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New England Patriots: Power ranking the franchise’s top 5 rivalries

By Patrick Morgan

New England Patriots' Tom Brady, right, shakes hands with Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning after a game between New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Sunday, November 5, 2006. Colts won 27-20. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
New England Patriots' Tom Brady, right, shakes hands with Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning after a game between New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Sunday, November 5, 2006. Colts won 27-20. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS – NOVEMBER 15: Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts greets Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots after the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts won the game 35-34. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS – NOVEMBER 15: Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts greets Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots after the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts won the game 35-34. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

4. Indianapolis Colts

Let’s just be honest and call this what it is: The Colts/Patriots rivalry is really just the Peyton Manning/Tom Brady rivalry.

Those who are newer or younger fans of New England probably don’t know that the Colts once shared a division with the Pats for many, many years. From 1970 to 1983, the Baltimore Colts were one of the five members of the AFC East alongside the Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, and Bills.

Even after they moved to Indianapolis, it wasn’t until divisional realignment in 2002 that the Colts switched over to the AFC South.

Because of this history, the Patriots and the Colts actually played each other quite frequently for over 30 years.

That said, the rivalry between these teams really only rocketed up a notch with the ascendance of Manning and Brady into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacking.

Though Manning came into the league two years earlier (and with substantially more fanfare and expectation already on his shoulders), both signal-callers really hit their primes and came into their own at the exact same time.

The result? Some truly epic head-to-head matchups over the years.

Brady won the first six meetings, including two that occurred in the postseason. Manning then won five of the next seven, including one playoff game (although Brady missed the 2008 meeting; Matt Cassel started that game for the Pats), before missing the 2011 matchup and then becoming a Denver Bronco in 2012.

All told, Brady went 8-4 against Manning while the two QBs were with the Pats and Colts, respectively — including a 2-1 edge in the playoffs. Brady also went 3-2 against Manning’s Broncos, though the two Denver wins were both in AFC Championship Games.

This was arguably the best rivalry in the entire NFL during the 2000s, but it lost a great deal of luster when Manning left in 2012. The Patriots are 7-0 against the Colts post-Manning — including two dominant wins in the postseason.

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