the Super Bowl is the end of season Championship Game between the side the has won the American Football Conference and the winners of the National Football Conference. It is the most important game of the year for American football, if not US sport in general, and is one of the most watched sporting events anywhere in the world. Every team wants to play in it, so those that have done so more than once are revered.
The Super Bowl took place for the first time in 1967, meaning that as been 58 between then and 2024. When you consider that only two teams have won it six times, setting the record for victories, it makes it even clearer just how hard it is to win the Super Bowl once, let alone in consecutive years. It has been done, though, so here’s a look at the teams that have managed to pull it off.
Quick Answer: Who Has Won Back-To-Back Super Bowls?
Between 1967 and 2024, eight NFL sides have won consecutive Super Bowls, they are the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers.
To date, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team to do this on two occasions, in 1975 & 1976 and 1979 & 1980.
Which Sides Have Won Consecutive Super Bowls?
Though appearing in the Super Bowl is most certainly an achievement, it’s winning it that owners, coaches, players and supporters all want their team to be able to say that they’ve done. To win consecutive Super Bowls is something that only a small number of teams have managed, so it’s little surprise that they’re the ones that have gone down in history for their achievement. Here’s a look at the teams that have managed it:
Winners of Consecutive Super Bowls – 1967 to 2024
| Champion | Opening Win | Repeat Win |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | LVII (2023) | LVIII (2024) |
| New England Patriots | XXXVIII (2004) | XXXIX (2005) |
| Denver Broncos | XXXII (1998) | XXXIII (1999) |
| Dallas Cowboys | XXVII (1993) | XXVIII (1994) |
| San Francisco 49ers | XXIII (1989) | XXIV (1990) |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | XIII (1979) | XIV (1980) |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | IX (1975) | X (1976) |
| Miami Dolphins | VII (1973) | VIII (1974) |
| Green Bay Packers | I (1967) | II (1968) |
All of the teams on the list above have accomplished something incredible by winning consecutive Super Bowls, which makes the achievement of the Pittsburgh Steelers, how have won consecutive Super Bowls twice, all the more impressive. The New England Patriots also deserve a mention, following up their consecutive wins at Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX with three consecutive appearances at Super Bowls LI, LII and LIII, responding to losing at Super Bowl LII by coming back the following year and winning.
The Dallas Cowboys also warrant a mention, given that their consecutive wins in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII were both against the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, meanwhile, appeared in four finals in succession without winning a single one of them. The New England Patriots won both Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX, giving them their first consecutive wins in 11 Super Bowl appearances, which is the most appearances of any side.
It’s perhaps not all that surprising that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the most successful NFL team with their two separate consecutive Super Bowl wins, given that they have also won the joint-record number of Super Bowls as the Patriots but in three fewer appearances. They’ve also only lost twice, which compares favourably to the New England Patriots and their five Super Bowl losses to date.
The Pittsburgh Steelers
By James Watt, flickr
It’s one heck of a claim to fame for the Steelers to be able to say that they’ve won the Super Bowl in consecutive years not once but twice. Based in the city of Pittsburgh and competing in the North division of the American Football Conference, the Steelers are older than all but six other NFL franchises and are the oldest of the AFC sides. Having never won the championship before the merger of the AFL with the NFL, they’ve won it six times since.
The Steelers have played in more Conference Championship Games than any other side and have hosted more, doing the former 16 times and the latter 11. They’ve won the AFC Championship eight times, which is tied with the Denver Broncos but puts them behind the Patriots in terms of the record. The side is able to trace its existence back to a regional pro team but became part of the National Football League as the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933.
Chuck Noll
Chuck Noll, via Wikimedia Commons
The success of the Steelers truly began with the singing of Chuck Noll as coach, persuading him the leave the Baltimore Colts to join them. His success was largely down to his talent-spotting ability, drafting four future Hall Of Fame players in the 1974 draft. That set the team up to achieve something incredible, which it did when it won four Super Bowls in the space of six years, including the successive wins in Super Bowls IX and X and then again in Super Bowls XIII and XIV.
Noll’s talent was in getting his team to put the hammer down and not relenting, as witnessed with the 49 consecutive regular season wins that they achieved between 1971 and 1979 against teams that would finish their campaign with a losing record. His success in the 1970s was something that many have looked to emulate but few have succeeded in doing so, with maybe only Bill Bellichick coming close. When his time with the Steelers came to an end, he finished with a record of 209–156–1.
Which Teams Have Managed Consecutive Appearances?
Whilst the defeated team will never feel much of a sense of pride in the wake of a Super Bowl, the reality is that even making it there in the first place in an incredible achievement. There are some teams that have done so more than once in succession, notching up consecutive appearances that are worth mentioning as an achievement in and of themselves, irrelevant of whether they won it or not.
Here’s a look at the teams that have appeared in the Super Bowl in successive seasons:
You can see, then, that twelve different teams have managed to make it to the Super Bowl in consecutive years. Some, such as the Buffalo Bills, have actually achieved it in more than two years in succession, having appeared in the Super Bowl for four years in a row. The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins both come close with their three years in succession too. It’s the Dallas Cowboys that take the crown though, having appeared in consecutive Super Bowls three separate times.