Two and done: How the first 8 NFL teams seeking a three-peat fell short
2025-01-28
Category: sports

The Chiefs, as you may have heard, are trying to become the first NFL team to win three straight championships in the Super Bowl era. Kansas City is just one win away from pulling it off, which is to say the Chiefs are as close as any team has gotten in the past 48 years. Three-peating, in general, is not an easy thing to do. No team in the four major sports has done it in the past 20 years. The Los Angeles Lakers won three NBA titles from 2000-02, the New York Yankees did it in baseball from 1998-2000, and the New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83. But in the NFL, just making the Super Bowl after two straight championships is unprecedented. Now, as the Chiefs prepare to play the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, let's look back at the eight NFL teams that won back-to-back titles and why they fell short in their quest for a third. (Note: The years are for the seasons they played in, not the year of the Super Bowl.) [Prepare for the epic Eagles-Chiefs matchup on FOX Sports' Super Bowl LIX hub] New England Patriots, 2003-05 WHY THEY WON: This was three championships in four years, and the back-to-back titles came two years after Tom Brady's triumphant arrival in the 2001 season. These two rings were largely due to New England's defense, which gave up the league's fewest points in 2003 and the second-fewest in 2004. Brady threw three touchdowns and set up Adam Vinatieri's game-winner to beat Carolina, and the Patriots repeated when Brady threw two more touchdowns and Rodney Harrison picked off Donovan McNabb to clinch a close win over the Eagles. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: New England opened the 2005 season just 6-5, finished strong to go 10-6 but had to go on the road in the divisional round. The Patriots played at Denver and struggled, with Brady throwing two interceptions and managing only six points until a touchdown in the fourth quarter. If you don't remember Brady losing to Jake Plummer and the Broncos, it's probably because Denver lost a week later to Pittsburgh on the way to a Steelers championship.  Denver Broncos, 1997-99 WHY THEY WON: Fourteen years into his NFL career, John Elway had a 7-7 playoff record and two lopsided Super Bowl losses. But it all came together in 1997-98, thanks in large part to star running back Terrell Davis, who rushed for 581 yards and eight TDs in the 1997 playoffs, then 468 yards in three games when the Broncos repeated. Davis scored the go-ahead touchdown to beat the Packers the first year, then Elway led Denver to a 31-6 lead in an easy win over the Falcons for the repeat. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: Elway went out on top, retiring after back-to-back titles, and the Broncos then took a big step back. They opened the 1999 season 0-4 and finished 6-10, with second-year quarterback Brian Griese managing 14 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Denver wouldn't win another playoff game until the 2005 season, when they ended New England's shot at a three-peat. Dallas Cowboys, 1992-94 WHY THEY WON: How 'bout them Cowboys? Three years removed from a 1-15 season, Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones had the "triplets" — quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin — and dominated the NFL, winning six playoff games all by double-digit points and two easy Super Bowls over the Bills. The 1993 Cowboys ranked second in points scored and second in points allowed, with eight Pro Bowlers and a league MVP in Smith, who led the NFL in rushing in both championship seasons. [Related: 'How bout them Cowboys': Looking back at the iconic phrase 32 years later] HOW THEY FELL SHORT: Johnson and Jones had their split and Barry Switzer took over. Dallas wasn't as dominant, with Aikman throwing 13 touchdowns in 14 starts, and while the Cowboys won the NFC East again, they lost two of their last three and had to hit the road in the divisional round. In San Francisco, they fell hard to the 49ers, with three turnovers in the first five minutes, starting with an Aikman pick-six, leading to a 21-0 deficit. The Cowboys would never get closer than 10 points the rest of the way, though they'd win another Super Bowl the next season under Switzer for three in four years.  San Francisco 49ers, 1988-90 WHY THEY WON: After two titles in the early 1980s, San Francisco had lost its playoff opener three years in a row, but the 49ers came back in dominant fashion in 1988-89. Bill Walsh and Joe Montana were the center of the first one, and while the win in 1988 was close, a 10-6 team needing a Montana touchdown to John Taylor with 0:34 left to beat the Bengals, the 1989 team cruised under first-year coach George Seifert. San Francisco went 14-2 and won three playoff games by a combined 100 points, including a 55-10 rout of the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Montana threw five touchdowns in that game, three to Jerry Rice. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: The 49ers went 14-2 again in 1990, but the league's top offense ran into the NFL's top defense in the conference championship, in the Giants and Bill Parcells. New York won 15-13 without scoring a touchdown, holding Montana to 190 yards on the way to a Super Bowl championship of its own. Montana would never start another game for the 49ers due to an elbow injury, though the 49ers would win another Super Bowl with Seifert and Steve Young in 1994. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1978-80 WHY THEY WON: Pittsburgh won four titles in six years from 1974-79, owning a decade like few teams in NFL history. The 1978 team was the most dominant of the four, going 14-2 and getting four Terry Bradshaw touchdown passes to beat Dallas. The 1979 team went 12-4 and trailed the Rams in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl before Bradshaw threw a 73-yard touchdown to John Stallworth. Bradshaw threw for 318 and 309 yards in the two Super Bowls, the latter on 14 completions. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: After eight straight years in the playoffs, the Steelers struggled, losing two of their last three to finish 9-7 and miss the postseason. It was the beginning of the end — key pieces from the 1970s dynasty would retire, and Pittsburgh would manage just two playoff wins in the next 14 seasons, returning to the Super Bowl in 2005 and losing to the Cowboys.  Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974-76 WHY THEY WON: Pittsburgh's first shot at a three-peat came at the start of its dynastic run. Led by a defense loaded by Hall of Fame players, the Steelers held their last 12 opponents to 17 points or fewer in 1974. In a Super Bowl win over Minnesota, they held the Vikings to 119 yards of total offense, their only points coming off a blocked punt. A year later, Pittsburgh intercepted Roger Staubach three times in the second half and got another long Bradshaw touchdown in rallying to beat the Cowboys and secure a second straight title. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: Pittsburgh's defense gave up fewer than 10 points per game in the 1976 regular season. In the AFC Championship Game, however, the Steelers were shorthanded offensively, with starting running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier out due to injuries. Pittsburgh lost 24-7 to Oakland and John Madden on the way to a Raiders Super Bowl championship. Miami Dolphins, 1972-74 WHY THEY WON: The 1972 Dolphins are famously the only undefeated team in the Super Bowl era, going 17-0 under Don Shula and beating Washington 14-7 for their first title. A year later, they lost two regular-season games but were more dominant in the playoffs, winning all three games by at least 17 points, ending with a 24-7 Super Bowl win over the Vikings. Star running back Larry Csonka ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: Miami had to go on the road in the divisional round to Oakland, and the two teams combined for a thriller featuring three lead changes in the fourth quarter. Miami took the lead with two minutes left, but Raiders QB Ken Stabler threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game with 26 seconds on the clock to end the Dolphins' hopes of a third straight title. Oakland would lose to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl to start another back-to-back run.  Green Bay Packers, 1966-68 WHY THEY WON: To be clear, Green Bay won three straight titles from 1965-67, but the first predated the Super Bowl by a year, so the Packers miss out when we say that no team has won three straight Super Bowls. Back in 1966, teams needed only two wins for a title, so Vince Lombardi's squad beat the Cowboys for the NFL championship and then an easy 35-10 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl I. The next year, the tough game was "The Ice Bowl," in which Green Bay edged Dallas 21-17 in the NFL championship in minus-13-degree weather on a Bart Starr touchdown with 13 seconds left. By comparison, a 33-14 win over the Raiders in Super Bowl II in 60-degree Miami was easy. HOW THEY FELL SHORT: Lombardi retired, and let's just say that successor Phil Bengtson doesn't have any trophies named after him. Green Bay went 6-7-1 and finished third in its division. The Packers would have one playoff win in the next 25 years. Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!