The Chiefs, as you might have heard, are attempting to change into the primary NFL staff to win three consecutive championships within the Super Bowl period. Kansas City is simply two wins away from succeeding, which means the Chiefs are nearer than any staff has come within the final 48 years.
Triple, typically, is just not a straightforward factor to do. No staff within the 4 main sports activities has performed so within the final 20 years. The Los Angeles Lakers gained three NBA titles from 2000-2002, the New York Yankees did so in baseball from 1998-2000, and the New York Islanders gained 4 consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-1983.
But within the NFL, attending to the Super Bowl after back-to-back championships could be unprecedented. That’s not all of the Chiefs are on the lookout for, after all, however as they put together to host the Bills within the AFC championship sport, let’s have a look again on the eight NFL groups which have gained back-to-back Super Bowls and why they didn’t catch up their purpose. seek for a 3rd get together. (Note: The years seek advice from the seasons they performed in, not the Super Bowl 12 months.)
New England Patriots2003-05
WHY THEY WON: That’s three championships in 4 years, and back-to-back titles got here two years after Tom Brady’s triumphant arrival within the 2001 season. Those two rings had been largely attributable to New England’s protection, which gave up the league’s fewest factors in 2003 and second-to-last in 2004. Brady threw three touchdowns and arrange Adam Vinatieri’s game-winner to beat Carolina, and the Patriots repeated when Brady he threw two extra touchdowns and Rodney Harrison picked off Donovan McNabb to clinch a detailed victory over the Eagles.
HOW THEY DIDN’T GET THERE: New England opened the 2005 season simply 6-5, completed robust to 10-6 however needed to go on the street within the divisional spherical. The Patriots performed Denver and struggled, with Brady throwing two interceptions and scoring solely six factors till a landing within the fourth quarter. If you do not keep in mind Brady dropping to Jake Plummer and the Broncos, it is most likely as a result of Denver misplaced every week later to Pittsburgh on the Steelers’ street to the championship.
Tom Brady led the Patriots to their second championship and the beginning of a double-peat, with a 32–29 victory over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. (Photo by Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald through Getty Images)
Denver Broncos1997-99
WHY THEY WON: Fourteen years into his NFL profession, John Elway had a 7-7 playoff file and two lopsided Super Bowl losses. But all of it got here collectively in 1997-98, partly because of Terrell Davis, who ran for 581 yards and eight touchdowns within the 1997 playoffs, then 468 yards in three video games when the Broncos repeated. Davis scored the go-ahead landing to beat the Packers his freshman 12 months, then Elway gave Denver a 31-6 lead in a straightforward win over the Falcons for the repeat.
HOW THEY MISSED: Elway prevailed, retiring after consecutive titles, after which the Broncos took a giant step again. They opened the 1999 season with a file of 0-4 and completed 6-10, with second-year quarterback Brian Griese managing 14 touchdowns in opposition to 14 interceptions. Denver did not win one other playoff sport till the 2005 season, once they ended New England’s streak with a three-pointer.
Dallas Cowboys1992-94
WHY THEY WON: How about these Cowboys? Three years faraway from a 1-15 season, Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones hit “hat methods” – quarterback Troy Aikman, operating again Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin – and dominated the NFL, successful six video games playoffs, all with double-digit factors and two straightforward Super Bowls on the books. The 1993 Cowboys ranked second in factors scored and second in factors allowed, with eight Pro Bowlers and a league MVP in Smith, who led the NFL in speeding in each championship seasons.
(Related: “How about these Cowboys”: Thinking again to the long-lasting phrase 32 years later)
HOW THEY MISSED: Johnson and Jones break up and Barry Switzer took over. Dallas wasn’t as dominant, with Aikman throwing 13 touchdowns in 14 begins, and whereas the Cowboys gained the NFC East once more, they misplaced two of their final three and needed to bow out within the divisional spherical. The 49ers had an unpleasant loss, with three turnovers within the first 5 minutes, beginning with a pick-six by Aikman, resulting in a 21-0 deficit. The Cowboys would by no means get nearer than 10 factors the remainder of the way in which, though they’d win one other Super Bowl the next season below Switzer’s management three in 4 years.
Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to 2 consecutive Super Bowl titles earlier than leaving for the Dolphins following the 1993 season. (Photo by James Smith/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers1988-90
WHY THEY WON: After two titles within the early Nineteen Eighties, San Francisco had misplaced the primary sport of the playoffs three straight years, however returned to dominance in 1988-89. Bill Walsh and Joe Montana had been the middle of the primary, and whereas victory in 1988 was shut, a 10-6 staff wanted a Montana landing to John Taylor with 0:34 left to beat the Bengals, the 1989 staff two-year coach George Seifert went below first. San Francisco completed 14-2 and gained three playoff video games by a mixed 100 factors, together with a 55-10 rout of the Broncos within the Super Bowl. Montana threw 5 touchdowns in that sport, three to Jerry Rice.
HOW THEY DON’T MISS THEM: The 49ers went 14-2 once more in 1990, however the league’s greatest offense confronted the NFL’s prime protection within the divisional spherical, within the Giants and Bill Parcells. New York gained 15-13 with out scoring a landing, holding Montana to 190 yards on its technique to a championship of its personal. Montana would by no means begin for the 49ers once more attributable to an elbow damage, though the 49ers would win one other Super Bowl with Seifert and Steve Young in 1994.
Pittsburgh Steelers1978-80
WHY THEY WON: Pittsburgh gained 4 titles in six years from 1974 to 1979, proudly owning a decade like few groups in NFL historical past. The 1978 staff was probably the most dominant of the 4, going 14-2 and catching 4 landing passes from Terry Bradshaw to beat Dallas. The 1979 staff went 12-4 and trailed the Rams within the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl earlier than Bradshaw threw a 73-yard landing to John Stallworth. Bradshaw threw for 318 and 309 yards within the two Super Bowls, the latter with 14 completions.
HOW THEY MISSED: After eight consecutive years within the playoffs, the Steelers struggled, dropping two of their final three and ending 9-7 and lacking the postseason. It was the start of the tip: Key items of the Seventies dynasty would retire, and Pittsburgh would earn simply two playoff victories over the following 14 seasons, returning to the Super Bowl in 2005 and dropping to the Cowboys.
Terry Bradshaw threw for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns in Super Bowl XIII, main the Steelers to a 35-31 victory over the Cowboys. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Steelers1974-76
WHY THEY WON: Pittsburgh’s first shot at a three-peat got here early in its dynastic run. Led by a protection loaded with Hall of Fame gamers, the Steelers held their final 12 opponents to 17 factors or fewer in 1974. In the Super Bowl win over Minnesota, they held the Vikings to 119 yards of complete offense, their solely factors got here a blocked punt. A 12 months later, Pittsburgh intercepted Roger Staubach 3 times within the second half and bought one other lengthy landing run from Bradshaw within the rally to beat the Cowboys and safe a second straight title.
HOW THEY’RE MISSED: This is the final staff on the lookout for a three-peat that additionally made it to a convention championship sport. Pittsburgh’s protection gave up fewer than 10 factors per sport, however on offense the Steelers had been with out operating backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier attributable to accidents. Pittsburgh misplaced 24–7 within the AFC title sport to Oakland and John Madden on the way in which to the Raiders Super Bowl championship.
Miami Dolphins1972-74
WHY THEY WON: The 1972 Dolphins are famously the one undefeated staff within the Super Bowl period, going 17-0 below Don Shula and beating Washington 14-7 for his or her first title. A 12 months later, they misplaced two common season video games however had been extra dominant within the playoffs, successful all three video games by at the very least 17 factors, ending with a 24–7 Super Bowl victory over the Vikings. Star operating again Larry Csonka ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
HOW THEY MISSED: Miami needed to go on the street within the divisional spherical to Oakland, and the 2 groups mixed for a thriller with three lead adjustments within the fourth quarter. Miami took the lead with two minutes left, however Raiders QB Ken Stabler threw his fourth landing move of the sport with 26 seconds on the clock, ending the Dolphins’ hopes of a 3rd straight title. Oakland would lose to Pittsburgh within the Super Bowl to begin one other back-to-back collection.
Running again Larry Csonka capped Miami’s second straight title with 145 speeding yards and two touchdowns in Super Bowl VIII. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Green Bay Packers1966-68
WHY THEY WON: To be clear, Green Bay gained three consecutive titles from 1965 to 1967, however the first one preceded the Super Bowl by a 12 months, so the Packers lose one thing after we say no staff has gained three consecutive Super Bowls. In 1966, groups wanted simply two wins for a title, so Vince Lombardi’s staff beat the Cowboys for the NFL championship after which a straightforward 35-10 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl I. The subsequent 12 months, the robust sport was “The Ice Bowl,” by which Green Bay beat Dallas 21-17 within the NFL Championship Game in minus 13 levels on a Bart Starr landing with 13 seconds left. By comparability, a 33-14 win over the Raiders in Super Bowl II in 60-degree warmth in Miami was straightforward.
HOW THEY’RE MISSED: Lombardi has retired, and let’s simply say successor Phil Bengtson does not have a trophy named after him. Green Bay went 6-7-1 and completed third in its division. The Packers would win one playoff sport within the subsequent 25 years.
Greg Auman is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He beforehand spent a decade masking the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and the Athletic. You can observe him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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