Fansided

10 best receiver-defensive back rivalries in NFL history

By Kinnu Singh

IRVING, TX - NOVEMBER 12: Wide receiver Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers runs a pass pattern against cornerback Deion Sanders #21 of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on November 12, 1995. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 38-20. (Photo by Joseph Patronite/Getty Images)
IRVING, TX - NOVEMBER 12: Wide receiver Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers runs a pass pattern against cornerback Deion Sanders #21 of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on November 12, 1995. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 38-20. (Photo by Joseph Patronite/Getty Images) /
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Raiders’ Fred Biletnikoff who caught four of KEn stabler’s passes for 79 yards, one for 48 yards, was named the games’s MVP. Oakland goes on to win 32-14 at the Super Bowl XI game of the Oakland Raiders vs the Minnesota Vikings played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on January 9, 1977. (Photo by Fred Roe/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Raiders’ Fred Biletnikoff who caught four of KEn stabler’s passes for 79 yards, one for 48 yards, was named the games’s MVP. Oakland goes on to win 32-14 at the Super Bowl XI game of the Oakland Raiders vs the Minnesota Vikings played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on January 9, 1977. (Photo by Fred Roe/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

7. Fred Biletnikoff vs. Jim Marsalis

By the time Raiders wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff lined up against Chiefs defensive backs Emmitt Thomas and Jim Marsalis, the two teams had been embroiled in a years-long rivalry. When the AFL was created in 1960, it began with the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Texans (later Kansas City Chiefs) in the same division. “[The Chiefs and the Raiders] were the Hatfields and the McCoys without the guns,” Raiders legend Tom Flores described. Since then, red and black seas of devotees have gathered to watch generations of Chiefs and Raiders players take on one another.

While success has ebbed and flowed for both teams over the eras, the 1960s and 1970s were a time when the talent seemed evenly matched with a bevy of Hall of Famers. Back then, the Chiefs had Willie Lanier and Len Dawson, while the Raiders had Jim Otto and Art Shell. “The 1969 AFL championship game, in which the Chiefs upset the Raiders 17-7, featured 12 future Hall of Famers on the field,” Jim Trotter wrote in Sports Illustrated in 2010. A December 1970 excerpt from Sports Illustrated captured the contention between Marsalis and Biletnikoff:

“In another key matchup, Oakland Wide Receiver Fred Biletnikoff had the edge on Jim Marsalis, the Kansas City cornerback. Marsalis has fine speed, water-bug-quick reactions and a nose for the ball, but Biletnikoff caught a 36-yard touchdown pass with Marsalis a half-step behind him. Earlier, Biletnikoff had run the same pattern, but Marsalis went up with him and tipped the ball away.”

Although Biletnikoff mentioned facing the Green Bay Packers defense in Super Bowl II, it was the Chiefs’ secondary that featured the toughest players he’d ever faced. “My favorite was always playing against Emmitt Thomas and Jimmy Marsalis of the Kansas City Chiefs because they were very, very competitive and real tough guys,” Biletnikoff told the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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