Two Top Guns segments ago, we examined the best Old School rivalries, forged by geography and competition. This week, we examine rivalries that for the most part, are the result of contempt and disdain for the other team. We will start with the best four over the years and end next week with three rivalries that are/were close to home.
4. Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins, 1940-1943, Records Regular Season Redskins 2-1, Post Season, Bears 2-1.
The colorful George Preston Marshall owned the Redskins. The competitive George Halas owned and coached the Bears. In 1940 these teams were the best in football. The Redskins were in the East Division — the Bears in the West. The Redskins had Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh at quarterback while the Bears had
Hall of Famer Sid Luckman behind center. They were the best at their positions. Their dislike for each other began in 1940, a game the Redskins won 7-3. Take note of that score.
On the last play of the game, a pass by Luckman into the end zone fell incomplete. But the Bears complained vehemently that the Redskins were guilty of interference — a penalty that was never called. Marshall called the Bears “crybabies” in the paper the next morning. This proved to be poor timing on Marshall’s part because five weeks later, the Bears and Redskins were to play for the championship. Needless to say the Bears used this as motivation, and it worked — just a little. On the second play from scrimmage in the championship , the Bears used a man in motion for the first time when fullback Bill Osmanski raced 68 yards for a touchdown. The rout was on.
The Crybabies won 73-0 — quite an interesting play on numbers. The Bears lose 7-3 to Washington and then win 73-0. In 1942, the Bears went undefeated in the regular season and played the Redskins again for the title. The two time champions were heavy favorites, but the Redskins, not forgetting the beating they took two years before pulled off the upset 14-6 and ruined the Bears perfect season. They played again the next year for the title, as the Bears took the championship back 41-21 while Luckman threw for five touchdowns. After that, both teams lost most of their key players to World War Two. This rivalry only lasted four seasons but during this time only the Bears or Redskins were league champions.
3. Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions, 1952-1957, Records Regular Season Lions 3-0, Post Season Lions 3-1.
The Cleveland Browns played in ten straight championship games from 1946 to 1955. They dominated every team in the league except quarterback Bobby Layne and the Detroit Lions. Browns coach Paul Brown had an answer for everything except Detroit. The Lions beat the favored Browns in the championship game 
in 1952 in Cleveland 17-7. In 1953 the teams met again for the championship. In what was Browns quarterback Otto Graham’s worst day as a pro he completed only 2 of fifteen passes. Despite Graham’s inefficiencies, the Browns led 16-10 with little time remaining. Layne brought the Lions back and completed a scoring pass to Jim Doran with less than a minute to play and the Lions were champions again 17-16. In 1954, they played each other again to end the regular season. The Lions once more emerged with the victory, beating the Browns 14-10 as Layne once more brought them from behind. The following week, the teams met for the championship in Cleveland. The Browns took out three years of frustration in one afternoon as they won the championship convincingly, 56-10.
Again in 1957, these teams met in the championship game. Gone was the retired Otto Graham, and Layne was out with a broken leg. The favored Browns had rookie sensation Jim Brown at fullback. In Detroit, this rivalry reverted back to its original form as the Lions crushed Cleveland 59-14 and won what was to be their last championship. The Colts replaced the Lions as Western Division champions the next year and the Giants replaced the Browns as East Division champions, ending the best rivalry of the 1950’s.
2. Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49’ers, 1992-1995, Records, Regular Season 49’ers 2-1, Post Season Cowboys 2-1.
The math is simple here. These two teams won every Super Bowl between 1992 and 1995 and they were the two top seeds every year in the NFC playoffs in those seasons. It started when the favored 49ers led by Steve Young lost to the rebuilt Cowboys in the 1992 NFC championship game 30-20. Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman led an offense that did not turn the ball over once while the more experienced 49ers coughed it up four times. The Cowboys destroyed the Bills 52-17 two weeks later in the Super Bowl.
The determined 49ers returned to meet the favored Cowboys in Dallas for the 1993 NFC Championship. This game wasn’t even close, as the Cowboys scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions and
led 28-7 at halftime. The Cowboys held on to win 38-21, and then beat Buffalo again in the Super Bowl.
In the NFL’s 75th anniversary season of 1994, the 49ers wore their throwback uniforms the entire season and they played like the 49ers from ten years earlier. Young had one of the greatest seasons any quarterback has ever had. In the NFC championship game in San Francisco against Dallas, Young led the 49ers to a 21-0 lead minutes into the game. The Cowboys turned the ball over twice early which led to two of the scores. Steve Young would win his championship 38-28, and then threw a Super Bowl record six touchdown passes against the Chargers to win the game’s Most Valuable Player Award. In 1995 the 49ers defeated the Cowboys 38-20 in the regular season and the teams were seeded one and two again for the playoffs. But Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers to an upset over the 49ers in the playoffs. The next week the Cowboys won back their NFC title with a 38-27 win over the Packers and then defeated the Steelers in the Super Bowl. Both teams made the playoffs the following year but the Packers had replaced them as the premier team in the conference. Between 1992 and 1995 there was not a better team in football than Dallas or San Francisco.
1. Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972-1976, Records Regular Season 2-2, Post Season Steelers 3-2.
Did these two teams dislike each other? That would be an understatement. In 1976, Raiders owner Al Davis filed civil charges in a California court against Steelers coach Chuck Noll, claiming he instructed his players to inflict bodily harm on Raiders players. C’mon Al the whole world knew his Raiders were the dirtiest team in football, followed closely by the Steelers. The suit was dismissed, probably the only time Davis lost in court in a football related matter.
The business on the field started in the regular season in 1972, the Steelers first playoff year since 1947. They beat the favored Raiders, 34-28 in Pittsburgh. At this time the Raiders were always one of the favorites to win the AFC. The two teams met in the playoffs later in 1972. Colts fans in Baltimore look 
back on the 1958 Championship Game as the franchise’s defining moment. Steelers fans consider their team’s 13-7 victory over the Raiders in 1972 as their franchise’s defining moment. That game featured Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception.” Raiders coach John Madden argued for hours after the game that the ball touched the ground to no avail. Even television replays could not confirm or dispute Madden’s opinion. To this day not one Steeler will comment on that aspect of the play. This play set the stage for this bitter rivalry.
In 1973 the Raiders easily defeated Pittsburgh 33-14 in Oakland in the playoffs on their way to losing to the Dolphins in the AFC championship. In 1974, the Raiders were favorites to win the Super Bowl. In Pittsburgh in the third week the Raiders won 17-0, in a game marred by penalties. The Raiders cruised to the AFC Championship game where they met the underdog Steelers. The Raiders led 10-3 in the fourth quarter but Pittsburgh scored three touchdowns in the last eight minutes and won their first AFC Championship 24-13. In 1975 the two teams met in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship again. With the Steelers leading 16-10, Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler completed a pass to Cliff Branch which put the ball on the Steelers 19 yard line with only seconds left to play. The Raiders had no timeouts and the Steelers purposely held Branch on the ground, and prevented him from lining up for the next play. The clock ran out and the Steelers won their second AFC Championship.
The next season the NFL instituted rules that the referees could stop the clock if one player would not let another get up. Two playoff games in Pittsburgh and both times Madden felt that the Raiders got the short end of the officials’ calls. The Raiders took all of their frustrations out on the Steelers on opening day 1976. The Raiders won in Oakland 31-28, but the game was not that close. The Steelers scored twice late to give the appearance of a closer game. The Steelers lost both of their starting wide receivers, Frank Lewis and Lynn Swann to injuries caused by late hits from Raider George Atkinson. The officials missed both hits while Atkinson and fellow Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum alternated delivering cheap shots upon the Steelers receivers the rest of the day.
The two teams met in the AFC Championship game again that year in Oakland. The Steelers played without starting running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, both injured the week before in the Steelers playoff win against the Colts. Madden and the Raiders rolled the Steelers and won the championship 24-7. They advanced to the Super Bowl where they defeated the Vikings 32-14. Both teams made the playoffs the following year, but the Steelers lost in the first round to the Broncos and in 1978 the Raiders failed to make the playoffs for only the second time since 1966. And while the rivalry lost some of its luster when the teams began to fade from dominance, the contempt and disdain for each other survived.
