Legacy has been the buzzword leading up to the AFC Championship Game. The talk has been about Peyton Manning needing to win this game in enhancing a reputation of being an all-time great quarterback. It’s about beating Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots, which has been a sore spot in the Broncos quarterback’s career.
Manning is 4-10 against his friend in his career, and 1-2 in the playoffs. He may not make it up by evening up the record, but people will forget that temporarily if he can win Sunday.
He knows he has to play well if he and the Broncos will have a chance to go to the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium in two weeks. It’s only fitting the Patriots quarterback is in his way. It’s the way it should be.
Beating the Patriots is one of the three goals Manning had in mind along with playing in the Super Bowl and winning it.
He knows criticism will come if he loses this game. That comes with the territory when great players are held to a high standard. It’s one he is willing to deal with.
Manning’s opportunity of winning a championship is shrinking each year. It gets harder to win playoff games every year, and he knows this from his past playoff failures. That’s why he has this sense of urgency to get it done this year.
It’s a must for the Broncos quarterback to get one more championships to cement his legacy of being a great quarterback. While he won one, it’s not good enough. Great quarterbacks at least have two on their resume. He knows this as much as anyone. It’s why he is still playing at the age of 37.
While Manning has the most pressure, no one should discount what this game means to Brady and Belichick. There should be growing pressure for those two with both of them about to be in their tail end of their careers.
It’s been awhile for the Patriots quarterback since he won a championship. He has been stuck with three championships since he last won it in the 2004 season. After winning three championships in his first four years, the thought was he would overlap Joe Montana with most championships by now.
Who can blame anyone for feeling that way about Brady? He always shines in the playoffs. He made it look easy all those years. It’s shocking to watch him go through a championship drought.
Brady has created such a high standard that folks want more. Being the perfectionist he is, he puts pressure on himself to win a championship.
He wants to be known as the best quarterback ever. It means something for him to top his idol in Montana, who has four Super Bowl rings. That’s why no one should underestimate how much this game means to him.
Like Manning, Brady has few more good years in him. He does not want to waste them by falling short of a championship. That’s why he has a sense of urgency.
Pressure is on Belichick as crazy as it sounds, but it’s the truth. There are critics who will never let Spygate go. They said he needs to win a championship without cheating by spying on other team’s practices and picking up signs.
The future Hall of Fame shouldn’t apologize for anything. Cheating takes place with coaches than people think. With that said, perception becomes reality. The more he goes on without championships since post-Spygate, the more he gives his critics fodder about his lack of championships. It’s a sick way to judge a coach, but everyone is waiting to criticize.
This has to hurt Belichick than he is going to show. The only way he can shut his critics up is winning a championship. This could be the year. It’s something that would mean a lot to him after watching his players such as Jerod Mayo, Vince WIlfork and Rob Gronkowski go down with injuries. He can prove that he can win a championship with good coaching, not cheating.
The pressure and the struggles make this championship game appealing to the casual fan. It’s why CBS could have the biggest rating ever for a NFL game.
One will enhance his reputation, and one will take a hit. It’s more than just going to the Super Bowl.
Sunday’s game should tell the story of Manning, Brady and Belichick.
It always is when those three interwine.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
