Deciphering the Steelers’ biggest rival is anything but easy

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the fortunate franchises in the NFL which has a rich history of winning. With this success comes the inevitable ripple effect of other teams hating the black-and-gold for multiple reasons.

This brings on the discussions to who is the Steelers’ biggest rival?

For the sake of this argument, let’s focus on the current era of football. I realize the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s , and even the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers in previous years, would have been near the top of the rivalry list, but in today’s NFL these teams aren’t even a blip on the Steelers’ radar — and the Oilers don’t even exist anymore.

When having to come up with four teams who would be vying for the title of Pittsburgh Steelers’ top rival, I came up with the following teams:

• Baltimore Ravens
• Cincinnati Bengals
• New England Patriots
• Jacksonville Jaguars

Yes, I left the Cleveland Browns off the list. Why? Because they are the Browns, and we aren’t talking about the Vinny Testaverde Browns, but the Baker Mayfield/Tyrod Taylor Browns.

This isn’t the first time we have had this discussion here on this site, and the debate always swirls around the criteria for being a ‘rival’. For instance, some look at the intensity of the games played. Some look at recent history. Some don’t consider a one-sided history being capable of being rivals.

Either way, the debate is always fun, and with it being ‘Rivalry Week’ here at SB Nation, you couldn’t ask for a better time to bring up the current question: Who is the Steelers’ biggest rivalry?

Here is what Steelers’ fans who participate in the FanPulse had to say about it:

Yes, that’s right, the vast majority of Steelers fans think the New England Patriots, not the Bengals or Ravens, are the team’s biggest rival at the current moment?

Agree or disagree?

Let us know what you think in the poll below, and be sure to voice your opinion in the comment section below!