The Packers have dominated the Bears for more than three decades as QB play, including Aaron Rodgers, have given them the edge over their long-time rivals. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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The NFL is all about winning championships. The end goal is always the same for high-level teams. It’s Super Bowl or bust, and getting close but losing in the playoffs is always painful.
But in the process of game planning for every opponent, there are a number of games that will get the attention of coaches and players because they have extra meaning. Rivalry games can get the attention of players because the idea of beating a team’s top opponent provides a little extra juice as the season plays out.
Conversely, losing to the team’s key rival can drain energy and cause more than the usual amount of pain. While NFL rivalries are often underplayed, here’s a look at several of the game’s top rivalries. These battles earn their status by length of time, geography and hatred between the two teams.
1. Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears
This one has been there forever because the Bears and Packers are the two oldest teams in the league. The Packers have been rolling in this rivalry for more than 30 years, as the team’s edge at the quarterback position with Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love have been far superior to the Bears litany of struggling signal callers.
The Packers lead the all-time series by a 106-96-6 margin. The Packers have a remarkable 44-14 edge since the second meeting the 1992 season.
These two teams have written much of the history of the league and they are linked forever, but the Packers have taken charge of their old rivals and show no signs of giving that edge away.
2. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders
This was the rivalry that defined the American Football League throughout the 1960s, and these teams have hated each other for 65 years.
Al Davis built a powerhouse of a team that played with a nasty edge in the Raiders, while Lamar Hunt built a pro football league that eventually merged into the NFL and pushed it into modern times. Davis and Hunt were on the same side when it came to building the AFL brand, but the on-field confrontations between their team were always mean, nasty and impossible to turn away from.
The Chiefs had the early edge by representing the AFL in Super Bowl I and winning Super Bowl IV, but the Raiders moved ahead when they won three Super Bowls between 1977 and 1984.
The modern era has seen the Chiefs take charge with three more Super Bowl wins under the leadership of head coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs have a 75-55-2 edge in the all-time series and have won 20 of the last 24 meetings between the historic rivals.
3. Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys have rivalries with every one of their NFC East opponents, but the rivalry with the Eagles is the one that is fueled with seemingly an unending amount of hate.
The Cowboys became a league power in their early years under Tom Landry and they beat the Eagles with regularity until the Eagles defeated the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game following the 1980 season over the Cowboys under head coach Dick Vermeil.
The battles between the Jimmy Johnson-led Cowboys and the Buddy Ryan’s Eagles were among the most vicious that the game has ever seen. The Cowboys were superior and won three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. The Eagles have pulled ahead dramatically as they have climbed to the top of the NFC while the Cowboys have become also-rans.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series by a 74-59-0 margin, but the Eagles have won four of the last five meetings.
PITTSBURGH, PA – JANUARY 03: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers meets head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens twice every year. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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4. Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Ravens have become AFC North powerhouses since the original Cleveland Browns moved to Charm City before the start of the 1996 season. They have regularly had to battle the Steelers for division superiority since that point.
The rivalry between the two team goes back to merger of the AFL and NFL when Steelers owner Art Rooney and then-Browns owner Art Modell moved their teams into the American Football Conference even though both had been in the NFL (NFC) originally.
The games between the Ravens and the Steelers feature the two longest-serving head coaches in the NFL in John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin. Both coaches know each other’s strategy intimately, but it comes down to quarterback play along with precision and viciousness on defense to decide the winner.
The Steelers lead the series 36-27-0 and won both games during the 2024 season. Prior to that, the Ravens had won eight of nine games.
5. San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams
There is a level of discontent between the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles that is obvious throughout the sporting world. However, it started when the 49ers joined the NFL from the All-American Football Conference in 1950.
The Rams were the glamour team on the West Coast while the 49ers went from being a powerful team in the AAFC to a 3-9 team in the NFL. The Rams remained a winning team to be reckoned with through the ‘60s and ‘70s, while the Niners didn’t rise to the top of the league until the Bill Walsh-Joe Montana era that saw the team win four Super Bowls.
There was palpable anger between the fan bases of the two teams and that remained intact until the Rams moved to St. Louis after the 1994 season. The rivalry has returned with a flourish since the Rams moved back to Los Angeles in 2016.
The 49ers caught and passed the Rams in the all-time series and hold a 79-71-3 edge in the series.
Other key rivalries
New England Patriots’ Tom Brady, right, shakes hands with Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning after a game between New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium,. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
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6. New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts – Quarterback duels between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning along with “Deflategate” have highlighted this rivalry. The Patriots lead the series 53-32-0.
7. Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers – The battles in the 1990s between quarterbacks Joe Montana and Troy Aikman basically defined the NFL during that decade and the anger remains even though the Cowboys have slipped from their once-lofty perch. The 49ers lead the series 21-19-1.
8. Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings – While the Packers-Bears rivalry is the NFL’s oldest, the hatred between these two division rivals has often been at an even greater level. The Packers lead the series 66-60-3.
9. Buffalo Bills vs. New England – This rivalry had its roots as both were original AFL teams and the Bills clearly had the early edge. However, the Patriots became the NFL’s dominant team and the Bills became the weak sisters. The rivalry has turned once again in Buffalo’s favor, and the games are always hard hitting. The Patriots lead the series 80-51-1.
10. Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints – These two became expansion brethren when the Falcons joined the NFL in 1966 and the Saints joined them the following year. Both teams were bottom feeders early on, but they battled each other for respectability. The volatility between the two teams has remained intact in all the years of the rivalry. The series between the Falcons and Saints is tied 56-56-0.
