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How Many NFL Teams Have Won Back-to-Back Super Bowls?

Winning a Super Bowl is hard. Winning two in a row is magical.

By Matthew Jackson

Just getting to a Super Bowl is hard. You have to battle your way through a tough regular season, survive at least two rounds of playoffs (depending on your record), and keep your team together in a game that's prone to injuries and burnout. Then, when you finally get there, you have to stick to your game plan and execute on the biggest stage in sports. There's a reason everyone on the winning team gets big, shiny rings to commemorate the achievement. 

So yes, winning a Super Bowl is the pinnacle of American football, but winning two in a row? That's the kind of thing that makes you a legend. The NFL is so competitive and the season so tough that pulling off back-to-back championships only happens to a select few teams with the right talent, momentum, and circumstances. In nearly 60 years of Super Bowls, it's only come around a handful of times. . 

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So, which teams have managed to pull off the repeat? Let's take a look back.

How Many NFL Teams Won Back-to-Back Super Bowls?

Only eight teams have ever won back-to-back Super Bowls — a feat that has only happened nine times in NFL history. The teams are the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and the Kansas City Chiefs.

All the NFL teams that have won back-to-back Super Bowl championships


Green Bay Packers - Super Bowl I & Super Bowl II

Ray Nitschke #66 of the Green Bay Packers makes eye contact with a Los Angeles Ram and goes in for the tackle

Ever wondered why the Super Bowl trophy is called the Lombardi trophy? Well, it's named for the first coach to ever win one, the great Vince Lombardi, and in true legendary fashion, he and his team set themselves by winning it not once, but twice. In the winter of 1967, the Green Bay Packers, led by Lombardi and quarterback Bart Starr, won the first-ever Super Bowl, a matchup that pitted them, as NFL champions, against AFL champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Then, one year later, they repeated with a victory over the AFL champion Oakland Raiders, cementing the Packers as an all-time iconic football franchise, and getting Super Bowl history off to a dominant start.

Miami Dolphins - Super Bowl VII & Super Bowl VIII

Don Shula, Coach of the Miami Dolphins speaks with Quarterback Bob Griese and Quarterback Earl Morrall during an NFL football game against the Baltimore Colts

The Miami Dolphins haven't made a Super Bowl appearance since 1985, but back in the early 1970s they were the dominant team in the National Football League. In January of 1973, just a year after losing Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys, the Dolphins and head coach Don Shula capped off what remains the only perfect season in NFL history with a victory over Washington, then followed it up the next year with a win over the Minnesota Vikings. The back-to-back victories, plus the perfect season in 1972-73, keeps this Dolphins squad in the conversation for Greatest Team in NFL History. 

Pittsburgh Steelers - Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X

Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Terry Bradshaw prepares to throw a pass to one of his fellow teammates

Though the Miami Dolphins dominated the early 1970s in the NFL, the rest of the decade belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw and the legendary "Steel Curtain" defense, the Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings in 1975 to capture the franchise's first Super Bowl, then defeated the Dallas Cowboys in 1976 to claim back-to-back championships. And they weren't done yet.

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Pittsburgh Steelers - Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV

Running back Franco Harris #32 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles

Just three years after clinching their first back-to-back championships, the Steelers roared back and did it again, defeating the Cowboys in 1979 (cementing what's arguably the greatest football rivalry of the 1970s), and the Los Angeles Rams in 1980. To this day, the Steelers remain the only NFL franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice in their history. 

San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowl XXIII and Super Bowl XXIV

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana (16) of the San Francisco 49ers throws a pass during the 49ers 36-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings

If the Steelers were the team of the '70s, then the San Francisco 49ers were undoubtedly the team of the 1980s. With a roster that included the legendary quarterback Joe Montana, wide receiver Jerry Rice, and head coach Bill Walsh presiding over it all, the 49ers claimed four Super Bowl titles in nine years, winning the Lombardi trophy in 1982 and 1985 before coming back to the Big Game in 1989. In that game, they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals to claim their third Super Bowl title, then the next year they turned around and absolutely dominated the Denver Broncos to close out the decade with back-to-back titles.

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Dallas Cowboys - Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII

Quarterback Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys #8 takes the snap from center Mark Stepnoski #53 against the San Francisco 49ers

In the early 1990s, under the leadership of new owner Jerry Jones and new head coach Jimmie Johnson, the Dallas Cowboys re-established their "America's Team" moniker with a roster of all-stars led by quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, wide receiver Michael Irvin, and more. This powerful roster took the Cowboys on a dominant run that included Super Bowl wins in 1993 and 1994, making legends out of the team's stars and establishing the Cowboys as one of the league's most beloved franchises yet again. Ask any Cowboys fan, and they'll probably tell you it never got better than this run.

Denver Broncos - Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII

John Elway #7, Quarterback for the Denver Broncos calls the play on the line of scrimmage during the American Football Conference West game against the Kansas City Chiefs

John Elway spent the 1980s defining himself as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. There was just one problem: He couldn't seem to win the Big One. Elway and the Denver Broncos took three trips to the Super Bowl in four years in the '80s, and lost every time, leaving one of the game's best without a title ring. Then came Elway's final seasons in Denver, and things turned around. Thanks to a dynamic roster around him and his own no-quit attitude and football mind, Elway managed to win not one, but two Super Bowls in a row to close out his playing career, giving the Broncos their first Super Bowl titles in franchise history. 

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New England Patriots - Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots raises his arms in celebration of a play against the Carolina Panthers during Super Bowl XXXVIII

When you think of Super Bowl dominance in the modern era, the New England Patriots should be the first team that comes to mind. Led by head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots were a regular fixture in the Big Game throughout the first two decades of the 21st century, making no fewer than nine appearances in a 17-year span from 2002 to 2019, and winning an astonishing six Super Bowls. At the beginning of the century the Patriots had no Super Bowl wins, and in less than 20 years they were suddenly tied with the Steelers for most Super Bowl wins of any franchise. That's incredible, but even the Belichick/Brady Patriots only managed a single back-to-back title run. In 2004, the Patriots secured their second Super Bowl championship with a win over the Carolina Panthers, and the next year they won their third title in franchise history with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was enough to cement Brady and Belichick among the greatest of all time, but it turns out they were just getting started.

Kansas City Chiefs - Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LVIII

Patrick Mahomes playing football.

The Chiefs have a storied Super Bowl history going all the way back to the very first installment, but before Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes came along, Kansas City hadn't appeared in the Big Game since 1970, which was their last and only victory in the contest. The 2019 season brought that drought to a close, handing the Chiefs their second Super Bowl victory in franchise history, but that was only the beginning. Reid, Mahomes, and the Chiefs have made appearances in four of the last five Super Bowls, and with their victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, they joined the select few teams to ever go back-to-back. With Mahomes in their corner, there's no telling how far the Chiefs could go, and now they get to see if they can be the first team ever to threepeat the Big Game.

For more NFL news, head to NBC Sports.

Originally published Feb 1, 2024.

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