Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are about to complete an NFL season's worth of games. Manning Brady XVI, they call it, and Brady has a 10-5 record against the Denver Broncos' signal-caller.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick called Manning the toughest QB he has faced, and Broncos coach John Fox offered that he and Brady both belong in the conversation of greatest ever.
"In 25 years, I've seen a lot - all different. From Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway - there are no two players alike," said Fox. "They're all different, they all bring something different to the table and they've all had great success, but I can tell you the two that will be playing this week are right up there."
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Both teams are very hot right now, each winning their last four straight and ranking #1 and #2 in the AFC. It's a common theme with Manning- and Brady-led teams.
"I think when you look at the New England Patriots, you look at their success: 13 straight winning seasons since Bill [became coach]," Fox said. "To be truthful with you, both Bill and Tom are first-ballot Hall of Fame guys-one as a coach, one as a player. They've got the longest current home winning streak in the National Football League at 13. [They are] well coached and a team that we do know.
"And we have not had a lot of success there, so it'll be a big test for us, one we're looking forward to."
Of course, Manning won't be facing off against Brady - not directly. His challenge is to face Bill Belichick and his always-stingy defense.
"It's a tremendous challenge," said Manning. "t's a challenging week of preparation to get ready to play these guys. It's the mental challenge. It's the physical challenge as well. You know that you have to find a way to move the ball against their stingy defense, against their excellent cover corners. At the same time, you know you better not be going three-and-out, turning the ball over, trying to figure out what they're doing on defense because you know Brady and company are capable of putting up a lot of points and you're going to find yourselves behind, especially up there. So it's a tremendous challenge but these are the kinds of games that you like to play in. It's two excellent teams and I've been fortunate to be on some good teams to play against these guys and every year I've played them they've always had a good team."
Game time
Kickoff is set for 2:25 p.m. Mile High time on Sunday, November 2, 2014 - that's 4:25 local time Massachusetts. Daylight Savings Time ends that morning, so don't forget to fall back!
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TV schedule
The game will air as CBS' #1 afternoon game, covering about 90% of the country, airing on KCNC-TV in Denver. Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Phil Simms (color commentary) will call the game with Tracy Wolfson reporting from the sidelines.
View our Broncos-Patriots TV broadcast map to see if the game will air locally in your area. DirecTV Sunday Ticket customers can find the game on 713.
Online streaming
Verizon subscribers can tap into NFL Mobile. At a premium, you can stream the game after the final whistle blows from NFL.com using Game Rewind. You can also listen live using streaming audio from NFL.com.
Radio
Listen around Denver at 850 AM KOA & nationwide at Sirius 85. Dave Logan (play-byplay) and Ed McCaffrey (color commentary) will call the game with Alan Roach reporting from the sidelines. View the full Denver Broncos radio network here.
Fun fact
The Patriots have won 33 straight home games against AFC opponents. This will be a Mile High task for the Broncos.
Injury report
For the Broncos, running back Ronnie Hillman is probable after being limited for a few days of practice. He should get the start and keep his hot streak going. For the Patriots, Chandler Jones is out, and Tom Brady is questionable for the 100th week in a row.
Follow it live
Live Chat: MileHighReport.com during the game
Twitter: Follow @MileHighReport
Facebook: Mile High Report
Enemy blog: Pats Pulpit
Odds
The Broncos are 3.5-point favorites against the Patriots on the road; they've only been underdogs once over the past two seasons. They were two-point favorites when they lost to the Patriots a year ago.