Kansas City Chiefs join select group by beating 49ers, winning Super Bowl LVIII
A victory in Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII admitted the Chiefs to a small circle of greatness:
Repeat NFL champions.
The Chiefs became the ninth team to win Super Bowls in successive years, and the first since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004, by beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime at Allegiant Stadium.
A common link through the list of repeat winners? An excellent coach/quarterback combination, starting with the first two Super Bowls, won by the Green Bay Packers — who were led by coach Vince Lombardi and quarterback Bart Starr.
The Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s Super Bowl.
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Here’s the club the Chiefs joined by repeating:
Green Bay Packers, 1966, 1967 seasons, Super Bowls I, II: The championship game didn’t become the Super Bowl until the next year. These decisive Green Bay victories over the Chiefs and Oakland Raiders were AFL-NFL World Championship Games. Starr was the MVP of both.
Miami Dolphins, 1972, 1973, Super Bowls VII, VIII: Don Shula’s Dolphins went 17-0 — the NFL’s last undefeated team — en route to their first Super Bowl victory, over Washington. They followed that by beating the Minnesota Vikings.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974, 1975, Super Bowls IX, X: The Steel Curtain defense paved the way as Pittsburgh shut down the Vikings, limiting Minnesota to a Super Bowl-low 119 total yards. Wide receiver Lynn Swann made several acrobatic catches the next season in a victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1978, 1979, Super Bowls XIII, XIV: Coach Chuck Noll’s Steelers delivered more offense in this back-to-back set. Terry Bradshaw tossed a total of six touchdown passes and won each game’s MVP award in victories over the Cowboys and Los Angels Rams.
San Francisco 49ers, 1988, 1989, Super Bowls XXIII, XIV: Coach Bill Walsh’s 49ers won a nail-biter against the Cincinnati Bengals. Jerry Rice dominated with 215 receiving yards. Then San Francisco beat the Denver Broncos in a laugher, with Joe Montana tossing five touchdown passes.
Dallas Cowboys, 1992, 1993, Super Bowls XXIX, XXVIII: The only repeat champion over the same opponent, the Cowboys of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin twice defeated the Buffalo Bills by a combined score of 82-30. After the second title, Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson stepped down because of differences with owner Jerry Jones.
Denver Broncos, 1997, 1998, Super Bowls XXXII, XXXIII: In the final two seasons of his career, John Elway won his first Super Bowl, beating the Green Bay Packers, and then won another by besting the Atlanta Falcons. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, the father of current 49ers coach Kyle Shananan, joined Shula as the only coaches to win two Super Bowls in their first four years.
New England Patriots, 2003, 2004, Super Bowls: Tom Belichick and Tom Brady, the most successful coach/quarterback duo in NFL history, won two of their six titles in back-to-back fashion — a pair of three-point victories over the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles.
