Mind games between Patriots-Broncos before big game Sunday

This week’s edition of The Norris & Davis Show best of includes interviews with Gary Myers about Brady vs Manning, and Capitals color commentator Craig Laughlin about the team’s unbelievable start to the season.

FILE -Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots congratulates Peyton Manning #18 of the Denver Broncos after the Broncos defeated the Patriots 26 to 16 during the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 19, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. I told him that probably the closest thing was a guy named Jessie Armstead, but that was a long time ago in NY.

You have to believe the Cardinals and Panthers are the two best teams remaining in the playoffs and they’ve been the two best teams all season long, but one team will begin its offseason on Monday.

“Every time he gets sacked, he looks at the ref like, ‘You see him sack me?” The Brady and Manning comparison will be a hot topic around televisions around the country, and with four Supers Bowls for Brady and five NFL MVPs for Manning, both sides can make an argument for greatest quarterback of this era.

Both Brady, 38, and Manning, a creaking 39-year-old, may be on the downward slope of brilliant careers but the rivalry, hyped to the extreme, still holds an undeniable allure. Manning and Brady have met once a season except when Brady was hurt in 2008 and Manning injured in 2011.

They don’t need each other to fuel the flame that still burns within.

Two key players to watch from New England’s offense is wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski.

The truth is, they are pretty smack dab even when it comes head-to-head matchups in the playoffs.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning passes during an NFL football practice at the team’s headquarters Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Englewood, Colo.

Peyton Manning looks to pass against the Patriots during the AFC championship game on January 19, 2014, in Denver. In an official press release, the Denver Broncos star was quoted as saying that competing against Brady had brought him “great honor and privilege”.

The first two are the conference championship games, which will take place Monday morning Australian time, with the last being – of course – the Super Bowl. A big pick late by New England seals it and puts them back in the Super Bowl. Whatever he’s been doing for the past two decades has certainly kept them at the top of the game. Yes, Brady owns the regular season series against Manning 11 to 5, but in the playoffs, they are each 2-2, with Manning holding a 2-1 edge in AFC Championships.

The Panthers and the Cardinals faced against each other on NFL Wild Card Weekend last season. Palmer won the trophy symbolic of the best collegiate American football player in 2002 while Newton took it in 2010. However, Brady is just 2-6 in Denver, not good stats when playing for a trip to your second straight Super Bowl. The Cardinals made the Super Bowl during the 2008 regular season but fell short against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl, again.