Belichick: 'I would never, ever, ever underestimate' Peyton Manning

By Zack Cox

FOXBORO, Mass. — Peyton Manning is not the same quarterback he was earlier in his Hall of Fame career, but he continues to garner unwavering respect from the team he’s set to face this weekend.

“Peyton’s a great player,” New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday, four days before his team’s meeting with Manning’s Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

“We’ve had tremendous battles against him through the years. There isn’t a player off our team that I have any more respect for than Peyton Manning. His preparation, his consistency, his skill — I would never, ever, ever underestimate him under any circumstance.”

Tom Brady, the Patriots’ longtime quarterback and Manning’s longtime foil, shared his coach’s sentiments.

“There are a lot of things (that make Manning great),” Brady said. “I think just his consistency, the durability, his ability to always seem to come through. He’s just been an incredible player, and incredible leader for his team. There have been so many games as a team he’s been a part of that they’ve won. So, you can see that he leads a great team.”

Manning, Sunday’s projected starter, was an observer when these teams last met in Week 12. Denver went with backup Brock Osweiler for that game, and the 25-year-old led the Broncos to a 30-24 overtime win in just his second career start.

Can the Broncos make it two in a row over the Patriots this weekend? Well, of the Pats’ last four postseason losses, three came against teams they also lost to during the regular season.

“It can feel like we’re back in the division here,” Belichick said. “Second time around against Denver. It’s a team that we’ve had a great rivalry with, and obviously, they’re the No. 1 seed. They’re the best team we’ve played this year. … (They) beat us earlier in the year, so we know we’re going to need our best game Sunday, and that’s what we’re working toward to make sure we do everything and our preparation and execution are the very best they can be. I think that’s what it’s going to take.

Sunday will be Brady and Manning’s fifth postseason meeting and their 17th overall, a stat Brady called “pretty cool.”

More from NESN.com: