It’s Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady XVII for AFC title

Peyton Manning’s career is a broken record — most passing touchdowns (539), most passing yards (71,940), tied for most regular-season victories (186), most MVP awards (five) ...

Tom Brady’s has a familiar ring to it — most Super Bowl appearances by a quarterback (six), tied for most Super Bowl victories by a quarterback (four), most playoff starts (30) by a quarterback, most playoff victories by a quarterback (22) ...

Two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history meet Sunday for the 17th time as Manning’s Denver Broncos host Brady’s New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

“I think playing someone 17 times is pretty cool, especially someone as great as him,” Brady said in his weekly press conference in New England.

Arguably the greatest quarterback rivalry in NFL history, Brady and Manning’s duels compare to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s in the NBA. Johnson and the Lakers went 22-15 against Bird and the Celtics.

Brady sports an 11-5 record against Manning, though Manning has won two of the three AFC Championship games in which they have faced each other.

“Obviously, I grew up a big Larry Bird-Magic Johnson fan,” Manning said during his weekly news conference in Denver. “I had some of those old posters of Larry and Magic in their very short shorts. I have felt very fortunate to play 18 years like I have, and I know how hard I’ve worked to play this long.

“When I look across at the New England Patriots and see Tom Brady is their quarterback, I just know how hard he’s worked as well. To play as well as he has over the course of his career, with the success that he has had and the team’s success, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s earned that respect. He and [coach] Bill Belichick have earned all the respect and all of the accolades that they get.”

The future Hall of Fame quarterbacks first met in 2001 as Brady’s Patriots blew out Manning’s Colts 44-13. Their last meeting came in a regular-season game in 2014 when Brady’s Patriots ripped Manning’s Broncos 43-21.

This season, Manning missed the Broncos’ 30-24 overtime victory over the Patriots while recovering from a tear in the plantar fascia in his left foot. At the time, many wondered whether Brady, 38, and Manning, 39, would ever meet again.

Yet, here they are, as if on cue.

“It’s a credit to both of them, because you don’t have the rivalry that they’ve had if you don’t last as long as both of them have lasted,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “They’ve both been so successful. They’re two Hall of Fame football players, two Hall of Fame people. They’re leaders on their football team wherever they’ve been. Peyton has been a couple of places. It’s pretty special.

“For me, it’s always been kind of outside looking in. I’ve played against them many, many times, but this is my first time to be a part of them going against each other.”

Till they meet again ...

AFC Championship Game

New England Patriots (13-4) at Denver Broncos (13-4)

2:05 p.m. Sunday, KTVT/11

Line: Patriots by 3

Last week: New England beat Kansas City 27-20; Denver beat Pittsburgh 23-16

Series history: Broncos lead 29-21, including 3-1 in the postseason.

Last game vs. opponent: Nov. 29, 2015 — The Broncos beat the Patriots 30-24 in overtime as Brock Osweiler threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and C.J. Anderson ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning 48-yard score in overtime.

Last playoff game vs. opponent: Jan. 19, 2014 — The Broncos beat the Patriots 26-16 in the AFC Championship Game — New England’s last playoff loss — as Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns and Demaryius Thomas caught seven passes for 134 yards and a score.

All-time record in AFC Championship Game: New England 8-3; Denver 7-2

Super Bowl records: New England 4-4; Denver 2-5

Interesting stat: 4 — Passes of at least 35 yards allowed by the Broncos the past two games. Denver gave up only seven passes of 35 or more yards in their first 15 games.

Key matchup: Patriots RT Marcus Cannon vs. Broncos OLB Von Miller — Cannon started eight games and played in four others this season, allowing two sacks, according to STATS, while being penalized for two holds. Miller led the Broncos with 11 regular-season sacks.

Pick: Patriots 20, Broncos 16

NFC Championship Game

Arizona Cardinals (14-3) at Carolina Panthers (16-1)

5:40 p.m. Sunday, KDFW/4

Line: Panthers by 3

Last week: Arizona beat Green Bay 26-20 in overtime; Carolina held off Seattle 31-24

Series history: Panthers lead 9-5, including 1-1 postseason record.

Last game vs. opponent: Jan. 3, 2015 — The Panthers beat the Cardinals 27-16 last postseason as Jonathan Stewart rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown and Cam Newton passed for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

All-time records in NFC Championship Game: Cardinals 1-0; Panthers 1-2

Super Bowl records: Arizona 0-1; Carolina 0-1

Interesting stat: 12 — Consecutive home victories by the Panthers. It has been more than a year — 434 days — since Carolina lost to Atlanta 19-17 on Nov. 16, 2014, in Charlotte.

Key matchup: Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Panthers CB Cortland Finnegan — Fitzgerald has 10 postseason touchdown receptions, third-most in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (22) and John Stallworth (12). Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 176 yards and a touchdown last week. He lines up in the slot about half the time, pitting him against Finnegan, who struggled in the second half last week against the Seahawks.

Pick: Panthers 30, Cardinals 28　

Super Bowl 50

Levi’s​​ Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

5:30 p.m. February 7, KTVT/11

The Next Big Games

Super Bowl LI,​​ Houston,​ Feb. 5, 2017 (tentative date)

Super Bowl LII, Minnesota, Feb. 4, 2018 (tentative date)

Third time coming

The San Francisco Bay Area is hosting a Super Bowl for the second time. Here’s how the 50 sites break down by total:

​​New Orleans​ 10

South Florida 10

Los Angeles 7

Tampa Bay 4

Arizona 3

San Diego 3

Detroit 2

Atlanta 2

Houston 2

San Francisco Bay Area 2

North Texas 1

Indianapolis 1

Jacksonville 1

Minneapolis 1

New York/New Jersey 1

Lots of eyes

Last year’s game was the most-watched television show of all time with a record average of 114.4 million viewers in the United States, according to the Nielsen Co.

Cashing out

Each member of the Super Bowl winning team receives $102,000. Each member of the losing team gets $51,000.

Home tag

The AFC champion will be the home team in the Super Bowl and will wear its choice of jersey.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "It’s Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady XVII for AFC title."