When the Colts snagged Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the natural comparison was to the man he replaced, Peyton Manning.

Both were top picks, both were can’t-miss prospects coming out of college. Both had poise, intelligence, maturity and an ability to read defenses beyond their years. And both did well by the Colts in their rookie seasons.

But the way Luck has managed to sell his team into believing they can win under any circumstance brings to mind another quarterback. It’s the one he’ll be facing Saturday in the AFC divisional round.

The way the Colts trust in Luck, the way they are convinced no lead is insurmountable with him at the helm, brings back memories of a young Tom Brady.

Watching Luck refuse to lose is so Brady-like. Watching him do the unthinkable against the Chiefs, down 38-10 in the third quarter, having that undying will to win, brings images of Brady to mind.

While Brady wasn’t the golden boy of the draft like Luck and Manning, he wound up the golden boy of the NFL for his ability to play well when the chips were down, and get those around him to follow suit.

That’s what we’ve been hearing about Luck the past two years, and most recently, after Saturday’s miracle wild card win over the Chiefs.

“He kept telling us, even at 38-10, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ ” Colts offensive lineman Anthony Castonzo was quoted as saying after the game.

Another former Boston College lineman, Gosder Cherilus, also praised Luck when asked about the second-greatest comeback in NFL playoff history.

“Andrew kept saying, ‘Stay with me, stay with me,’ ” Cherilus said. “He willed us to this win.”

The glowing words spoken by Colts players after that improbable win sound like many uttered by Patriots players who gushed about No. 12 after wins during the past dozen or so years. They’re eerily similar.

While Luck has been adept at putting together comebacks and game-winning drives in his first two seasons, he’s about to go up against the master of the comeback, the wizard of the game-winning drive.

Brady has been doing the comeback thing since he first took over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001. It’s been embedded in his resume the past 13 years.

Was anyone thinking he could lead the Pats to a game-winning field goal during that first Super Bowl victory against the Rams in February 2002?

Commentators were telling Brady to take a knee and go to overtime after the Rams tied the game at 17 with 1:30 to play, and the Pats got the ball back with no timeouts. But Brady calmly led the Pats down the field to set up Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired.

Even this season, Brady still shows that same unwavering resolve and determination. He doesn’t go down without a fight. A lot of people had left Gillette Stadium at halftime of the Denver game, with the Pats down 24-0 to the Broncos. They left the Pats for dead, with no chance. Much like Luck and the Colts on Saturday, the Pats were dead and buried under an avalanche of mistakes and turnovers in the first half. Only Brady had other ideas. He brought them back, and got some help along the way from his teammates, who rallied around his lead.

That was just one of his five game-winning drives this year. Career-wise, the Patriots quarterback has authored 42 game-winning drives in 14 seasons. In his second season, Luck is up to 11, including four this season.

The point here is, when the two face off on Saturday, in some ways, Brady will be looking out into a mirror, and seeing a younger version of himself when he’s on the sideline watching his counterpart. He’ll see that same kid who hates to lose, and hates to make mistakes.

Granted, there are plenty of differences between the two. Unlike Luck, Brady can’t run a lick. He’s no threat on third down to make a defense pay with his feet.

But when it comes to staging the impossible, and getting teammates to believe they can do just about anything, that’s where Luck is starting to look a lot like Brady. When these two are involved, no lead is safe. And that very well could be the storyline on Saturday.