Two of the greatest quarterbacks of the past decade will face off for only the second time on Sunday when Aaron Rodgers goes head-to-head with Peyton Manning in a clash between the unbeaten Green Bay Packers and undefeated Denver Broncos.
Packers star Rodgers and Broncos veteran Manning have won seven NFL MVP awards between them, including five in the last seven years, but have only ever played each other once, in 2008, when Manning was still with the Indianapolis Colts.
Since that meeting — a Rodgers-inspired 34-14 Packers win at Lambeau Field — much has changed for the two men.
Manning, 39, left the Colts in 2012 and has not been able to add to his lone Super Bowl triumph from 2007, falling at the final hurdle with the Broncos in a blowout defeat to Seattle in 2014.
Rodgers, 31, meanwhile, has won a Super Bowl and gone on to establish himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, topping the all-time charts for passer rating and touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Rodgers, regarded by many as the natural heir to Manning, speaks in awe of the Denver veteran’s career, now in its 18th season.
“He’s been doing it at the highest level for a long time, so you’ve got to have a ton of respect, and I do,” Rodgers said.
“I appreciate the contributions he’s made to the game. Both on and off the field. He’s a legend.”
Manning meanwhile has been struggling to rediscover his best form despite the Broncos 6-0 start to the season.
So far this season he has thrown seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and admitted this week he was “working hard every day to get better.”
Manning, who turns 40 next March, said he had not set himself a deadline for when to call it a day.
“I never really talked about it in that way as far as a set number of years,” Manning said.
“I think I had one goal coming out, I kind of wanted to play for the same team (my whole career).
“Obviously things happen and it doesn’t always work that way, but I certainly feel fortunate to still be playing and don’t take it for granted. I’m still enjoying it out there.”
While the clash between Rodgers and Manning is the box office storyline, Sunday’s contest could ultimately turn on which defense comes out best.
Denver’s defense leads the rankings in the NFL this year in terms of fewest yards conceded per play and in takeaways per game.
“What defense plays the best, I think that’s who will win the game,” Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said.
Whatever happens, one side will be reflecting on their first defeat of the season after Sunday’s game, only the fourth time in NFL history that two unbeaten sides with records of at least 6-0 have met.
– Roethlisberger eyes return –
Two other 6-0 teams — the Cincinnati Bengals and the Carolina Panthers — will also be in action on Sunday looking to preserve their perfect starts to the campaign.
The undefeated Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to face rivals the Steelers (4-3) aiming to extend their stranglehold on the AFC North.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is aiming to make his first appearance since injuring his knee in the third game of the season at St Louis, and admits he couldn’t have chosen a more daunting assignment for his comeback.
“This is a heck of a test for us,” Roethlisberger said. “This is one of the best teams in football right now,” he said of the Bengals.
The Panthers meanwhile face the struggling Indianapolis Colts (3-4) aiming to remain at least one game clear of NFC South rivals Atlanta (6-1).
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has warned his team about complacency, noting that at the same stage last year their season unraveled with a six-game losing streak.
“As soon as you’re in the limelight, you can be pushed out of it by not playing well,” Rivera said. “Our guys have to stay focused and keep that approach.”