Greatest Sports Rivalries: NFL

So last but definitely not least on my series of greatest sports rivalries is that of my favorite league in all of sports, the NFL. Now I have to be honest the NFL does not quite have a dominant rivalry compared to all the other mentioned leagues in this series. Ohio State-Michigan is the unquestionable top rivalry of college football, Red Sox-Yankees of baseball, Duke-UNC in college basketball, Barcelona-Real Madrid in soccer, and Celtics-Lakers in basketball. However there isn't quite a top-dog NFL rivalry that jumps out at me.

To be fair it seems every divisional team in the NFL is rivals with one another. However the intensity of those rivalries have intensified or fizzled overtime due to the performance of that team. When one team begins to dominate another on a frequent basis, then it should no longer be considered a rivalry. That being said there are still lots of very good ones, old and new, that I am going to mention here.


National Football League

1. Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears  (NFL's most played rivalry)

• Overall Record: Packers lead 97-94-6
• First Match-up Played: Nov 27th, 1921
• Total Meetings: 197
• Total Super Bowls Green Bay Packers: 4
• Total Super Bowls Chicago Bears: 1
• Memorable Moments:
• Dec 14th, 1941: Bears beat the Packers in NFC Playoff game
• Dec 7th, 1980: Bears defeat Packers 61-7; 2nd largest defeat in Packer history 
• Nov 23rd, 1986: Bears defeated Packers, however Bears QB Jim McMahon was injured for rest of season in this game thus ruining their chances for a Super Bowl repeat
• Jan 23rd, 2011: Packers beat the Bears in NFC Championship game
• Dec 29th, 2013: Packers defeated Bears in a thrilling final game of the season which determined the divisional champs 
• Sept 9th, 2018: Aaron Rodgers leads Packers to a 17 point comeback against the Bears in the 4th quarter

2. Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers

• Overall Record: Steelers lead 28-22
• First Match-up Played: Sept 8th, 1996
• Total Meetings: 50 
• Total Super Bowls for Baltimore Ravens: 2
• Total Super Bowls Pittsburgh Steelers: 6
• Memorable Moments:
• Dec 12th, 1999: Ravens WR Qadry Ismail goes for 258 yards to help Ravens defeat Steelers first time at their home
• Jan 20th, 2002: Steelers defeat Ravens in AFC Divisional Playoff game
• Jan 18th, 2009: Steelers defeat Ravens in AFC Championship Playoff game
• Jan 15th, 2011: Steelers defeat Ravens in AFC Divisional Playoff game
• Jan 3rd, 2015: Ravens defeat Steelers in AFC Wildcard game
• Dec 25th, 2016: Steelers defeat Ravens in Christmas day thriller to secure playoff spot and eliminate Ravens from playoff contention

3. San Francisco 49ers vs Dallas Cowboys

• Overall Record: Cowboys lead 18-17-1
• First Match-up Played: Nov 20th, 1960
• Total Meetings: 36
• Total Super Bowls for San Francisco 49ers: 5
• Total Super Bowls for Dallas Cowboys: 5
• Memorable Moments:
• Jan 3rd, 1971: Cowboys defeated 49ers in the NFC Championship game
• Jan 2nd, 1972: Cowboys defeated 49ers in the NFC Championship game
• Dec 23rd, 1972: Cowboys defeated 49ers in NFC Divisional Playoff game
• Jan 10th, 1982: 49ers defeated the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game where the famous Joe Montana to Dwight Clark "Catch" took place for the win
• Jan 23rd, 1993: Cowboys defeated 49ers in NFC Championship game
• Jan 16th, 1994: Cowboys defeated 49ers in NFC Championship game
• Jan 15th, 1995: Cowboys defeated 49ers in NFC Championship game
• Sept 18th, 2011: Cowboys defeated 49ers in regular season overtime thriller

4. Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears

• Overall Record: Bears lead 99-74-5
• First Match-up Played: Oct 22nd, 1930
• Total Meetings: 178
• Total Super Bowls for Chicago Bears: 1
• Total Super Bowls for Detroit Lions: 0
• Memorable Moments:
• Dec 18th, 1932: Bears defeat Spartans in Playoff match
• November 1934: Lions host first Thanksgiving tradition game against Bears, in which the Bears won
• Oct 24th, 1971: Yet another routine win for the Bears, however Lions WR died on the field,. the only NFL player in history to die on the field
• Sept, 2010: Calvin Johnson makes an incredible touchdown catch at end of the game, however the call is later reversed to give the Bears the win. This call would eventually change the rulings of a reception 

5. Green Bay Packers vs Dallas Cowboys

• Overall Record: Packers lead 19-17
• First Match-up Played: Nov 6th, 1960
• Total Meetings: 35
• Total Super Bowls: 4
• Total Super Bowls: 5
• Memorable Moments:
• Jan 1st, 1967: Packers defeated Cowboys in NFC Championship game
• Dec 31st, 1967: The Ice Bowl; Packers overcame brutal cold conditions of under -15 degrees to defeat the Cowboys for a 2nd consecutive NFC Championship
• Jan 16th, 1983: Cowboys defeated Packers in NFC divisional playoff game
• Jan 16th, 1994: Cowboys defeated Packers in NFC divisional playoff game
• Jan 8th, 1995: Cowboys defeated Packers in NFC divisional playoff game
• Jan 14th, 1996: Cowboys defeated Packers in NFC Championship game
• Jan 11th, 2015: Packers defeated Cowboys in controversial NFC divisional playoff game where Dez Bryant's incredible catch was over-turned
• Jan 15th, 2017: Packers defeated Cowboys in a thrilling NFC divisional playoff game that saw Aaron Rodgers pull off some impossible throws

6. Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals

• Overall Record: Bengals lead 50-40
• First Match-up Played: Oct 11th, 1970
• Total Meetings: 90
• Total Championships for Cleveland Browns: 0
• Total Championships Cincinnati Bengals: 0
• Memorable Moments:
• Oct 11th 1970: Inaugural game where Paul Brown, coach of the Bengals, refuses to shake hands with Browns head coach, after being fired by them
• 2004: Bengals defeat Browns 58-48, in 2nd highest total scoring game of all time
• 2007: Browns defeat Bengals 51-45 in 8th highest total scoring game of all time
• 2017: Bengals sweep the Browns; Browns go 0-16

7. Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins

• Overall Record: Cowboys lead 71-45-2
• First Match-up Played: First game played Oct 2nd, 1960
• Total Meetings: 118
• Total Super Bowls for Dallas Cowboys: 5
• Total Super Bowls for Washington Redskins: 3
• Memorable Moments:
• Dec 31st, 1972: Redskins defeat Cowboys in NFC Playoff Game
• Jan 22nd, 1983: Redskins defeat Cowboys in NFC Championship Game
• Sept 9th, 2005: Cowboys Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith were inducted into ring of honor, however Redskins spoiled the party by defeating them in the final few minutes.
• Nov 5th, 2006: The final 30 seconds of this game was a roller coaster of emotions with blocked field goal attempts, penalties, and a crazy victory for Washington

8. Philadelphia Eagles vs New York Giants

• Overall Record: Series ties 86-86-2 
• First Match-up Played: Oct 15th, 1933
• Total Meetings: 173
• Total Championships Philadelphia Eagles: 1
• Total Championships New York Giants: 4
• Memorable Moments:
• Nov 19th, 1978: Miracle at the Meadowlands; Eagles DB Herm Edwards recovered a fumble to steal a victory against the Giants
• Dec 27th, 1981: Giants defeat Eagles in NFC Playoff game
• Jan 7th, 2001: Giants defeat Eagles in NFC Playoff game
• Jan 7th, 2007: Eagles defeat Giants in NFC Playoff game
• Jan 11th, 2009: Eagles defeat Giants in NFC Playoff game
• Dec 19th, 2010: Eagles comeback to win from a 31-10 deficit with 8 mins to go

9. Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriots

• Overall Record: Patriots lead 52-29
• First Match-up Played: Oct 4th, 1970
• Total Meetings: 81 meetings
• Total Super Bowls for Indianapolis Colts: 1
• Total Super Bowls New England Patriots: 5
• Memorable Moments:
• Sept 30th, 2001: 1st of the Manning-Brady match-ups; Patriots win
• Jan 18th, 2004: Patriots defeat Colts in AFC Playoff game
• Jan 16th, 2005: Patriots defeat Colts in AFC Playoff game
• Jan 21st, 2007: Colts defeat Patriots in AFC Championship game
• Jan 11th, 2014: Patriots defeat Colts in AFC Playoff game
• Jan 18th, 2015: Patriots defeat Colts in AFC Championship game
• Feb 2018: Josh McDaniels rejects a head-coaching position with the Colts to stay with the Patriots

10. Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers ("Longest Continuing Running Rivalry in NFL)

• Overall Record: Packers lead 100-71-7
• First Match-up Played: Nov 2nd, 1930
• Total Meetings: 178 
• Total Super Bowls for Lions: 0
• Total Super Bowls for Green Bay Packers: 4
• Memorable Moments:
• Nov 24th, 1940: Packers defeated Lions 50-7, biggest deficit in rivalry history
• Oct 7th, 1945: Packers set a record that still stands today for most points scored in a single quarter, 41 points
• Jan 8th, 1994: Packers defeated Lions in NFC Playoff Game
• Dec 31st, 1994: Packers defeated Lions in NFC Playoff Game
• Dec 28th, 2008: Packers defeated Lions in last game of season to send them to 0-16
• Nov 15th, 2015: Lions defeated Packers in a thrilling overtime showdown which became their first win at Lambeau Field since 1991
• Dec 3rd, 2015: Miracle in Motown where Aaron Rodgers overcame a 20 point deficit and threw a walk-off hailmary touchdown to win the game

Honorable Mention

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Dallas Cowboys
New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos
New York Giants vs New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys
Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons
Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings
Oakland Raiders vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinatti Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers