Dodgers-Giants, Eagles-Cowboys and Ravens-Steelers: Rivalries that still hit harder
From century-old grudges to newer feuds, a handful of North American matchups reliably feel bigger than the standings. Three of them—Dodgers-Giants, Eagles-Cowboys and Ravens-Steelers—show why rivalry games still cut deeper, on the field and in the stands. Baseball’s Dodgers-Giants rivalry reaches back to the 1800s, long before both clubs left New York for California in 1958.
Remarkably, they have each won exactly 1,288 regular-season games against the other. Landmark moments dot the timeline: the 1889 World Series, Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World” to win the pennant in 1951, and a notorious flashpoint in 1965 when Hall of Famer Juan Marichal struck Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat.
The friction flared again in the 2010s, from Yasiel Puig’s clashes with Madison Bumgarner to Max Muncy telling the Giants ace to “go get your ball out of the ocean” after a 2019 home run. Recent years have cooled a bit as the Dodgers have dominated the division while the Giants have finished third or worse in the NL West in eight of the last nine seasons.
Even so, 2021 produced a modern first: after the Giants won the division with a franchise-record 107 victories—one more than the 106-win Dodgers—the rivals met in the postseason for the first time in the modern era. Los Angeles took the NLDS in five games. In the NFL’s NFC East, few pairings are as combustible as Eagles-Cowboys.
Their history includes the 1980 NFC Championship and the infamous “Bounty Bowls” of 1989, fueled by accusations from Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson that Eagles coach Buddy Ryan offered rewards for injuring Dallas players.
The feud spilled into the stands, culminating in a late-season game in Philadelphia marred by fans throwing snow, ice and other objects at players, coaches and officials—a low point often cited as one of the ugliest scenes in league history. Not all of the 134 meetings have been that extreme, but the intensity between these powers frequently spikes.
Ravens-Steelers, by contrast, is a newer fight, born after Baltimore’s franchise began play in 1996. Despite its shorter lineage, it has become an annual clash of heavyweights. Since the turn of the century, the Ravens have had just five losing seasons; the Steelers have had only one.
And since the NFL realigned into the current division format in 2002, either Baltimore or Pittsburgh has won the AFC North 18 of the last 24 times. High-stakes meetings have included five playoff games and the 2008 AFC Championship Game. Whether rooted in 19th-century baseball or forged in the modern NFL, these rivalries endure because the games tend to matter—division titles, playoff paths and bragging rights often ride on the outcome.
And when these teams meet, the temperature rises, every time.