# The 12 Greatest Quarterback Rivalries in NFL History

> Some of these pairs met in four title games, others mostly in barroom debates about who was better. Playoff history settles less than you would think.

*By YPB Team · Published October 28, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-12-greatest-quarterback-rivalries-in-nfl-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning** — score 1000/1000
   Seventeen meetings between 2001 and 2015, including five playoff games and four AFC title games.
2. **John Elway vs. Dan Marino** — score 794/1000
   Two stars of the 1983 quarterback draft class, compared for the next sixteen seasons.
3. **Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow** — score 680/1000
   Back-to-back AFC Championship Games in January 2022 and 2023, one won by each.
4. **Joe Montana vs. Steve Young** — score 600/1000
   The 49ers' quarterback controversy between a four-time champion and his successor.
5. **Jim Kelly vs. Dan Marino** — score 448/1000
   Bills against Dolphins, twice a year in the AFC East through the late 1980s and 1990s.
6. **Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen** — score 448/1000
   The AFC's defining duel of the 2020s: Kansas City owns the playoff meetings, Buffalo the regular-season ones.
7. **Brett Favre vs. Aaron Rodgers** — score 448/1000
   Green Bay's succession fight, from backup to Favre's departure and a rivalry inside the NFC North.
8. **Tom Brady vs. Ben Roethlisberger** — score 448/1000
   Patriots against Steelers in two AFC Championship Games, after the 2004 and 2016 seasons.
9. **Troy Aikman vs. Steve Young** — score 353/1000
   Cowboys against 49ers in three straight NFC Championship Games from 1992 to 1994.
10. **Sammy Baugh vs. Sid Luckman** — score 241/1000
   Redskins against Bears in three NFL Championship Games between 1940 and 1943, starting with a 73-0 rout.
11. **Johnny Unitas vs. Bart Starr** — score 241/1000
   Colts and Packers fought for the Western Conference through the 1960s.
12. **Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning** — score 240/1000
   Eli's Giants beat Brady's Patriots in two Super Bowls, including the one that ended a perfect season.

Tags: football, nfl, rivalries, quarterbacks