Peyton Manning expressed his respect for Tom Brady after Denver Broncos won AFC Championship
Monday 25 January 2016 08:57, UK
Peyton Manning reflected on a 'special rivalry' after guiding the Denver Broncos to Super Bowl 50 with a 20-18 win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The star quarterbacks went head-to-head for the 17th time and Manning came out on top in the AFC Championship game, throwing two first-half touchdowns to tight end Owen Daniels.
Manning, who at 39 becomes the oldest quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, shared a few words with Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick after the game.
"I can't get away from either of those guys. It's been a special rivalry over the course of my career against the Patriots," said Manning.
"To play four times in the AFC Championship, with so much on the line, those games have been very special so I just wanted to take the time to share with Tom and Bill how much respect I have for them."
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There's no question this is a sweet day. This is a sweet victory.
Manning, who refused to speculate on his future after an injury-hit season, added: "I've stated my entire career, I have great respect for Tom as a player and as a friend for the job he has done as a QB for that franchise.
"There's no question this is a sweet day. This is a sweet victory."
Brady threw a late touchdown to Rob Gronkowski to set up a tense finale, but could not complete a thrilling comeback and offered a few respectful words to his old rival.
"He's a great player, someone I've always admired," said Brady. "(The Broncos) have got a great team."
He also offered support to kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who failed to convert a crucial extra point.
"He's a great player, he's the best," said Brady. "Everyone misses one at some point.
"There was plenty of football left. We knew what the situation was.
"It was a tough day, man, hard football game. We made a lot of plays, but a lot of plays we didn't make. We could never play on our terms. It was an uphill battle all day.
"It was just tough for us to get into a rhythm. We finally scored some points there at the end and for it to come down to a two-point conversion is obviously a tough way to end the season.
"We lost to a very good football team today. We fought to the end,"
