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How previous back-to-back Super Bowl winners fared going for a three-peat
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- How previous back-to-back Super Bowl winners fared going for a three-peat
While it has happened multiple times in the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball, no NFL team has won three consecutive championships in the Super Bowl era.
The Kansas City Chiefs will try for a "three-peat" in 2024 after they beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58 to become pro football's first repeat champion in two decades. They will have coach Andy Reid and three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes in their attempt to run it back, but history is not on their side.
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The previous eight times an NFL team won back-to-back Super Bowl titles, the defending champion never even made it back to the Super Bowl the following season.
Here is how those previous repeat Super Bowl champions fared:
Green Bay Packers (1968)
After the Packers won Super Bowl II 33-14 over the Oakland Raiders in 1968, legendary coach Vince Lombardi stepped down and headed to the front office, turning the team over to Phil Bengston. Titletown's winning ways went with Lombardi as the Packers went 6-7-1 in Bengston's first season, and Green Bay made the playoffs only three times over the next 25 seasons.
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Miami Dolphins (1974)
The Chiefs celebrate their victory against the 49ers in Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024.
The Dolphins ' first championship was the 17-0 campaign of 1972 and Miami made it back-to-back titles after a dominating 24-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 8. The Dolphins made it to the postseason again in 1974 but were eliminated in the first round by the Raiders in the infamous "Sea of Hands" game .
Pittsburgh Steelers (1976)
The Raiders once again played spoiler for a team's chance at a three-peat, when they beat the Steelers 24-7 in the AFC Championship and went on to win the Lombardi Trophy over the Vikings in Super Bowl 11.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1980)
The Steelers cemented their status as the team of the 1970s as they won their fourth Super Bowl in six seasons with a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in 1980, but their dynasty effectively ended the next season. Pittsburgh finished 9–7 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971. The team would not reach the Super Bowl again until 1995.
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San Francisco 49ers (1990)
After the 49ers won their fourth title of the decade with a 55-10 dismantling of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 24, San Francisco reached the NFC Championship against the New York Giants . After Joe Montana was injured and there was a late lost fumble in the fourth quarter, Matt Bahr 's five goals, including a 42-yarder as time expired, proved to be the difference, sending the Giants to the Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills .
Dallas Cowboys (1994)
Barry Switzer took over the Cowboys after head coach Jimmy Johnson and owner Jerry Jones let egos get in the way after Dallas sent the Bills back to the losers column in Super Bowls 27 and 28. The Cowboys, with Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, met the 49ers for the NFC title. They found themselves down 21-0 in the first quarter and turned the ball over five times before their comeback bid came up short in a 38-28 loss.
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Denver Broncos (1999)
John Elway cemented his Hall of Fame career and retired after winning back-to-back Super Bowls over the Packers and Atlanta Falcons . Brian Griese took over the quarterback reins, and Denver lost its first four games. In a Week 4 contest against the New York Jets , running back Terrell Davis was lost for the season after tearing his ACL. The Broncos finished 6-10; they had lost only 10 games total in the three seasons before 1999.
New England Patriots (2005)
The New England dynasty started after the team won three Super Bowls in four seasons, including back-to-back crowns in 2003 and 2004.
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The next season, the Patriots entered the AFC divisional round against the Broncos, but couldn't hold on to the ball. They turned it over five times, including Champ Bailey 's 100-yard interception return, during the 27-13 loss. It was the Broncos' first playoff win since Super Bowl 33 and New England's decade-long Super Bowl win drought started with this loss.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl three-peat? How previous back-to-back winners fared
