Beyond the Touchdowns and the Tackles, These Rivalries Have Become a Cultural Phenomenon
The Birth of a Rivalry
NFL football produces excitement weekly because every regular season game is essential due to the playoff race. The excitement increases even more when two teams are bitter rivals. There are some biggest rivalries in the NFL, and you can find NFL lines tonight by BetUS. What makes a rivalry in the NFL considered great?
What Makes an NFL Rivalry Great
Many of the best rivalries in the NFL are formed when two teams are geographically close. When two cities are near, there is already some trash-talk that forms between the people living there. People are naturally proud creatures and want to believe that where they live is the best.
Another factor that helps form the biggest NFL rivalries is when the two teams are in the same division. Division opponents play each other twice a year, adding familiarity. Also, winning the division grants a spot in the playoffs, which means division opponents are constantly jostling for the top spot, so they have high Super Bowl Odds.
The greatest rivalries are formed when two teams are among the best in the league year after year. When two top dogs collide, whether in the regular season or playoffs, it is always a spectacle and provides extra energy in the stadium.
Bad blood is a factor in the greatest NFL rivalries that cannot be overlooked. Some of the greatest rivalries were formed when football was coveted for its hard hits. Football is an aggressive sport that is better to watch when there is a little trash-talking, and the teams do not like each other.
Those are some of the reasons why NFL rivalries began and what makes them great. Many rivalries are connected to different eras in the NFL. Some of the greatest have persisted throughout the franchises’ ups and downs.
Top-7 NFL Rivalries Ranked
7. Broncos–Raiders Raiders: 73-54-2
It’s an AFC West rivalry that dates back to 1960. Since then, the Broncos and Raiders have had the most frequent Monday Night Football matchups in league history, with 20. The Raiders had the Broncos’ number early on until the turn of the century. Recently, the Broncos took down their foes 34-18 in Week 5 to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Raiders.
6. Falcons-Saints Falcons: 56–55
The two teams were the NFL’s first in the traditional Deep South when the Saints joined the league a year after the Falcons in 1967. The Falcons were the opponent in the Saints’ first game in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and at the time, the game was the highest-rated program in ESPN’s history. That was the beginning of the rivalry heating up. The following few decades will be remembered as the Brees–Ryan era of the rivalry, which provided many great matchups between two of the best quarterbacks.
5. Cowboys-49ers 49ers: 20-19-1
It is the first rivalry on the list of teams not in the same division. Even so, no rivalry has produced more all-time games. The teams have played each other eight times in the NBA playoffs, leading to both franchise high points and iconic moments.
The rivalry transcends eras and has produced some of the greatest players ever. Both franchises have won five Super Bowls and seemingly always had to get through one another to win the championship.
4. Patriots-Jets Patriots: 74-55-1
The Patriots and Jets have been division rivals since their inception in 1960. The Jets dominated the first two decades of the matchup, but it’s been all Patriots ever since. The rivalry took a heated turn when Patriots coach Bill Parcells left and joined the Jets the year after leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
A few years later, the Patriots signed Jets assistant coach Bill Belichick, and as they say, the rest is history. Belichick went on to dominate the Jets and the rest of the league on his way to winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots.
3. Ravens-Steelers Steelers: 35-25
The Ravens became a team in Baltimore in 1996, making this the newest rivalry on the list. Although it is new, it is widely considered one of the NFL’s most intense and physical rivalries.
They have both been good since the Ravens became a team, each winning two Super Bowls since 2000. They consistently battle for the top of the AFC North and are the only two teams ever to win a Super Bowl in the Division. This is precisely what a good rivalry should look like when you watch these two teams try to destroy each other when they take the field.
2. Giants-Eagles Eagles: 94-89-2
The rivalry began in 1933 with the founding of the Eagles. As a good rivalry should be, these two teams are practically even. The teams have played in the same division and amassed over 180 games, yet five wins are all that separates them.
The City of Brotherly Love has no love for the Big Apple, which is two hours away, and their football teams play like it. There have been countless memorable moments in this rivalry, but none as impactful as The Miracle at the Meadowlands in 1978.
1. Bears-Packers Packers: 107-95-6
This rivalry is as old as professional football and has defined the sport over the years and is a constant headline in NFL news. They are two of the oldest teams in the NFL and have combined for 22 NFL Championships. They hold the top two spots for most wins all-time, with the Packers surpassing the Bears in a game they won over their rivals in 2022. The two franchises have produced some of the NFL’s most iconic games and players, with a combined 70 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Packers have dominated this rivalry so much recently that it’s beginning to feel less like a rivalry. But the Bears look to set things straight with Caleb Williams at the helm, and if they want people to take them seriously, they need to start with their oldest foe.