The Kansas City Chiefs went 50 years between Super Bowl appearances, then defeated the San Francisco 49ers three years ago.
Now, the Chiefs are making their third Super Bowl trip in a four year span. This puts them in a pretty exclusive group.
The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, and didn’t make it back to the game for 30 years, which resulted in a win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. The Miami Dolphins made three straight trips to the Super Bowl in the early 1970’s. They lost Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys to complete the 1971 season, then won the title two straight seasons beginning with their perfect record which concluded with a victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls that same decade, but missed the title game twice between their four wins. San Francisco won four Super Bowl games in a ten year period beginning in 1981, but missed the opportunity of a three-peat when they lost to the 1990 NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants.
In Super Bowl XXX, the Dallas Cowboys got revenge on the Steelers who had beaten them twice in the Roman numeral game with their third Super Bowl victory in a four year span. The Cowboys downed the Buffalo Bills twice while completing the Bills dismal performance in title games where they advanced to the Super Bowl four straight seasons and lost all four final games.
Then there was the New England Patriots, who seemed to be in the game every year once Tom Brady became their quarterback. The first title run for the Belichick/Brady tandem came at the end of the 2001 season, and the Patriots played in half the Super Bowls between 2001 and 2018 and won the game six times.
Now, the Chiefs, behind their standout quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, are looking to emulate the excellence achieved by those Patriots teams. Kansas City and Mahomes won their first Super Bowl during the Andy Reid era to complete the 2019 season, and lost it the following year to Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A week from Sunday, they will look to win their second title with Mahomes at quarterback and their third Super Bowl ring in five trips to the NFL’s showcase contest.
In their path to that conquest are the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles won their first Super Bowl five years ago in their second trip to the big game. Philadelphia lost Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders and beat Brady and his Patriots to complete the 2017 season. That year, the Eagles were led by back-up quarterback Nick Foles who had replaced an injured Carson Wentz late in the regular season.
Wentz appeared headed to a Most Valuable Player Award in 2017, but it was Foles who picked up a Most Valuable Player Award for his performance in Super Bowl LII. That team was coached by Doug Pederson, who, like Wentz, never regained the edge he enjoyed with the Eagles that season.
Next week, only three players remain on the Eagles roster that were a part of their first Super Bowl victory. Pederson is now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wentz is looking for another new team after a disappointing campaign with the Indianapolis Colts and losing his starting spot this season as a member of the Washington Commanders.
The development of the Eagles to the top dog in the league, both the number one seed in the NFC and the favorite role in Super Bowl LVII, has been the quick work of their front office and second-year head coach Nick Sirianni.
While four quarterbacks were taken in the first round of the 2020 draft, a list that includes first overall selections Joe Burrow, fifth pick Tua Tagovailoa, sixth selection Justin Herbert and Jordan Love going 26th overall to the Green Bay Packers, the Eagles tabbed Jalen Hurts in the second with the 53rd pick.
Both the Eagles and Chiefs have compiled particularly successful drafts in recent seasons, and that is a major factor in the two teams rising to the top of the football world in 2022.
While Philadelphia is at the beginning stages of trying to emulate the success of the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, the Chiefs are well on their way to matching that level of excellence.
Super Bowl LVII will go a long way towards determining which organization moves to the head of the class.