Biggest NFL Rivalries This Season: Which Teams Are Raising the Stakes

The NFL Is Stacked With Rivalries, but Divisional Ones Are Still the Best

Years of Rivalry 

It’s not a secret that the National Football League has its share of fierce rivalries. There’s nothing as exciting as NFL football games between teams that have a genuine hatred toward one another. 

With two conferences (AFC and NFC) and eight divisions (pairs of North, South, East, and West), there are division foes playing twice annually. Thus, some hard feelings with scores to settle are guaranteed, 

There are also rivalries between teams that may not oppose each other every season, but in the vein of ‘absence making the heart grow fonder,’ do not share the love. 

Even in this era of free agency with tons of moving among the players, these rivalries abound. 

Here’s a look at three bitter rivalries and NFL game predictions BetUS has across the league…

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers  

Much of the history of the National Football League has been written by the great players and championship teams of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Between them are 21 league titles (Packers 13, Bears 8) and any number of Hall of Famers.

You don’t have to know about modern-day NFL streaming options to know the old-school rivalry between the Monsters of the Midway and the Pack. A pair of the former Black and Blue (NFC Central) divisions are now in the NFC North.

In a series dating to 1921, the two teams entered the 2024 season having played one another 208 times. Green Bay led the series, 107-95-6, having won 10 games in a row (15-of-16 and 19-of-21) as former Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. famously ‘owned’ the Bears.

It’s somewhat strange that the Bears and Packers, separated by just over 200 miles, have also opposed one another twice in the postseason. Those were 70 years apart (1941, 2011).      

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

While the No. 1 rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers is an NFC ‘feud’ with more than a century of history behind it, these two AFC teams have issues between them, but not nearly as long a grudge.

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers both reside in the AFC North. Remember that the Ravens, though once the Cleveland Browns, relocated in 1996 as technically a new team with a completely new set of records.

Playing twice a season, there were 60 games (including four in playoffs) between the teams entering 2024, with Pittsburgh leading, 35-25. Pittsburgh had won seven of the last eight.      

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Raider Franchise  

You can’t discuss rivalries of NFL football games without a nod to one that originated in the American Football League.

The Kansas City Chiefs began as the Dallas Texans back in 1960. They and the Raiders, who were based in Oakland, Los Angeles, Oakland again, and now Las Vegas, were without question the nastiest of foes in the AFL. 

This hatred was fueled by animus between the owners, as KC’s Lamar Hunt was a lead negotiator in the AFL-NFL merger, while the Raiders’ Al Davis, a former AFL commissioner, thought the league could stand on its own. This was before NFL streaming options. 

Both in the AFC West, Kansas City has a 73-55-2 series lead (including postseason) entering the 2024 season, as the Chiefs won 11-of-12 before losing to the Raiders in Christmas of 2023.

How Do You Enjoy a Football Game?

NFL football games are a sport without equality. As the 32 teams play just once a week over a 17-game regular season (hopefully the playoffs after that), there is ample time to have fans prepare their favorite methods to enjoy their favorite teams.

Long gone are the days of non-sellout blackouts or fans being ‘stuck’ with perpetually bad local teams (greetings, New York). Today, any fan can enjoy any game, anywhere, though there’s a cost associated with this luxury.

There are personal preferences when it comes to the best way to enjoy a football game. If you’re a serious fan or bettor, maybe you ‘hibernate’ to avoid distractions.

If you’re more of a casual fan, enjoying a game socially is the way to go. It’s not just the Super Bowl where parties rule the day. 

Take the Thanksgiving holiday as an example. Football has joined floats, family, and feeding your face as given in late November.   

Christmas has accompanied Thanksgiving as a holiday with football. Included in the 2024 season are three Thanksgiving games and a pair to enjoy around the tree,

There’s no incorrect way to enjoy a football game.       

How Do You Watch NFL Games for Free?

The NFL has over-the-air United States broadcast partners on ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC. As the saying goes, “check local listings” when it comes to the games in your area. However, each ‘home team’ has its regional territory where all games are available without charge.

There are games available on other networks opposite a local team, along with national doubleheaders. Again, these games are available without fees.        

How Do You Watch Monday Night Football for Free?

Since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970, NFL Monday Night Football has been a staple of television. Harken back to the days of Frank Gifford (though Keith Jackson preceded him), Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith, when Monday’s game was an event.

Now, Monday Night Football belongs to Disney (ABC and ESPN, with/without the Brothers Manning), and while it is never going to be the spectacle of its forefathers, the games (sometimes concurrently in certain weeks) have been compelling. Something to note about the Monday games is it involves a ‘local’ team(s) in your market, it will also be available on an over-the-air outlet without charge.