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Heavyweight Rivalries
COWBOYS-49ERS Head-to-head: From 1992 to '97, the two teams met eight times, with each team winning four, including three successive times in the NFC title game (1992-'94), with Dallas winning the first two and the 49ers taking the third. The rivalry: The Cowboys and 49ers traded series domination in the '70s (Dallas) and '80s (San Francisco), but the rivalry really heated up in the early '90s when each team battled for NFC supremacy. Signature moment: Jimmy Johnson had led Dallas back to respectability after some lean years, but the Cowboys were still big underdogs in the 1992 NFC title game. In what is considered one of the greatest NFC Championship played, Troy Aikman led the Cowboys on a late game-winning drive to stun the Niners and set up the first of three Super Bowl wins in the decade Dallas. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
PATRIOTS-COLTS The Patriots and Colts, who have combined to win four of the last six Super Bowls, have met 11 times this decade and seven times in the past four years, including three times in the playoffs. The rivalry: When the Colts beat the Patriots 38-34 in last year's AFC Championship Game, it represented Indy's third straight victory over New England. But the league's greatest active rivalry is far from lopsided. Before the Colts' three-game streak, the Patriots had won six in a row. Signature moment: Peyton Manning led the Colts from 18 points down in last year's AFC title game for the biggest comeback in conference championship history. While the Patriots were stopped from reaching the Super Bowl for the fourth time in six years, Indianapolis earned its first trip. (Photo by Jed Jacobson/Getty Images)
GIANTS-49ERS Head-to-head: From 1981 to 1990, the teams met a dozen times, five in postseason. The rivalry: The contrasting styles –- Bill Parcells' defense and running game vs. Bill Walsh's finesse West Coast approach -- and the regularity with which these teams met made this a great rivalry, one that stretched over an entire decade and spilled into the next. The 49ers dominated the 1980s with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice leading the way, but New York was the one team to consistently give them fits. Signature moment: While the teams met five times in the playoffs during this era, only once did it come with the Super Bowl on the line. It happened in the 1990 season, with the 49ers coming off back-to-back NFL titles. They would not make it a third as Lawrence Taylor recovered a late fumble by Roger Craig and the Giants kicked a field goal to win, 15-13. (Photo by T.G. Higgins/Getty Images)
BROWNS-BRONCOS Head-to-head: The Browns and Broncos met every year at least once from 1986-94, but the rivalry was at its peak from 1986 to '89, when the two teams met three times in the AFC Championship Game. The rivalry: Even though Denver dominated the rivalry during this era (it won four of the five games from 1986-'89), the Browns were always competitive and the games were always meaningful. However, in the end, Marty Schottenheimer's Browns were responsible for sending Denver to three Super Bowls in four seasons. Signature moment: John Elway led "The Drive" to secure a tie in the final moments of the 1986 AFC title game at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and the Broncos beat the Browns in OT, 23-20. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
RAMS-COWBOYS Head-to-head: The teams met 15 times between 1973-'85, including eight times in the playoffs. The rivalry: It seemed a Rams-Cowboys playoff game was an annual event during this era, and it almost was. The series was evenly matched throughout this era, with the Cowboys taking eight of the 15 matchups and the teams splitting the eight playoff showdowns. Signature moment: In 1979, the Cowboys were coming off a Super Bowl season and were seemingly cruising toward another appearance when they met the 9-7 Rams, a heavy underdog, in a divisional playoff game. However, Vince Ferragamo's 50-yard touchdown pass to Billy Waddy with 2:06 remaining stunned the Cowboys, 21-19, in what would become QB Roger Staubach's final game. (Getty Images)
