Listen to the full interview via the US Sports podcast.

If one game is going to send the hype machine into overdrive this weekend, it's the NFL Playoff showdown between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots quarterbacks face off in the AFC Conference Championship on Sunday and inevitably the rivalry between the duo is stealing the headlines.

To preview the encounter - which could be their last pitting of wits if Manning decides to retire - we spoke to legendary Boston writer Charlie Pierce.

"They've tracked each other their entire careers. Peyton Manning started out well ahead of Tom Brady as the No 1 draft pick in the NFL. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick and wasn't well thought of. But then [Brady] got the starting job at the Patriots through a serendipitous accident and became a Hall of Fame player," said Pierce.

"The remarkable thing about these two is how closely their careers attract. One of Peyton Manning's primary weapons was one of the reasons why Tom Brady doesn't have his primary weapons anymore because he went from New England to Denver for more money and because he thought Denver had a better chance of winning the Superbowl. Brady has adapted tremendously this year to a lack of weapons on offence and horrendous injuries on the defensive side of the ball and it transformed the Patriots into a power running team."   

Two-time MVP and three-time Superbowl champion Brady has coped remarkably well with the upheaval after tight end Aaron Hernandez was released following his indictment on murder charges, while fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski has been injured.

"He's very football intelligent. What's always been the case with him has been his ability to get other people to invest themselves in what he's trying to do, whether that's team-mates or coaches. He's developed the art of being a team-mate to its highest point," said Pierce who cited his charisma and leadership.

"I wouldn't minimize [Peyton Manning's] abilities as a leader. You get the idea that the entire team revolves around Peyton Manning more than the entire team revolves around Tom Brady in the sense that teams get designed to suit Peyton Manning. Tom Brady has had to adapt to a plan by his franchise far more than Peyton Manning ever has." 

But Pierce expects the Broncos to beat Brady's Patriots "very narrowly".