The Jets go to Tom Brady’s backyard Thursday night, and Peyton Manning comes to Eli Manning’s backyard for the third Manning Bowl.
So it’s the perfect time to reignite the debate that never seems to go away: Tom vs. Peyton. Who’s better?
We’ll attempt to come up with a definitive verdict by laying out arguments for each quarterback and assigning (totally) arbitrary names to the people who will make their respective cases:
ARCHIE MANNING: Peyton might have won three or four Super Bowls by now if he didn’t have to get past Bill Belichick. With all due respect, Tom Brady never had to solve a Bill Belichick defense.
GISELE BUNDCHEN: Tommy didn’t have the luxury of playing in a dome, as Peyton did. Tom had to overcome the elements in Foxborough, Buffalo and New Jersey.
ARCHIE:Â Peyton has four NFL MVPs, 38 fourth-quarter comebacks and 49 game-winning drives. Tom has two MVPs.
GISELE: Well, Tommy has 27 fourth-quarter comebacks, but when you have a 140-39 record, there isn’t as much of a need to bring your team back in the fourth quarter.
ARCHIE:Â Peyton is 155-70, and remember that he took over a downtrodden Colts franchise.
GISELE: Tommy is third in career passer rating. Peyton is fourth.
ARCHIE: Peyton is third in career passing yards, Tom is ninth. Peyton is second in career touchdown passes, Tom is fifth. Peyton has a career completion percentage of 65.2, Tom is at 63.7. Peyton has 73 300-yard passing games, Tom has 53.
GISELE: Tommy is 9-5 head-to-head against Peyton.
ARCHIE: Tom lost the last two Super Bowls he’s played in. To Peyton’s little brother.
GISELE: Tommy never acted in a sophomoric commercial acting as a rapper, even though he has football on his phone.
ARCHIE: Peyton and Eli have embraced Madison Avenue and are comfortable enough in their own skins to poke fun at themselves. As was their father, by the way.
GISELE: Tommy has never had the receivers that Peyton has had. Tom had Troy Brown and Deion Branch and David Patten. Peyton had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.
ARCHIE: Seems to me Tom had Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez of late.
GISELE: He doesn’t have Aaron Hernandez anymore, does he?
ARCHIE: Tom also had Randy Moss for a few years, as I recall.
GISELE:Â Tommy lost his offensive coordinator when Charlie Weis went to Notre Dame.
ARCHIE: Tom had Wes Welker, Peyton didn’t.
GISELE: But Peyton has him now. Better late than never, right?
ARCHIE: Peyton has thrown for 59, 949 yards – that’s third behind Brett Favre and Dan Marino — and 443 TDs, including the seven he threw Thursday night.
GISELE: Just one question: How many Super Bowls has Peyton won?
ARCHIE: One.
GISELE: Tommy has won three.
ARCHIE: I’m not making any accusations or anything like that, but Peyton’s Super Bowl championship wasn’t tainted by any Spygate controversy.
GISELE: How dare you? Tommy would never cheat.
ARCHIE: I never said he did.
GISELE: Tommy is 17-7 in the playoffs, with 42 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions. Peyton is 9-11, with 32 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions.
ARCHIE: No question Tom Brady is one of the all-time greats. And not to take anything away from his accomplishments, but he played with Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour and Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy and Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison. Who were being coached by the likes of Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, by the way.
GISELE: Tony Dungy and Tom Moore weren’t chopped liver, which Tommy hates, by the way. And Tommy never got to turn around and hand the ball off to someone as good as Edgerrin James.
ARCHIE: Tom is fortunate that he hasn’t had to attempt a comeback following four neck fusion surgeries. Let’s wait and see if Peyton can’t win his second Super Bowl this season with the Broncos. Tom is fortunate that he never had to leave the Patriots or Coach Belichick.
GISELE: But even if Peyton were to win the Super Bowl this year, Tommy would still have three and Peyton would have two.
ARCHIE: I understand that argument, but Dan Marino is universally regarded as one of the best, and he never won a Super Bowl.
GISELE: I have to pick up the kids. Why don’t we debate this again when Tommy and Peyton meet in the AFC Championship game?
ARCHIE: Deal.
Nicely done, Archie and Gisele. The jury is still out. As of this moment, I would give the edge to Brady, because of those three Super Bowls and five Super Bowl appearances. But if Manning wins that second ring, he’ll be my Mann.