Ranking the NFL's best rivalries: Where does Colts-Pats fit?

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It's hard to imagine a regular-season game that could generate more hype than Sunday's matchup between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. This has everything you want in a rivalry, including history, talent and an understanding that they ultimately have to go through one another to claim a championship.

Now before you start forming your own opinions on this subject, let's establish some ground rules. First, we're going to stick to a specific time frame so we don't have to consider every rivalry in the history of pro football; we'll talk only about rivalries that started after the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Second, we need rivalries that involve two championship-caliber teams playing in meaningful games, which is why Pats-Colts has become so huge.

1. Cowboys-Redskins (1970-83)

How big was this rivalry? American Express even made a commercial tied to it. A Redskins-Cowboys game not only fired up the most laid-back fans of both teams, it also captured the attention of the rest of the NFL during its heyday. After all, you're talking about two marquee franchises and a rivalry that dates all the way back to when former Redskins owner George Preston Marshall opposed the proposal of an expansion team in Texas in the late 1950s. Marshall eventually backed down -- with the Cowboys finally entering the league in 1960 -- but these teams were destined to despise each other ever since.

There actually is so much history between Dallas and Washington that it's hard to pin down a time frame that stands above all others. However, these 13 years will suffice. There were great coaches (Tom Landry for Dallas, George Allen and Joe Gibbs for Washington). Great players and interesting personalities (including Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, John Riggins and Joe Theismann). And above all else, great moments from two teams that combined to win three Super Bowls during this time.

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Wireimages.comDallas head coach Tom Landry (left) and Washington patriarch George Allen took special precautions whenever they faced each other, legend has it.

• Signature moment: On Dec. 12, 1979, Staubach threw two touchdown passes in the final 140 seconds to erase a 13-point deficit and give host Dallas a 35-34 win. The Redskins missed the playoffs with that defeat, and former Washington coach Jack Pardee said later, "The Lord giveth and He can take it away in a hurry; that's the only way to understand what took place here."

2. Raiders-Steelers (1972-77)

It's an understatement to call this a rivalry. These games were so vicious that they easily could've been staged in a back alley. On one side stood the Raiders, a team that openly embraced a desire to intimidate any opponent that lined up across from it. On the other side were the Steelers, the most dominant team of the 1970s, a blue-collar bunch that backed down to nobody. When it came down to it, these two squads couldn't stand each other.

To understand how serious this rivalry was, just consider that it actually spilled into a courtroom battle in 1976. Steelers coach Chuck Noll became so infuriated by a blow that Raiders safety George Atkinson laid on Pittsburgh wide receiver Lynn Swann -- a forearm to the head that knocked the unsuspecting Swann unconscious -- that Noll claimed Atkinson brought "a criminal element" to the NFL. Atkinson responded by suing the coach for slander and a heavily publicized trial ensued. Noll eventually was found not liable of the charges, but you get the point. These were ugly times.

•  Signature moment: The Immaculate Reception. On Dec. 23, 1972, Harris' miracle 60-yard catch-and-run on a deflected Terry Bradshaw pass beat the Raiders 13-7 in an AFC divisional playoff game. The Raiders contended that the Steelers' John (Frenchy) Fuqua had batted the ball to Harris, in violation of a rule prohibiting two offensive players from touching a pass in succession. But officials ruled the ball had deflected off Raiders safety Jack Tatum, who collided with Fuqua and the pass at the same time. The final-minute touchdown gave the Steelers franchise its first playoff victory.

3. Cowboys-49ers (1992-96)

Former San Francisco wide receiver Dwight Clark heated up this rivalry with The Catch back in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, but it wasn't until the early 1990s that Cowboys-49ers reached an unforgettable level. What made this rivalry so intense was the history of both clubs. The 49ers had dominated the 1980s ever since Clark's catch, winning four Super Bowls between 1981 and 1989. Dallas, on the other hand, went through a down period before emerging with a swagger that emanated from coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys' desire to claim what the 49ers owned ultimately raised the stakes of this series.

Dallas first shocked the 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship Game, upsetting a San Francisco team that many favored to win the Super Bowl that season. The following year proved even sweeter for the Cowboys. They didn't just beat San Francisco in the NFC title game -- they routed the 49ers 38-21 in a victory that Johnson predicted prior to the contest. By the time the 49ers finally beat Dallas in the 1994 NFC Championship Game, these teams had set themselves apart from all others in the NFL.

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Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesThe Cowboys and 49ers battled in three consecutive NFC Championship Games in the early 1990s.

It helped that both teams were loaded with talent (the games featured future Hall of Famers such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Steve Young and Jerry Rice) and the subplots were just as attractive. There was Young trying to overcome the shadow of succeeding Joe Montana. Deion Sanders altering the fortunes of both teams by swapping sides in 1995. And Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones re-establishing the Cowboys' dominance before egos and jealousy led to their heavily publicized split.

4. Colts-Patriots (2001-present)

These teams played in the same division for decades -- as part of the old AFC East prior to realignment in 2002 -- but it wasn't until 2003 that this rivalry really intensified. That was when Colts president Bill Polian and several offensive players seethed over the Patriots' penchant for manhandling receivers during New England's 24-14 AFC Championship Game win over the Colts. The Colts actually balked so much that the league's competition committee listened intently. A year later, the NFL had a new rule (defenders weren't allowed to touch receivers more than 5 yards away from the line of scrimmage). That turned up the flame on a rivalry that will offer another chapter this weekend.

This rivalry actually has elevated itself into top-five status because the Colts have matured. Prior to a 40-21 win over New England in Foxborough, Mass., during the 2005 regular season, Indianapolis had lost six straight games to a Patriots team quarterbacked by Tom Brady. In those first two wins, Brady was filling in for an injured Drew Bledsoe. The Colts seemed soft in those losses, reinforcing the notion that they were built for gaudy numbers instead of championship trophies. Of course, that image has changed now that Indianapolis has won three straight games in this series. Their high point came in the most recent AFC Championship Game, when they overcame a 21-3 deficit to claim a 38-34 win.

• Signature moment: In a 2004 AFC Divisional Playoff game, Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi stripped Colts running back Dominic Rhodes of the football in New England's 20-3 victory. Bruschi literally took the ball away from Rhodes, who had caught a short pass from Manning, and that play exemplified the defensive effort the Patriots produced in shutting down the NFL's top offense that year.

5. Giants-49ers (1984-90)

What made this vastly underrated rivalry so compelling was the contrast in styles. Giants head coach Bill Parcells led a team that was built on a strong running game and a physical defense. 49ers head coach Bill Walsh ran a squad that appealed to the intellectual fan, one blessed with a diverse, imaginative offense and a savvy quarterback who turned out to be the best to ever play the position. In short, the Giants were meat and potatoes. The 49ers were wine and cheese.

As dominant as the 49ers were in the 1980s, the Giants were the only team that consistently caused them problems. These two teams played 10 times between 1982, when Parcells was named New York's coach, and 1990. Each franchise won five games, although the Giants produced more memorable moments. They battered 49ers quarterback Joe Montana during a 1985 NFC playoff win, and Giants nose tackle Jim Burt literally knocked Montana out of New York's 49-3 playoff victory a year later.

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Vernon Biever/WireImage.com New York nose tackle Jim Burt (64) was a constant nuisance to San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana (16) in plenty of important Giants-49ers' duels, including this 1985 NFC wildcard game.

• Signature moment: In a 1986 "Monday Night Football" game in San Francisco, Giants tight end Mark Bavaro caught a pass over the middle from Phil Simms and rambled nearly 20 yards with 49ers defenders clinging to him. As many as seven San Francisco players -- including Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott -- took shots at Bavaro before dragging him to the turf. The Giants won 21-17.

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Jeffri Chadiha

NFL

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Jeffri Chadiha, formerly of Sports Illustrated, is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Chadiha first attended Wyoming on a full football scholarship before injuries led him to transfer to Michigan after two years. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Michigan in 1993 before pursuing a career in journalism. Chadiha is also a frequent contributor to ESPN TV.