Before referee Pete Morelli tosses the coin to decide who gets the ball to start Sunday’s game between the Bengals and Steelers at Heinz Field, he should introduce each team with the preface “In this corner … .”
Morelli and his crew have been put on “high alert” by the NFL, according to ESPN.com, because of all the physical damage and histrionics that took place in the three meetings between the teams last year.
Combine all that with the Steelers’ 18-16 win over the Bengals in last year’s AFC wild-card classic, and the Bengals have surpassed the Ravens as the Steelers’ biggest rival for the moment.
There are other rivalries around the NFL that have been heightened in recent years and become more heated than the league’s traditional rivalries.
History aside, which NFL rivalries are the biggest right now, one week into the 2016 season?
No. 6: Giants-Redskins
The Giants have won five of their last six games against the Redskins and lead the all-time series 97-65-4. This might seem a little one-sided to be considered a rivalry, but it crossed the threshold when Josh Norman signed with the Redskins. Now Norman and Odell Beckham Jr. will square off twice a year, making the games between these teams two of the most anticipated matchups of the season. Their first bout comes in Week 3 at MetLife Stadium, with the rematch scheduled for Week 17 in Washington.
No. 5: Patriots-Broncos
This is the only non-division rivalry on the list, even if Peyton Manning’s retirement drops this pairing down a few spots. Tom Brady-Trevor Siemian doesn’t generate as much buzz as Tom Brady-Peyton Manning. Then again, it was Brock Osweiler who handed the Patriots their first loss in a Week 12 overtime thriller last year. The Broncos have beaten the Patriots in the AFC championship game in two of the last three seasons. They seem to have the defense to defend their title this season, although the Patriots might have something to say about that whether it’s Brady or Garoppolo at quarterback. The teams meet again at Denver in Week 15.
No. 4: Packers-Lions
The Packers have beaten the Lions 96 times, more than they’ve beaten any other team. The Lions have won just 68 times, but this is a hot rivalry right now.
Not only have the Lions won three of the last five meetings between the teams, they won at Green Bay last year for the first time since 1991. The Lions prevailed 18-16 at Lambeau Field in Week 10, handing the Packers their third straight loss after a 6-0 start. The Packers saw that and raised the Lions a Hail Mary in Detroit.
The Lions won three straight after starting the season 1-7. They led the Packers 20-0 in Week 13, but the Packers roared back and on the game’s final play Aaron Rodgers threw a 61-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Richard Rodgers. That took the wind out of the Lions’ sails and they finished 7-9.
Detroit started the 2016 season with some momentum in a heart-stopping win at Indianapolis. The Lions will try to make it two in a row at Lambeau in Week 3 then host the Packers in Week 17 in a game that could be dripping with playoff implications.
No. 3: Patriots-Jets
The Boston-New York thing is a built-in rivalry element. Historically it’s pretty even with the Patriots holding a 57-53-1 edge against the Jets. Since The Butt Fumble Game in 2012 all six games between these teams have been decided by seven points or less, with the Jets winning two of them.
In 2014, the 12-4 Patriots could only beat the 4-12 Jets 27-25 at home and 17-16 on the road. Last year, the Patriots overcame a 20-16 fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Jets 30-23 in Week 7 at Foxboro. Nick Folk kicked a 55-yard field goal with 18 seconds left and the Jets recovered the onside kick, but their rally fell short. In Week 16, the Patriots came back from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit and forced overtime. A coin-flip controversy added another level of intrigue to this rivalry. The Patriots kicked off in OT despite winning the toss, and the Jets won 26-20.
The Jets evened their record at 1-1 after beating the Bills 37-31 Thursday night. They could have a shot at knocking the Patriots from the AFC East throne this season. The teams meet at New York in Week 12 and at New England in Week 16.
Jets had 4 players with 90+ yards from scrimmage for only 5th time in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/bjHIL5HAxt
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) September 16, 2016
No. 2: Ravens-Steelers
It might have seemed like this rivalry took a year off last season with the Steelers making the playoffs and the injury-ravaged Ravens slumping to 5-11. But the Ravens beat the Steelers twice. They won 23-20 in overtime at Pittsburgh in Week 4 when Mike Vick and Josh Scobee made it clear that they just don’t belong in the NFL anymore. They won 20-17 at Baltimore in Week 16, nearly knocking the Steelers out of the playoffs.
Since Joe Flacco was drafted in 2008, 12 of the 19 games between these teams, including playoffs, have been decided by three points or less. That includes both games last season. The games between these teams weren’t close in 2014, but they still went eye-for-an-eye by beating each other by 20 in the regular season. The Ravens beat the Steelers in a 2015 AFC wild-card game at Pittsburgh, avenging playoff losses to the Steelers in 2008 and 2010.
The Ravens have a chance to beat the Steelers in four straight games for the first time in franchise history in Week 9 at Baltimore. If they do that, then in Week 16 on Christmas Day at Pittsburgh they can even the all-time series 21-21. It would be a Merry Christmas in Baltimore if that happens.
No. 1: Bengals-Steelers
If this were an awards show, “the envelope, please” is a sentence that wouldn’t need to be uttered because the winner in the “Biggest NFL Rivalry” category is pretty transparent. The vitriol between these two teams makes it the NFL’s biggest rivarly.
Actually, envelopes are required in assessing this rivarly because of all the money the NFL collects in fines.
Three Steelers-Bengals games last year. Total player and coach fines assessed after all three? $253,954
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 15, 2016
All the violence aside, there actually are some football reasons that this is the NFL’s top rivalry. The Steelers are 8-3 against the Bengals, including playoffs, since Andy Dalton became Ben Roethlisberger’s counterpart in 2011. But despite not getting past the wild-card round the Bengals have made the playoffs for five straight years. The Steelers endured a two-year playoff gap in 2012 and 2013 and haven’t made the playoffs in five straight years since Bill Cowher was their coach.
If the Ravens can re-enter the fray, the AFC North once again will be the NFL’s strongest division, and Sunday’s game as well as the Week 15 rematch at Cincinnati exactly three months later could decide the division. It could depend on which players come out of these games healthy.
