-7 fourth-quarter arrears and three TD passes from Brady, who didn't accept receiver Julian Edelman and absent bound end Rob Gronkowski to a knee abrasion late.
Denver denticulate 17 credibility in the fourth to force overtime and Anderson rumbled for 48 of his season-high 113 hasty yards on the acceptable score.
''Our aplomb is perfect,'' Denver cornerback and ex-Patriot Aqib Talib said. ''We're good. We're arena a aggregation who we exhausted beforehand this year, we're at home, we're healthy. So, let's get it.''
Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is absent for the division with a accept abrasion and key Broncos appropriate teamer Omar Bolden was put on IR with a knee injury. Denver All-Pro added aggregation cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is ambidextrous with a accept injury, but fabricated added account this anniversary by cogent ESPN that the way to accouterment Gronkowski is to "hit him in the knees."
Of just as abundant affair to Denver's aegis will be Edelman, who alternate from a 10-game absence due to a torn bottom to bolt 10 passes for 100 yards in a 27-20 divisional-round win over Kansas City. Brady threw for 302 yards and both of his TDs went to Gronkowski, who befuddled off his abiding knee affair to accomplish seven receptions for 83.
''The added of those guys you accept out there the harder it is to defend,'' said drillmaster Bill Belichick, who will bout Tom Landry's NFL almanac by apprenticeship in his 10th appointment championship game. ''Tom knows what to do with them, he can acquisition those matchups, that's what we charge to do."
Gronkowski has 22 receptions for 283 yards with three touchdowns in his endure three amateur adjoin Denver.
After captivation Pittsburgh to one touchdown and banishment a bollix above-mentioned to Manning's ambitious scoring drive, Denver appears accessible to footfall up afresh afterwards convalescent to 10-3 in amateur absitively by seven or beneath points.
''Our aegis has been outstanding all season. They accept led us to this point, let's accomplish that clear,'' Manning said. ''Each game, key arresting players stepped it up, but you accept to be a acceptable aggregation to win these playoff amateur and you accept to win as a team.''
Thomas was captivated to one bolt for 36 yards adjoin the Patriots in November, but had seven for 134 and a TD in the appointment championship achievement two years ago.
That was one of three losses in six alley playoff amateur for Brady, two of which accept appear in Denver.
''It's appealing harder to get to this point," Brady said. "There's alone four teams standing. Two of these teams accept to go home. Achievement we're not one of them.''
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