NFL games get an extra edge when true rivals meet
The NFL has been around in its current formation – give or take a few franchises – for six decades now. Add another half-century back to 1920 when you take the original league that kicked off in Canton.
That’s plenty of time to generate bad blood between certain teams. It’s funny how the rivalry carries over from one era to the next. Some teams just get under the other team’s skin, and it’s go time for fans and players.
Betting on NFL rivalries gets extra attention too. The games are usually closer than they should be talent-wise. Keep an eye on the following NFL rivalries as a fan and as a bettor. And fade the ones that just seem to be media hype.
The Old Football Wars That Still Matter
These classic rivalries all bring instant memories to mind when the NFL schedule is released each year. The fans add some extra decibels to the game, players on both sides get fired up, and they turn a regular-season game into a playoff atmosphere.
Each of these came from some kind of history between the two teams. That history impacts NFL betting patterns too. The books might price them accurately in any given year, but sharps know that rivalry games, especially divisional ones where teams square off twice in the same season, often result in tighter spreads.
Bears vs. Packers
This is the league’s oldest and most frequently played rivalry. These NFC OG’s have more than 200 games between them, with roots that go back to the 1920s. The schedule shows up with these games on the calendar, and football fans can instantly picture Vince Lombardi’s Packers dominating the ‘60s, with Dick Butkus menacing the field for the Bears at the same time. The hatred has never really faded.
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have dominated Chicago in the last 20 years, with Rodgers even calling out Bears fans with an epic “All my bleeping life, I still own you!” during a game in 2021, a trash talk moment that was captured on a national TV broadcast. The Bears couldn’t really say much back. The Packers have won the last 9 of 10 against Chicago.
Cowboys vs. 49ers
This rivalry doesn’t come from twice-a-season divisional battles. It was born in the ‘70s but the Cowboys were so dominant that it didn’t move the needle. The rivalry took off in the playoffs during the 80s and 90s. Joe Montana and Dwight Clark connecting for “The Catch” over the Cowboys in an amazing 1981 NFC Championship game showed the Cowboys that a new dynasty was being born. The Cowboys had to sit back in stew while Montana took the Niners to 4 Super Bowl wins in the next 9 years.
It swung back in the 1990s though. Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin took over, even though Steve Young and Jerry Rice took one more Lombardi trophy in 1995. Terrell Owens kicked off a mid-field brawl when he tried to show up the Cowboys a few years later. It’s just on every time they meet. The teams don’t play each other much, but it’s must-see TV when it happens.
Lately, San Francisco has bragging rights, with two straight playoffs wins in 2022 and 2023 over the ‘Boys.
Mahomes vs. Burrow and Allen
Quarterback rivalries are hyped too much sometimes, but Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow and Mahomes vs. Josh Allen are the real deal. Burrow and Cincinnati walked into Arrowhead twice in the 2021 season (mid-dynasty time for KC) and took both games, including the AFC Championship. Allen and the Bills have had some epic losses in the last 5 years against Mahomes and the Chiefs. All three QBs are still in their prime and the history is piling up fast to make these games essential viewing.
The Rivalries the Cameras Want You to Care About
These next ones are more manufactured than organic. They’re not just limited to team vs. team either. They’re usually aimed at pumping up TV ratings than the actual history on the field deserves.
Any “Brady vs. Random QB” Spin-offs
During Tom Brady’s final New England years and even into his Tampa Bay period, every matchup with a hot young QB like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Allen got pitched as the next great rivalry. Now that Brady is in the broadcast booth, Mahomes is stepping into the GOAT’s shoes as far as the media goes, so you’ll see more “Mahomes vs. XYZ QB” every year.
In reality, most teams outside the divisional matchups usually don’t play each other often enough. The stakes usually aren’t there. It’s why we can’t recall any Patriots-Ravens classics, for example. The tension that the promo people try to create is more about the two players – who might have played each other once or twice only – than any genuine beef between two teams.
The Dallas Cowboys vs. Anyone
Dallas is a TV ratings gift. Although the numbers are slipping – other teams are catching up – the Cowboys simply get more eyeballs than every other NFL team on average. Networks want to juice this even more, so they’ll pitch almost any Cowboys game as a rivalry showdown. Dallas vs. other NFC East teams do have legitimate history. But Dallas vs. any random AFC contender or some mediocre NFC South team often doesn’t register for any real NFL fans.
The storylines they pitch often lean hard on nostalgia – maybe a playoff or Super Bowl rematch from 30+ years ago. But the talent currently on the field often doesn’t measure up, and the players themselves probably don’t get fired up for a team they’ll face once every 5-10 years.
“Battle of the State” Games
These ones get pushed because, well, geography. Games like Jaguars vs. Dolphins is a Florida-specific game, sure. But ask any fan about the other team and you’ll probably get a solid “meh”. Maybe the weather’s too nice to really care. More likely, people need to feel an organic dislike between teams. In reality, there is zero history between many state “battles” like this. This is the opposite of NCAA football state rivalries, which are often as real as it gets.
Same with Dallas vs. Houston. Different conferences, rare meetings between the two – nothing adds up to much heat (yet, at least). They even have a supposed trophy at stake called the Governor’s Cup (no, we didn’t know about it either). Dallas has the edge in the overall record between the two teams at just 4-3, and they’ve never met in the NFL Playoffs.
At the end of the day, real, legitimate NFL rivalries grow out of repetition, superstar talent, and big playoff consequences, maybe with a solid brawl during the game here and there. The media can try to manufacture rivalries, but the fan bases decide what actually sticks.