Posted: 11/1/07 Section: Sports

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, chats with Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning after the Patriots beat the Colts 27-24 on Sept. 9, 2004 in Foxborough, Mass. With Brady on pace to shatter Manning's single-season record for touchdown passes, Sunday's game between the Patriots and Colts pits two of the league's best quarterbacks in what could be another memorable battle.

INDIANAPOLIS - Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have swapped victories, awards and championships. Now they might be trading records, too.

The feature attraction in this week's showdown pits Brady, on pace to shatter the league's single-season records for touchdown passes and passer rating, versus Manning, the man he's chasing.

It's the personal duel of the season.

"As a quarterback, you're always trying to get into that rhythm, that zone, whatever you want to call it," Manning said. "You are throwing passes before they're coming out of their breaks, you anticipate where they're going to be. Every play that is called, you kind of feel it's going to work, it's going to be a touchdown."

Few rivalries have so much intensity and even fewer conjure up such strongly debated headliners.

Manning and Brady both have Super Bowl wins, Super Bowl MVP awards and have become playoff fixtures. They've been to the Pro Bowl together and grown accustomed to these personal battles that always seem to come twice a year. They pride themselves on preparation and execution.

While past arguments tended to focus on the glaring omissions from their resumes - Manning had the impressive numbers and awards but no championships, while Brady had the titles but numbers that paled in comparison - the league's top two quarterbacks now seem content in reversed roles.

Manning's more-balanced offense leads the league in touchdowns rushing (12) this season, while Brady has relied more on his new receiving corps to catch short passes and break off long runs.

Brady, the three-time Super Bowl winner, is throwing touchdowns with as much regularity as a pitcher throwing fastballs. Through eight games, he has 30 TD passes, 19 short of Manning's record, and a 136.2 passer rating, well ahead of Manning's best of 121.1.

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