They aren’t the only superstar quarterbacks in the NFL, but each matchup carried a certain weight, a certain aura, a certain expectation for unexpected chaos that others haven’t matched.

In fact, Manning and Brady are the only quarterback duo in NFL history to meet more frequently in the playoffs than Mahomes and Allen. They faced each other five times in the postseason — a record Allen and Mahomes are on pace to shatter.

In this generation of football, the rivalry between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen has taken on a similar vein, with this Sunday's meeting in the AFC Conference Championship bound to be another classic chapter in this story that grows by the year.