Talk about familiarity. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are not only set to clash in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, this will mark the fourth straight year the teams will collide, and in a fourth different venue to boot.
There have been eight previous occasions in which teams have clashed on Super Sunday more than once. For the most part, one team has had its way.
Pittsburgh vs. Dallas (X, XIII, XXX)
Steelers, 2-1
The defending Super Bowl champion Steelers rallied to beat the wild card Cowboys, 21-17, in Super Bowl X at Miami’s Orange Bowl. Three years later, Dallas was the reigning Super Bowl champion and would meet Chuck Noll’s Steelers at the Orange Bowl once again.
While the first meeting had plenty of suspense and lots of Lynn Swann, the rematch was a star-studded classic. Both franchises were loaded with future Hall of Famers. Terry Bradshaw had a career outing, and Pittsburgh dethroned Tom Landry’s club, 35-31. A mere 17 years later at Arizona, Dallas finally got its revenge with a 27-17 win over Bill Cowher’s Steelers.
Miami vs. Washington (VII, XVII)
Tied, 1-1
Don Shula’s Dolphins were dominated in Super Bowl VI by the Cowboys, 24-3, at Tulane Stadium. They returned the following year with a perfect 16-0 record as they battled George Allen’s Redskins at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Save for a gaffe from Garo Yepremian following his blocked field goal, the game was a snoozer as the Dolphins prevailed, 14-7.
Shula was still the coach 10 years later as Miami and Washington survived a strike-shortened season, followed by the NFL’s 16-team Super Bowl Tournament. The Super site was the Rose Bowl, and the difference was Washington workhorse John Riggins in a 27-17 triumph.
Cincinnati vs. San Francisco (XVI, XXIII)
49ers, 2-0
The first time around, the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers were both coming off losing campaigns, the first and only time in Super Bowl history there had been such a match-up. At the Pontiac Silverdome, Bill Walsh’s club owned a 20-0 lead, and held on for a 26-21 win.
Seven years later at South Florida, it would prove to be Walsh’s final game as head coach. The Niners’ defense kept the Cincinnati offense out of the end zone. Jerry Rice was the game’s MVP, but Joe Montana to John Taylor for a 10-yard TD with 34 seconds remaining capped off an 11-play, 92-yard drive and San Francisco survived, 20-16.
Buffalo vs. Dallas (XXVII, XXVIII)
Cowboys, 2-0
It’s the only instance in which teams have played each other on Super Sunday in back-to-back seasons. The Buffalo Bills were in their third consecutive Super Bowl and had already failed twice in losses to the Giants (20-19) and Redskins (37-24). They would battle the young Cowboys and despite their recent experience in the “Big Game.”
Buffalo would set a Super Bowl record with nine turnovers and were rolled by a 52-17 count. A year later at Atlanta, Marv Levy’s club owned a 13-6 lead at intermission. It was all Dallas and Emmitt Smith after intermission, and the 30-13 Cowboys’ win capped off a strong playoff run.
New England vs. New York Giants (XLII, XLVI)
Giants, 2-0
Both clashes, won by Tom Coughlin’s team, had legendary moments. In fact, the first Super Bowl meeting saw the Giants would hand Bill Belichick’s team its first loss of 2007. The Patriots took an 18-0 record into that battle at Arizona. Eli Manning and David Tyree combined for some Super Bowl magic, and the Giants’ quarterback found Plaxico Burress in the end zone for the game-winning TD with 35 seconds to play.
That 17-14 stunner was followed by a 21-17 win over the Pats four years later at Indianapolis. Of course, Manning to Mario Manningham for 38 yards in the fourth quarter was part of the game-winning TD drive.
New England vs. Philadelphia (XXXIX, LII)
Tied, 1-1
These two meetings were more than a decade part, but each featured Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. For the Eagles, Andy Reid had Donovan McNabb behind center at Jacksonville, and Doug Pederson had Nick Foles at Minneapolis. New England came away with a 24-21 win, capping off a 17-2 season in 2004, and wide receiver Deion Branch was the game’s MVP.
In Super Bowl LII, Brady threw for a postseason record 505 yards, but had a costly turnover late in the game. Foles was on the receiving end of the “Philly Special,” but the big key in the Eagles’ 41-33 dethroning of the Pats was a ground game that gained 164 yards.
New England vs. St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (XXXVI, LIII)
Patriots, 2-0
They were off to a 0-2 start, and Bill Belichick had to turn to second-year quarterback Tom Brady went Drew Bledsoe went down in Week 2. The rest is dynastic history, starting with Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning 48-yard field goal at the gun at the Superdome over the favored Rams, who outgained the Pats by 160 yards.
Talk about bookends? Belichick’s first and sixth Super Bowl titles as a head coach came against the same team. It was a defensive battle at Atlanta. The teams combined for only one touchdown, and it resulted in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl all-time. New England’s boring 13-3 victory was ugly indeed.
Kansas City vs. San Francisco (LIV, LVIII)
Chiefs, 2-0
Andy Reid was back on Super Sunday, this time with a different team, and an emerging quarterback. This clash with the 49ers at South Florida had Kyle Shanahan’s team with a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead. Patrick Mahomes and his supporting cast got their act together and scored the final 21 points of the game in a 31-20 triumph.
Roughly a year ago at this time, the Chiefs and 49ers renewed acquaintances — this time at Las Vegas. The teams were tied at 19-all after regulation. Shanahan’s club took a 22-19 lead with a field goal, but Mahomes to Mecole Hardman from three yards out cemented a 25-22 overtime victory.