First, it’s the rivalry that has defined the NFL for more than a decade, then comes the one many expect to set the tone for the next 10 years.
The AFC Championship showdown Sunday between Tom Brady’s Patriots and Peyton Manning’s Broncos will be the 15th matchup between the two Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and it has received much of the hype with the Seahawks-49ers game taking somewhat of a backseat.
“I think that game in and of itself could be a historical game from the standpoint that it’s the last time these two guys meet in the postseason,” FOX analyst Troy Aikman said of Manning and Brady, 37 and 36 respectively.
“You’d think both guys are going to play next season, but you just don’t know [if they’ll be back in this spot].”
But few think this is the last we’ll see of these 49ers and Seahawks in the postseason. Before the season began, most people pegged the NFC West foes as the best two teams in the conference, and now they will decide who will represent the NFC at Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium.
They have two of the top young quarterbacks in the league with Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick and both boast top-tier defenses.
“San Francisco and Seattle are built to last with the job they do and within their personnel departments,” said Aikman, who led the Cowboys to three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
“They are old school teams from the standpoint they are very physical, they want to dominate you on the offensive lines and play great defense, and you don’t see a lot of that in the league. It’s hard to imagine them continuing not to be pretty good and meeting with a lot at stake.”
Aikman’s former coach Jimmy Johnson believes the potential is there for these teams to replicate the rivalry his Cowboys had with the 49ers in the ’90s.
“The key to a great rivalry is to have two outstanding teams that one doesn’t totally dominate,” Johnson said. “I think you have that formula there. They are two of the best teams in the NFL and both have had success.”
But both Wilson and Kaepernick have dealt with criticism despite their success. Wilson has been a target for pundits with him throwing more than 200 yards once in his past five games. And that includes just 103 yards in a 23-15 win over the Saints in the divisional round, though it was a game played through a steady rain.
“The most important thing for Russell Wilson is that he’s won,” said Aikman, who will call the Super Bowl in two weeks alongside Joe Buck.
“Unfortunately, that gets overlooked much more than it should for someone who’s won as much as he has — maybe more than anybody in his first two years as a starter in the NFL. Yet, as I prepare for this game this week I am seeing a lot of discussion about how his numbers weren’t as good as they were earlier in the year. I am not sure why anyone really cares about that. They are playing for a chance to play in the Super Bowl.”