After defeating the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs have now played in five of the last six Super Bowls. While they had a chance to make NFL history by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles and winning their third-straight Super Bowl, they weren’t able to win Super Bowl 59.
No team has ever won back-to-back-to-back titles, and the Chiefs weren’t able to change that. However, there are some teams that have appeared in three straight Super Bowls. Let’s revisit which NFL teams accomplished this feat.
Has Any NFL Team Played in Three Consecutive Super Bowls?
The Chiefs became the fourth team in NFL history to play in three straight Super Bowls. Interestingly, no NFC team has ever pulled this off — it has only been done by AFC teams. In fact, every member of this exclusive club happens to be from the AFC East.
The first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls was the Miami Dolphins from 1971 through 1973. Miami won the final two of those Super Bowls, becoming the second team in eight years to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
The next team to achieve this feat was the Buffalo Bills. In fact, they actually played in four straight Super Bowls from 1990 through 1993. The Bills dominated their competition in the AFC Championship Game over that stretch, winning three of the four games by 17 points or more. Unfortunately for the Bills, those squads are remembered for losing in all four Super Bowls.
The last team to advance to three consecutive Super Bowls was the New England Patriots. From 2016 through 2018, the Patriots represented the AFC in the Super Bowl each year. Like Miami, they won two of three Super Bowls.
Which Teams Have Nearly Achieved the Feat?
Aside from the three squads listed above, teams have won back-to-back conference titles 16 times.
In the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos both won back-to-back titles on two separate occasions. Additionally, the Patriots have gone to two straight (and three in four years). The Broncos also won three conference titles in four seasons between 1986 and 1989.
Then, there are the Chiefs, who have gone to the Super Bowl in back-to-back and then back-to-back-to-back in a six-year span. They did it in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Then, they lost in the AFC Conference Championship Game in the 2021 season. After that, they won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and advanced back to football’s biggest stage in 2024.
The Dallas Cowboys have gone to back-to-back Super Bowls three times and played in three Super Bowls in four years on two different occasions. They also lost three straight NFC Championship Games from 1980 through 1982. The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles have also lost three straight title games. The San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks have also been to two straight Super Bowls.
The final NFC team that has nearly gone to three straight Super Bowls is the Green Bay Packers, who represented the NFC in the first two Super Bowls. They also won the final NFL Championship before Super Bowls began, so had there been a Super Bowl that season, they would have gone to three straight. The Packers also won two straight NFC Championship Games in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
Has Any Team Won Three Straight Super Bowls?
There has never been a Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history. In a league with so much parity, winning three consecutive Super Bowls is an extremely difficult feat. It’s worth noting that the Packers won three consecutive NFL championships in 1965, 1966, and 1967, but the first title was before the Super Bowl was implemented.
In the Super Bowl era, the Patriots and Cowboys came closest to winning three straight.
New England won three titles in four years between the 2001 and 2004 seasons. Meanwhile, the Cowboys won three Super Bowl titles in four years between the 1992 and 1995 seasons. Additionally, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years between the 1974 and 1979 NFL seasons.
The Chiefs hoped to become the first team to achieve this feat at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, but instead, the Eagles won in convincing fashion, 40-22.