The Pittsburgh Steelers are an NFL franchise that encountered three major rivals and all three played in the same division as them. The team’s rivals are the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. Additionally, the team also has other rivals in postseason games, namely the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Dallas Cowboys. An intrastate rivalry also emerged between the Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, but they meet only once every four years under scheduling rules.

The rivalry between the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers began in 1950 when they met for the first time. At the start of the rivalry, the Browns had an advantage over the Steelers who were 9-31 at the time. The Steelers went on to lose for 16 straight years. Recently, the Steelers took over the rivalry for the first time with a 17-3 record. It was during this time that the team won ten games in a row. To intensify the rivalry, the former Steelers head coach had coached the Browns earlier in his career.

On the other hand, the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have a really bitten divisional rivalry evidenced by countless memorable matchups between the two teams. Both teams caused the other’s first loss at home fields. The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, and three years later the Ravens crushed the Steelers in a game at Heinz Field. The rivalry between the Ravens and the Steelers is like a seesaw winning and losing against each other and serves as a great foil in showing their fans how they can field really strong defenses against each other.

The Cincinnati Bengals date the rivalry with the Steelers to the 1970 season when the merger was completed. The most memorable game of their rivalry occurred in the 2005 AFC Wildcard playoff game when the Steelers posted a win from behind over the Bengals to compete for a Super Bowl title. This particular victory was partly due to the knee injury that the Bengal quarterback experienced and was therefore forced to leave the game.

The rivalry between the Steelers and the New England Patriots began when the latter defeated the Steelers in 2001 at Heinz Field. Later in 2008, the Patriots were accused of videotaping the hand signals of the opposing team’s coaches, adding to the controversy. The rivalry between the Oakland Raiders and the Steelers was at its most heated during the 1970s, while the Cowboys’ began with the team’s first game as a franchise in the 1960s.

As a team, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have many challenges to face, not only with their current rivals, but also with new and upcoming NFL teams. Although the team has made its mark as one of the most competitive teams in the NFL, they still have to perform at their best to balance all the competitors they play against.