After two decades, Tom Brady’s run with the Patriots has come to an end. But even though he’s now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it doesn’t take away from the heaps of memories he created with New England.
Each day over the next few weeks, we’ll look back on one of Brady’s best moments, counting down from No. 20 to No. 1. Now, let’s relive his No. 16 moment: Leading the Patriots to a comeback win over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos after trailing 24-0 at halftime (2013).
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have given the NFL world some of its most memorable games.
In Manning’s second season as a member of the Broncos, Wes Welker left the Patriots to join Denver in what would be another MVP year for the superstar quarterback. This only heated the rivalry between Brady and Manning.
In Week 12 of the 2013 season, Brady and Manning had one of their best head-to-head matchups ever.
The Broncos exploded for a 24-0 lead heading into halftime. But the Patriots answered to begin the second half with an eight-play drive that concluded with Brady finding Julian Edelman for New England’s first score of the game.
The Patriots would score on the next four drives — three touchdowns and a field goal — to take a shocking seven-point lead behind Brady’s 344-yard, three-touchdown performance. Manning eventually got his team back into it, tying the score at 31-31 to force overtime.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the extra frame before Brady completed the comeback win by getting Stephen Gostkowski into perfect field goal position.
Late-game heroics are Brady’s expertise, and it was even sweeter when they came against Manning.