8 Great NFL Rivalries We Might See Developing

The Conference Title Games

Patriots vs Jaguars- The most dominating team of the past two decades that no matter what they’ve lacked they’ve always had the Quarterback vs the long-struggling franchise that has seemed to find everything but the Quarterback. While the Steelers couldn’t stop talking about beating the Patriots, the Jaguars waited until they advanced to the conference championship before guaranteeing a win. The teams that gave Tom Brady his best showdowns over the last 8 years, the Steelers, Broncos, and Ravens have fallen off in the past few years; if the Jaguars can be Tom Brady’s last great foil it will put them in a good position when he finally retires. If nothing else it will be fun to see how the Jaguars defense gets Blake Bortles deep in the playoffs each year just to see how the Patriots make his life hell.

Vikings vs Eagles- This was the Eagles year, they have the defense, they have the offensive weapons, they (appear) to have the coach, and most importantly they had the Quarterback playing at an MVP caliber. Then Carson Wentz sustained a season-ending injury and everything since then has been done with a prayer from Eagles fans. Now the Vikings come into Philly and are about to take their magical season away from them (and as we learned Sunday it really is magical). The Vikings #1 rated defense is going to come in and beat the Nick Foles led Eagles but if Wentz returns to be the Quarterback he appeared to be we could see this playoff matchup for years to come.

The Who Will Blow It This Time Game

Steelers vs Chiefs- Also know as the “Looking Ahead Bowl”, the Chiefs and Steelers were both upset in the playoffs this year (arguably because they were both looking ahead to the Patriots). Both teams have an explosive Wide receiver, a highly productive multifacet running back, and a head coach with plenty of playoff experience; they also both have a knack for blowing or no-showing big games the last few years. Last year when they met in the playoffs it was the Chiefs turn to blow the big game with an Eric Fisher holding call the negated a game-tying two-point conversion. They’ll meet again in the 2018 regular season to see who will blow the next big game.

Division Rivalries Renewed

Seahawks vs Rams- From 2012-2016 the Seattle Seahawks were arguably the class of the NFC, going to back to back Super Bowls while winning Super Bowl 48. During that time the Rams were down on their luck winning no more than 7 games in any season during that time while being led by Jeff Fisher (and by all-around cool guy John Fassel for 3 games). Another interesting thing happened during this time, no matter how bad the Rams were or how good the Seahawks were the Rams found a way to upset the Seahawks at least once every year besides 2013. Now the roles could be reversing as the Seahawks missed the playoffs as things appear to be unraveling a bit while the Rams have found a potential franchise Quarterback. Could spending a few years as the thorn in the side of a playoff team be what Seattle needs to recapture their edge?

Bills vs Patriots- Let’s get two things out of the way, first, the Bills still reek of a garbage franchise, they celebrate four Super Bowls in which they lost, they celebrated another team winning to send them to the playoffs because they couldn’t win 10 games to secure a playoff spot themselves. Second, for years we have heard that this is the year an AFC East team is ready to compete with the Patriots and it never happens. That being said, you have to give the Bills a little bit of credit, they have a coach, Sean McDermott that won his locker room over, even when he made a controversial quarterback change, he won the team over again and made the playoffs. I still don’t think McDermott is a great X’s and O’s coach but that leads me to their next move, hiring Alabama OC and former Patriots assistant Brian Daboll to be their offensive coordinator. Daboll is a great coach and I would have him would have pegged him as a potential replacement for Josh McDaniels in New England. The coaching improvements in Buffalo added to the bad blood created in the Patriots/Buffalo rivalry this past year could create the best AFC East rivalry in years.

The 6th Seed Rivalries

Falcons vs Lions- The Detroit Lions spent the 2017 season chasing the 6th seed that eventually went to the Atlanta Falcons. Both team figure to be wild card contenders for the next few seasons which means they will be scoreboard watching each other and any regular seasons matchups will have playoff implications. Here’s the added twist, Matt Patricia is expected to be named the Lions next head coach, Matt Patricia of the New England Patriots who came back from 28-3 to steal the Super Bowl ring off the Falcons finger. We already saw Saints fans use “28-3” as a rallying cry against the Falcons and Lions fans could follow which will surely guarantee Falcons fans will continue to hate Patricia.

Ravens vs Bills- Up until the final minutes of their regular season finale against the Bengals, the Baltimore Ravens thought they were going to the playoffs. Then a last-second touchdown by the Bengals sent the Ravens home and the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs for the first time this millennium. Bills fans took out second mortgages on their homes to support Andy Dalton’s charity as a thank you for knocking off the Ravens, rubbing salt in the Ravens’ wound. That would will undoubtedly still be open when the Bills visit the Ravens in the 2018 regular season.

The Quarterback Wars

Browns vs Giants- This rivalry won’t necessarily be head to head but the Browns and Giants are primed to use the first two picks in the draft on Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen and as history shows when Quarterbacks are taken high in the same draft (especially 1 and 2) their careers and the trajectory of their teams are in competition (at least for the first few seasons). Goff vs Wentz, Luck vs RGIII, Winston vs Mariota, it’s always fun to see how a Quarterback selection changes a franchise especially when they had a chance to take a different Quarterback.

Bonus! The Tuck Rule Redemption

Raiders vs Patriots- Jon Gruden is back coaching the Raiders just as he was when the Patriots dynasty started. I like to think Gruden has stayed up every night watching the tuck rule play every night since he left the NFL waiting for the chance to meet Brady and Belichick in the playoffs again.