It's as easy as one-two-three. Right?
Not when it comes to winning Super Bowls.
The NFL has never had a team win three consecutive Super Bowls, making the modern-day football three-peat one of the most elusive championship pinnacles in sports.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are now two-thirds of the way to history, having won their second-straight Super Bowl with a thrilling 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
“I am going to celebrate tonight, celebrate at the parade and then work my way to get back in this game next year,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said after the win. “I am going to do whatever I can to be back in this game next year. Three-peat.”
The Chiefs, who have won three of the last five Super Bowls, will begin their quest for the three-peat when the 2024 season begins in September.
“Well, you know the goal has always been to get three,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on stage after the win. “But we couldn’t get here without getting that two, and having that target on our back all year.... How about that? We get a chance to do it three times in a row.”
NFL
How many NFL teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls?
Kansas City became just the ninth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
The last team to do so was the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. The Patriots fell three victories shy of a three-peat, losing to the Denver Broncos in the 2005 divisional round.
The Green Bay Packers won three-straight championships from 1965 to 1967, but their first title in that stretch was the year before the Super Bowl era began. Three potential three-peaters lost in the conference championship game during the Super Bowl era.
Here are all of the NFL teams that have won consecutive Super Bowls and how they fared the following season:
- Kansas City Chiefs, 2022 and 2023 (2024: TBD)
- New England Patriots, 2003 and 2004 (2005: Lost in divisional round)
- Denver Broncos, 1997 and 1998 (1999: Finished 6-10, missed playoffs)
- Dallas Cowboys, 1992 and 1993 (1994: Lost NFC Championship)
- San Francisco 49ers, 1988 and 1989 (1990: Lost NFC Championship)
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 1978 and 1979 (1980: Finished 9-7, missed playoffs)
- Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974 and 1975 (1976: Lost AFC Championship)
- Miami Dolphins, 1972 and 1973 (1974: Lost in divisional round)
- Green Bay Packers, 1966 and 1967 (1968: Finished 6-7-1, missed playoffs)
How many teams in sports have had a three-peat?
The most recent three-peat in American professional sports was achieved by Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers, who won NBA championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a repeat three-peat, winning three straight titles from 1991 to 1993 and then again from 1996 to 1998. The Boston Celtics won eight straight championships from 1959 to 1966.
In the NFL, no team in the Super Bowl era has three-peated … technically. The Green Bay Packers won the last NFL Championship game in 1965 and the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967.
MLB has had four three-peats. Three of them have been by the New York Yankees, with the most recent being from 1998 to 2000. The only other baseball team to win three straight World Series? The Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974.
Three teams have three-peated in the NHL, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens each doing so twice. The only U.S. team to three-peat is the New York Islanders, who won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1984.
In college sports, Georgia has a chance this upcoming season to become the first Division I football program to three-peat in over 80 years.
Here’s a look at three-peats in team sports:
NFL
Green Bay Packers: 1929-1931, 1965-1967
NBA
Boston Celtics: 1959-1966
Chicago Bulls: 1991-1993, 1996-1998
Los Angeles Lakers: 1952-1954, 2000-2002
WNBA
Houston Comets: 1997-2000
MLB
New York Yankees: 1936-1939, 1949-1953, 1998-2000
Oakland Athletics: 1972-1974
NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs: 1947-1949, 1962-1964
Montreal Canadiens: 1956-1960, 1976-1979
New York Islanders: 1980-1984
Men’s college basketball
UCLA: 1967-1973
Women’s college basketball
Connecticut: 2002-2004, 2013-2016
Tennessee: 1996-1998
College football (not including co-champs)
Yale football: 1886-1888
Minnesota football: 1934-1936