The Kansas City Chiefs look to end a long drought for defending Super Bowl champions.
On Sunday at Raymond James Stadium and for the 14th time, the defending Super Bowl champion is headed back to the “Big Game” and looks to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for a second straight year.
In 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, in South Florida. Now head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the reigning champions head back to the Sunshine State for a Super Bowl LV clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Reid and company look to become the first league franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls since current Buccaneers’ quarterback Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to titles in 2003 (XXXVIII) and 2004 (XXXIX).
So if the Chiefs are to repeat as NFL champions, they will have to knock off the Bucs for the second time this year. For what it’s worth, when a team defeats another club during the regular season and then they clash on Super Sunday, the winner during the regular season is 6-7 in the Super Bowl.
So what about those previous 13 occasions in which a team went back to the “Big Game” in hopes of repeating? Here’s a historical look (in chronological order).
Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowls I and II
Vince Lombardi’s squad captured league titles in 1961, 1962 and 1965. They would face the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs in the first “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” Green Bay made a statement in handling Hank Stram’s club, 35-10.
A year later, the Pack finished 9-4-1 but made it two straight wins on Super Sunday with a 33-14 conquest of the Oakland Raiders at the Orange Bowl in what proved to be Lombardi’s final game as the franchise’s head coach.
Miami Dolphins: Won Super Bowls VII and VII
After making their first appearance on Super Sunday in 1971 and failing to score a touchdown in a 24-3 loss to the Cowboys (VI), Don Shula’s club achieved perfection in 1972, culminating a 17-0 campaign with a 14-7 win over Washington at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
But you could make a case that the 1973 Dolphins were the better football and dominated the Bengals, Raiders and Vikings in the postseason by an impressive 85-33 combined score.
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Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowls IX and X
It’s the first of two occasions that Chuck Noll’s club appears on this list and both times, the “Team of the ‘70s” managed to defend its NFL title. The “Steel Curtain” put on quite a show in the 1974 playoffs, stifling the Bills, Raiders and Vikings on the way to the franchise’s first league title.
A year later, the team split its first two games, then reeled off 11 straight wins. It was the Lynn Swann Show in a 21-17 win over the Cowboys at the Orange Bowl.
Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl XII, Lost Super Bowl XIII
Tom Landry’s club was back in the “Big Game” after a loss to Pittsburgh two years earlier. The Cowboys would face the upstart Denver Broncos for the second time in 1977, having stifled the AFC champions in the regular-season finale at Texas Stadium.
A sloppy Super Bowl XII saw Dallas come up with eight takeaways in a 27-10 win. A year later at the Orange Bowl, it was Landry’s squad that made too many mistakes in an epic 35-31 loss to the Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowls XIII and XIV
After back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1974 and ’75, the Black and Gold lost an AFC title game and were then ousted at Denver in the 1977 divisional round. The Steelers won their first seven games a season later, finished a league-best 14-2 and scored 33-plus points in postseason wins over the Broncos, Oilers and Cowboys.
Chuck Noll’s club turned over the ball 52 times in 1979 but still got back to the Super Bowl where they rallied to beat the Rams.
Washington Football Team: Won Super Bowl XVII, Lost Super Bowl XVIII
Joe Gibbs became the franchise’s head coach in 1981 and after a rough start, the team won seven of its last nine games. It carried that momentum into ’82, which wound up being a 9-game season due to labor issues. The club would rally to knock off the Dolphins in Pasadena thanks to relentless John Riggins.
A year later, the team finished 14-2 and would clash with the Raiders in Tampa. But Washington was overwhelmed by the Silver and Black, 38-9.
San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV
In 1988, Bill Walsh’s club got off to a 6-5 start and the San Francisco offense was erratic – be it future Hall of Famers Joe Montana or Steve Young at the controls. A 6-5 mark morphed into a 4-1 finish and the 49ers disposed of the Vikings, Bears and Bengals in Walsh’s final season.
Enter George Seifert, a revitalized Montana and a 14-2 showing that culminated with playoff wins over the Vikings, Rams and Broncos by a combined 100 points (126-26).
Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII
It would amount to three Super Bowl titles in four years, the first two under Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys were a playoff team in ‘91 and fell short at Detroit in the divisional round. One year later, the club finished 13-3 and knocked off the Niners in the NFC title game before routing Buffalo.
Emmitt Smith was a holdout early in 1993 but Dallas repeated and the NFL’s all-time rushing leader captured Super Bowl XXVIII MVP honors.
Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl XXXI, Lost Super Bowl XXXII
The franchise from “Titletown” hadn’t vied for an NFL championship in nearly 30 years. But Mike Holmgren’s explosive club held off a tough challenge from Bill Parcells’ Patriots at the Superdome and the Packers were NFL champions in 1996.
They appeared primed to repeat as they took on the wild card Broncos in San Diego. But Green Bay’s defense had their issues slowing down Denver’s running game and were on the wrong end of a 31-24 score.
Denver Broncos: Won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII
Mike Shanahan’s talented squad stubbed its toes at home in the 1996 playoffs vs. Jacksonville. But the Broncos would more than make up for it the next two seasons, capturing the franchise’s first two NFL championships. Terrell Davis came up big in the postseason and especially in stunning the Packers in San Diego.
In 1998, Denver won its first 13 games, captured Super Bowl XXXIII and legendary quarterback John Elway rode off into the sunset.
New England Patriots: Won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX
After missing the playoffs in 2002 and opening 2-2 in ’03, the team would win its next 21 games, including postseason wins over the Titans, Colts and Panthers. Bill Belichick’s club, 6-0 in 2004, would see that record streak end in Pittsburgh but the Patriots would lose just one more game the rest of the season. They stifled the Colts in the divisional round, avenged that setback to the Steelers in the AFC title game and beat the Eagles in Jacksonville.
Seattle Seahawks: Won Super Bowl XLVIII, Lost Super Bowl XLIX
Pete Carroll’s magnificent defense came up big on Super Sunday against a Broncos’ team that amassed an NFL-record 606 points in 2013. The Seahawks scored on offense, defense and special teams in a 43-8 triumph at MetLife Stadium.
A year later, the club got off to a so-so start but entered the playoffs with a head of steam. In Super Bowl XLIX, Seattle owned a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead before Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady did his thing.
New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl LI, Lost Super Bowl LII
Bill Belichick’s club finished 14-2 in 2016 and then rolled the Texans and Steelers in the divisional playoffs and AFC title game, respectively. The Pats proceeded to fall behind the Atlanta Falcons, 28-3, in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI before rallying to win in overtime.
The defending champs were 13-3 in 2017 and knocked off the Titans and Jaguars in the playoffs. But 505 passing yards by Tom Brady wasn’t enough as the team fell to the Eagles, 41-33.