From 2001-10, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning battled as the NFL's top quarterbacks. While Brady and the New England Patriots won more championships, he says he learned a lot by examining how Manning led the Indianapolis Colts. "Peyton was the gold standard for my entire career," Brady said on a Fanatics video. "After every season, I’d go back and watch every Indianapolis Colts play because I was trying to learn as much as I could about their offense." Marvin Harrison had eight consecutive 1,000-yard-plus receiving seasons with Manning at quarterback. Other favorite targets included Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Marcus Pollard and Edgerrin James. "They put up more numbers, more yards, more touchdowns. And Peyton was just incredible at what he did," Brady said. "Then he goes to Denver, does the same thing." He talks the talk: Marshall Manning sounds just like his father Manning holds Colts records for passing yards (54,828) and touchdowns (399) and won MVP of the Colts' lone Super Bowl win of their Indianapolis era. He also won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. "He was second to none," Brady said. "He was an incredible player, incredible person, great friend." Brady owns NFL records for passing yards (89,214), touchdowns (649) and Super Bowl wins by a quarterback (seven).
Tom Brady says he wishes he swapped jerseys with Peyton Manning during his career, and reveals after every NFL season he went back and studied every single Indianapolis Colts play because their offense was putting up the most yards and touchdowns “I’ll go back to the guy that I… pic.twitter.com/ScYR7F6eMh — Josh Chambers (@JoshChambers) September 2, 2026 Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Peyton Manning forced Tom Brady to 'watch every Indianapolis Colts play'