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iknowftbll
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It may seem like a simple question on its surface but it's actually quite dynamic.
Depending on one's age, or what part of the country he's lived in he may consider one team over another to be the biggest rival. For example, a Broncos fan coming of age just after the Raiders last SB may not consider the Raiders to be a serious rival at all. Since that game the Raiders have been a worse team than the Browns while the Broncos have been to the playoffs 8 times, won the AFC West 6 times, won the conference title twice, and won the Super Bowl once. It would be easy to see why a younger fan may be dismissive of the notion that Broncos-Raiders is a great rivalry.
So what about the Chiefs? The bad blood between these teams is legit, and one of the greatest playoff upsets of all time happened between these two in the AFC Divisional round on the heels of the 1997 season. Yet that game is the only playoff game between these two teams, and a look at the standings over the years reveals the Broncos and Chiefs seldom reach the playoffs together. It happened in 2003, when the Colts dispensed of both of them. It happened in 2013 and 2015 too, the Broncos most recent Super Bowl years. In both of those seasons what the Broncos accomplished so far surpasses what the Chiefs did that it's fair to dismiss the Chiefs as an "also ran" more so than a great rival.
Are the Chargers a great rival? Don't make me laugh! Then again, I go back to the comments about age. If you're one of those younger fans who came on more recently than the Raiders last SB you may consider the Chargers a bigger rival than the Raiders. There is no questioning the Chargers have been a vastly superior franchise beginning in 2003. They had a run where they finished 12-4, 9-7, 14-2, 11-5, 8-8, 13-3. The 9-7 season (2005) saw them miss the playoffs, but the 8-8 season (2008) saw them win the AFC West and beat the Colts in a playoff game. Not only that but they made another playoff appearance in 2013, after surging to a 9-7 finish and beat the Bengals in Cincy before facing the Broncos for the only AFC West playoff game since the afore mentioned Broncos-Chiefs game. So while the Chargers are the least of the AFC West teams, their most recent 12 or so seasons are as good an era of Chargers football as has ever existed. A younger fan could easily consider them a bigger rival than both the Raiders or Chiefs.
Now of course, when I ask the "biggest rival" question I mean within the division. But there may be something to the notion that the Broncos biggest rival is outside the division. The Broncos have squared off with the Pittsburg Steelers in the playoffs more than other team. (Meaning the Steelers are the Broncos most frequent playoff opponent). This includes 4 times in the past 20 years, and in 3 of them the winner of the game has gone on to win the Super Bowl (1997, 2005, 2015). The 4th was the Tebow miracle OT game, which remains one of my sentimental favorites to this day. Even though the Steelers are not a rival and in all honesty there doesn't seem to be any bad blood between these teams or their fans, it's hard to deny the significance of some of their playoff match ups over the years. It might just be better than anything between two AFC West teams.
And who can forget the New England Patriots? If there has been any team in the NFL that has been the Broncos equal since Elway's return it's the Patriots. In 3 of those 5 years the Broncos and Patriots have played each other twice, just like a division rival. The Patriots won both in 2011 against the Tebow led Broncos. The teams split in 2013, with the Patriots winning the regular season game and the Broncos posting a decisive win in the AFCCG. The Broncos won both last year, with Anderson plowing ahead for the 39 yard game winner in OT in the regular season and the Broncos holding on to a 20-18 lead on a failed 2-point try, again in the AFCCG. The recent history between these two teams is far better than any of the AFC West teams. More, it's better than any rivalry the Patriots have within the AFC East, too.
The AFC West is a great division with some awesome, storied franchises. Some of the great rivalries were kept together even through some recent realignments. But the division has a surprisingly sparse intra-division playoff history. It's just the way things have worked out over the years. I think there would be a more clear AFC West rival if there were a more frequent AFC West playoff rival. This is sort of intuitive because it would mean two AFC West teams were good enough to consistently make the playoffs the same year. This happens often enough, but it's more infrequent the two AFC West teams get to face each other in the playoffs. To me this waters down some of the rivalries in the division.
With that said, I'll tell you who I consider the greatest rival. I still think the Raiders are the Broncos biggest rival. It goes back to my dislike for the Raiders in my days as a kid living in the L.A. area, and persists even though this era of futility for the Raiders due to the fact that despite being so awful for so long, the Raiders were at one time the premier AFC West franchise. Its fair to say the Broncos have officially taken over that honor, but if you take the whole of a team's history from start to finish the Raiders are the only team in the AFC West that is even in the same discussion with the Broncos in terms of franchise achievements.
So who do you think is the biggest rival and why?
Depending on one's age, or what part of the country he's lived in he may consider one team over another to be the biggest rival. For example, a Broncos fan coming of age just after the Raiders last SB may not consider the Raiders to be a serious rival at all. Since that game the Raiders have been a worse team than the Browns while the Broncos have been to the playoffs 8 times, won the AFC West 6 times, won the conference title twice, and won the Super Bowl once. It would be easy to see why a younger fan may be dismissive of the notion that Broncos-Raiders is a great rivalry.
So what about the Chiefs? The bad blood between these teams is legit, and one of the greatest playoff upsets of all time happened between these two in the AFC Divisional round on the heels of the 1997 season. Yet that game is the only playoff game between these two teams, and a look at the standings over the years reveals the Broncos and Chiefs seldom reach the playoffs together. It happened in 2003, when the Colts dispensed of both of them. It happened in 2013 and 2015 too, the Broncos most recent Super Bowl years. In both of those seasons what the Broncos accomplished so far surpasses what the Chiefs did that it's fair to dismiss the Chiefs as an "also ran" more so than a great rival.
Are the Chargers a great rival? Don't make me laugh! Then again, I go back to the comments about age. If you're one of those younger fans who came on more recently than the Raiders last SB you may consider the Chargers a bigger rival than the Raiders. There is no questioning the Chargers have been a vastly superior franchise beginning in 2003. They had a run where they finished 12-4, 9-7, 14-2, 11-5, 8-8, 13-3. The 9-7 season (2005) saw them miss the playoffs, but the 8-8 season (2008) saw them win the AFC West and beat the Colts in a playoff game. Not only that but they made another playoff appearance in 2013, after surging to a 9-7 finish and beat the Bengals in Cincy before facing the Broncos for the only AFC West playoff game since the afore mentioned Broncos-Chiefs game. So while the Chargers are the least of the AFC West teams, their most recent 12 or so seasons are as good an era of Chargers football as has ever existed. A younger fan could easily consider them a bigger rival than both the Raiders or Chiefs.
Now of course, when I ask the "biggest rival" question I mean within the division. But there may be something to the notion that the Broncos biggest rival is outside the division. The Broncos have squared off with the Pittsburg Steelers in the playoffs more than other team. (Meaning the Steelers are the Broncos most frequent playoff opponent). This includes 4 times in the past 20 years, and in 3 of them the winner of the game has gone on to win the Super Bowl (1997, 2005, 2015). The 4th was the Tebow miracle OT game, which remains one of my sentimental favorites to this day. Even though the Steelers are not a rival and in all honesty there doesn't seem to be any bad blood between these teams or their fans, it's hard to deny the significance of some of their playoff match ups over the years. It might just be better than anything between two AFC West teams.
And who can forget the New England Patriots? If there has been any team in the NFL that has been the Broncos equal since Elway's return it's the Patriots. In 3 of those 5 years the Broncos and Patriots have played each other twice, just like a division rival. The Patriots won both in 2011 against the Tebow led Broncos. The teams split in 2013, with the Patriots winning the regular season game and the Broncos posting a decisive win in the AFCCG. The Broncos won both last year, with Anderson plowing ahead for the 39 yard game winner in OT in the regular season and the Broncos holding on to a 20-18 lead on a failed 2-point try, again in the AFCCG. The recent history between these two teams is far better than any of the AFC West teams. More, it's better than any rivalry the Patriots have within the AFC East, too.
The AFC West is a great division with some awesome, storied franchises. Some of the great rivalries were kept together even through some recent realignments. But the division has a surprisingly sparse intra-division playoff history. It's just the way things have worked out over the years. I think there would be a more clear AFC West rival if there were a more frequent AFC West playoff rival. This is sort of intuitive because it would mean two AFC West teams were good enough to consistently make the playoffs the same year. This happens often enough, but it's more infrequent the two AFC West teams get to face each other in the playoffs. To me this waters down some of the rivalries in the division.
With that said, I'll tell you who I consider the greatest rival. I still think the Raiders are the Broncos biggest rival. It goes back to my dislike for the Raiders in my days as a kid living in the L.A. area, and persists even though this era of futility for the Raiders due to the fact that despite being so awful for so long, the Raiders were at one time the premier AFC West franchise. Its fair to say the Broncos have officially taken over that honor, but if you take the whole of a team's history from start to finish the Raiders are the only team in the AFC West that is even in the same discussion with the Broncos in terms of franchise achievements.
So who do you think is the biggest rival and why?