Super Bowl: History of back-to-back winners

The NFL will need to keep waiting to see back-to-back Super Bowl champions. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ attempt at doing so with a 31-9 victory in Super Bowl 2021. With Bucs quarterback Tom Brady looking to play a few more seasons, Tampa Bay may very well be the team to displace the Tom Brady-led 2003-04 New England Patriots as the latest back-to-back winners.

Let’s take a look back at the history of repeat Super Bowl winners.

It is no coincidence that the trophy given to the NFL champion is named after Vince Lombardi, one of the league’s legendary coaches and the man that led the Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls. (Of course, back then it wasn’t known as the Super Bowl, but rather the “AFL-NFL Championship Game.”) Lombardi’s final game as Packers coach was the victory in Super Bowl 2, ending an incredible nine-season career during which his teams won five NFL championships, including the aforementioned two Super Bowls.

The 1972 Dolphins remain the only team in NFL history to finish a season with an unbeaten record, capping off their perfect campaign with a 14-7 win over Washington in Super Bowl 7. The city of Miami wouldn’t have to wait long for another championship. The Dolphins went 12-2 during the 1973 regular season and rolled through the playoffs, winning each of its three postseason games by 17 points.

The 1970s Steelers are considered one of the most dominant teams in pro football history, winning four Super Bowl titles in a six-season span. With this incredible run, the franchise established itself as one of the league’s foremost dynasties — following in the footsteps of the 1940s Chicago Bears, 1950s’ Cleveland Browns, and the 1960s Packers. Buoyed by its “Steel Curtain” defense and the prolific arm of Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers won 80 games (including playoffs) from 1974-79, by far the most of any team during that span.

An offensive juggernaut led by Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, San Francisco began its run of back-to-back titles with a narrow 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super 23. The 49ers then successfully defended their championship with a 55-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos one year later, the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history.

Powered by the dynamic trio of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys dismantled the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 27 by a 52-17 score to win the franchise’s first ring since the late 1970s. Dallas suffered through the inevitable Super Bowl hangover at the start of the 1993 season, dropping its first two games, before cruising to another NFC East title and a 30-13 victory over the Bills in the big game for the second straight year.

The Broncos were the first AFC team to repeat as Super Bowl winners since the 1970s Steelers, beating the Packers for their first title and the Atlanta Falcons for their second one. John Elway capped his Hall of Fame career in storybook fashion, winning the MVP award in his final game on Feb. 1, 1999 following the Broncos’ 34-19 victory in Super Bowl 33.

The Patriots established themselves as the NFL’s most recent dynasty with three Super Bowl wins in four years during the early 2000s, including back-to-back titles following the 2003-04 seasons.