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Ironically, the NFL's best current quarterback rivals were recently teammates not too long ago. In the spring of 2022, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen competed against Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers in The Match, a 12-hole golf competition. 

While Rodgers sealed the win with a 12-foot putt on the final hole, he won't be on the field when Allen and Mahomes square off against each other in Sunday's divisional round playoff matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. 

Sunday will mark the third playoff duel between the two quarterbacks since 2020. Mahomes' Chiefs won the first two matchups, but Sunday's game has a twist. It'll be the first playoff game between the two teams in Buffalo. In fact, Sunday's game will be Mahomes' first-ever playoff game away from Arrowhead Stadium, where his postseason record is a gaudy 9-2. 

Prior to Sunday's game, we decided to see where the Allen-Mahomes QB playoff rivalry currently ranks among other historic rivalries from the Super Bowl era. 

10. Joe Flacco vs. Tom Brady 

This rivalry just beat out Flacco's three-game playoff rivalry with Ben Roethlisberger. But his rivalry with Brady gets the nod because of historical relevance. 

Flacco's first playoff win came against Brady in the 2009 wild-card round. In fact, that was the last wild-card game Brady and the Patriots would play in until 2019, his final season in New England. 

The quarterbacks faced each other in back-to-back AFC title games, with both players getting one win over the other. Brady's Patriots won the first game after Flacco's game-winning touchdown pass was dropped. Baltimore got payback the next year en route to winning the franchise's second Super Bowl. 

9. John Elway vs. Bernie Kosar 

Elway went 3-0 against Kosar's Browns in the playoffs from 1986. His first two wins came in two of the most memorable AFC title games in history. 

Down 20-13, Elway led a 98-yard drive that included the game-tying touchdown pass late in the 1986 AFC title game in Cleveland. The Broncos won 23-20 in overtime to secure the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance. 

A year later, the Broncos won another nail-biter that wasn't decided until Denver defensive back Jeremiah Castille forced a fumble of Browns running back Ernest Byner just before he crossed the goal line for what would have been the game-winning touchdown. 

Kosar, who played extremely well in both of those games, eventually won a conference title game. He threw a touchdown pass after replacing an injured Troy Aikman during the Cowboys' win over the 49ers in the 1993 NFC title game. 

8. Bart Starr vs. Don Meredith 

Meredith's legacy would be vastly different had he and the Cowboys found a way to defeat Starr and the Packers in the 1966 and '67 NFL Championship games. Dallas lost both games in excruciating fashion, as the Packers went on to win the first two Super Bowls. 

The first great quarterback in Cowboys history, Meredith tried to engineer a comeback late in the '66 title game. Down by 14 points, he hit Frank Clark for a 68 yard touchdown before leading the Cowboys to the Packers' 2-yard line with seconds remaining. 

On the Cowboys' final offensive play, Packers Hall of Fame defensive end Dave Robinson broke free and was able to get a hold of Meredith. Incredibly, Meredith was still about to attempt a pass, but it was picked off by Tom Brown, preserving Green Bay's 34-27 win. 

A year later, it was Starr who tried to mount a game-winning drive in a game that will forever be known as the "Ice Bowl." Facing a third-and-goal and with no timeouts left, Starr scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak while following Hall of Fame lineman Jerry Kramer to pay dirt. The 21-17 win was the second-to-last game for Vince Lombardi as Packers coach. 

7. Terry Bradshaw vs. Roger Staubach 

Staubach is responsible for the only touchdowns allowed by the Steelers defense allowed during both the 1975 and '78 seasons. Both scores occurred in Super Bowls on touchdown passes by Staubach. 

Unfortunately for Staubach, neither score resulted in a Cowboys win. Pittsburgh won both of its Super Bowl matchups against Dallas in the '70s, with Bradshaw being a significant factor in both wins. 

Bradshaw threw the game-winning, 64-touchdown pass to Lynn Swann in Super Bowl X on a play that saw him endure a nasty hit that led to his early exit. In the rematch three years later, Bradshaw had the best game of his career. He threw for then Super Bowl records 318 yards (his first career 300-yard game) and four touchdowns in leading the Steelers to a 35-31 in over the Cowboys. 

6. Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen 

This quarterback rivalry has defined this decade so far. With most of the previous generation now in retirement, Mahomes and Allen are the new faces of the league's quarterback fraternity. 

Mahomes currently has the edge in this rivalry after besting Allen's Bills in the 2020 and 2021 playoffs. The 2020 AFC title game win wasn't a contest, but the 2021 divisional showdown between the two teams was an instant classic. 

In one of the wildest sequences in NFL history, Mahomes and Allen led their respective offenses on four scoring drives in the final two minutes of regulation. Allen threw a pair of touchdowns during that span, but Mahomes managed to salvage overtime after hitting Travis Kelce for a big gain to set up the game-tying field goal. 

Mahomes was unstoppable in overtime. After winning the toss, he completed all six of his overtime throws that included the game-winning touchdown pass to Kelce. 

Two years after that crazy game, the two quarterbacks will once again face off on Sunday, this time with a trip to the AFC title game at stake. 

5. Brett Favre vs. Steve Young 

The Packers and 49ers enjoyed a great rivalry during the mid-to-late 1990s that included the NFL's best two quarterbacks at that time. From 1992-97, Young and Favre combined to win five league MVPs, two Super Bowls and a Super Bowl MVP award. 

Favre enjoyed the upper hand early on, leading the Packers to an upset win over Young and the defending champion 49ers in the divisional round of the 1995 playoffs. Green Bay won again, handily, in extremely muddy conditions in the divisional round a year later en route to winning the franchise's first Lombardi in 29 years. 

The Packers won their third straight playoffs game over the 49ers in the '97 NFC title game, but came up short against Elway's Broncos in their bid to win back-to-back titles. Green Bay's reign atop the NFC officially came to an end against the 49ers in the following year's wild-card round. 

In one of the greatest plays in playoff history, Young almost fell down before regaining his balance and firing the game-winning touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, who dropped several passes earlier in the game. 

4. Terry Bradshaw vs. Ken Stabler 

These two Hall of Fame quarterbacks faced each in the playoffs each year from 1972-76. Three times, the winner of that game ended up winning the Super Bowl. 

The first matchup was legendary. In the 1972 divisional round, Stabler replaced Daryle Lamonica and gave the Raiders a 7-6 late on a 30-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Bradshaw responded by throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Franco Harris on a play that was immediately branded the Immaculate Reception. 

Oakland settled the score in the '73 playoffs and were favored entering the 1974 AFC title game. But in a contest that Harris later said was the 1970s Steelers' most important game, Pittsburgh went to Oakland and left with a 24-13 win and the franchise's first Super Bowl berth. Bradshaw gave the Steelers the lead for good when he fired a six-yard bullet to Lynn Swann. 

A year later, Pittsburgh again defeated Oakland one game shy of the Super Bowl on a playing surface that was more of a skating rink than a football field. At this point, the Raiders were branded as "the team that couldn't win the big one" after losing their fourth AFC title game in six years. 

But after years of coming up short, John Madden's team finally broke through in 1976. Oakland lost just one game that season and actually let the Steelers into the playoffs after eliminating the Bengals late in the regular season. 

Fittingly, it was the Steelers that again stood in Oakland's way to the Super Bowl. But this time, the Raiders wouldn't be denied. Stabler threw a pair of touchdowns, while Bradshaw completed less than half of his pass attempts while trying to make up for the loss of 1,000-yard rushers Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, who were both injured. 

Oakland would defeat Minnesota in Super Bowl XI two weeks later, but for Stabler and his teammates, maybe the biggest satisfaction they had that year was knocking the Steelers off their perch. That's probably why owner Al Davis insisted that the Raiders' Super Bowl rings included the score of the '76 AFC title game: Raiders 24, Steelers 7. 

3. Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady 

The younger Manning's success over Brady in Super Bowls is similar to Tom Watson's success against Jack Nicklaus in majors. While Nicklaus is regarded as arguably the greatest golfer ever, he often came up short against Watson on golf's biggest stages. Watson, who was a great golfer in his own right, bested the 18-time major champ four times in major golf tournaments. 

Similarly to Watson, Manning had Brady's number in Super Bowls. He won both of his matchups against Brady's Patriots in the big game and was named MVP of both games. In Super bowl XLII, Manning's incredible helmet completion to David Tyree set up his game-winning touchdown pass that ended Brady and the Patriots' dreams of an undefeated season. 

Four years later, Manning did it again. Trailing late in the game, Manning completed a 38-yard pass to Mario Manningham that was every big as impressive as his more celebrated completion to Tyree. The completion set up the Giants' game-winning score. 

The losses to Manning are two of the biggest blemishes on Brady's career. Conversely, those wins might lead to Manning joining his big brother one day in Canton, Ohio, in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

2. Troy Aikman vs. Steve Young 

These two Hall of Fame quarterbacks were part of one of the greatest rivalries in NFL history. In the early 1990s, the NFC title games between the Cowboys and 49ers was largely considered the Super Bowl. Sure enough, the winner of that game ended up winning the Super Bowl each time. 

The Cowboys upset the 49ers at sloppy Candlestick Park in the 1992 NFC title game. Aikman made the game's biggest play when he hit Alvin Harper on a 70-yard completion that set up Emmitt Smith's game-winning score. 

Dallas didn't need any late-game heroics the following year. Despite Aikman suffering a concussion, the Cowboys blew out the 49ers in the '93 title game en route to successfully defending their Super Bowl title. 

At this point, Young was getting a lot of flack for his inability to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, something his predecessor, Joe Montana, had done four times. Similar to Stabler in '76, Young and his teammates exercised their past demons in 1994. Young finally reached the mountaintop (in his words) when he led the 49ers to a 38-28 win over the Cowboys in that year's NFC title game. 

Young provided the game's biggest play, which occurred late in the first half after the Cowboys had trimmed their deficit from 21 to 10 points. On the play, Young dropped back and threw a dime deep down the near sideline to Jerry Rice, who was in single coverage against Larry Brown, who a year earlier claimed he "owned" Rice. Brown didn't on this play, though, as Rice caught Young's pass in stride while giving the 49ers a commanding 31-14 halftime lead. 

Ironically, this is the game that Aikman has said that he is the most proud of regarding the '90s Cowboys. While they didn't win, the Cowboys never quit and battled to the bitter end. Aikman threw for 380 yards, while Michael Irvin caught 12 passes for 192 yards and two scores. 

1. Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning 

This was a no-brainer. Two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history who defined a generation of elite quarterback play. 

The two shared a rivalry that was matched in sports by only by golf's greatest rivalry: Nicklaus vs. Arnold Palmer. Like Palmer, Manning didn't win half as many titles as his rival, but his legacy goes beyond championships. Manning, like Palmer in golf, has made his greatest impact on football by serving as perhaps its greatest ambassador.

Manning could also play, in case I'm not making that clear enough. You might be surprised to know that Manning went 3-2 against Brady-led teams in the playoffs that included a 3-1 record in AFC title games. Brady won the first two showdowns during the Patriots' first dynasty. Manning got the upper hand in 2006 while leading the Colts to an epic AFC Championship win over New England. 

The rivalry continued to be in Manning's favor after he moved to Denver. He defeated the Patriots in the 2013 AFC title game before surviving a desperate comeback attempt by Brady in the 2015 AFC Championship that served as the final showdown between the two. 

While their rivalry was fierce, it was also respectful. Brady was part of Manning's list of invited guests during his 2021 Hall of Fame speech, and you can bet on Manning being on hand when Brady joins him in Canton in 2028.