What happened to every NFL team that tried to three-peat?

After winning back-to-back Super Bowl championships in February 2024, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes declared "next year in New Orleans, we're gonna do it again."

The Chiefs have at least the look of a team capable of being the first NFL team to ever 3-peat as Super Bowl champions. They enter the NFL Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the AFC once again and will begin their plight at home in the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans. As Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid continue their seeming attempt to chase down Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, adding a 3-peat to the resumé would certainly be a huge start.

Of course, it's not a guarantee that the Chiefs do win three straight Lombardi Trophies. In fact, there have been eight previous instances of teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls but, as mentioned, none of them could get the third. So let's take a look at the history that they're trying to buck by becoming the first winner of three straight.

Every team that tried and failed for a Super Bowl 3-peat

Not only has a team never won three-straight Super Bowls but no team pursuing the historic feat has ever made it to the Super Bowl either. That's a pretty huge amount of history that the Chiefs are pursuing this year as they would pull off something that's never been done before dynastically at any point in NFL history just by making the Big Game.

But let's take a deeper look at each of the previous teams that went after a Super Bowl 3-peat and how they got to that point but, also, how it ended for them.

Green Bay Packers - Super Bowls I & II (1966-68)

The Packers famously won the first two Super Bowls under the leadership of Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi. But the 1968 season was Green Bay's first without the legendary sideline boss and it really showed. The team's first losing season in a decade (6-7-1) saw it finish third in the then-Central division and miss the playoffs entirely, prematurely ending the league's first run at a three-peat.

Miami Dolphins - Super Bowls VII & VIII (1972-74)

Head coach Don Shula led Miami to the NFL's only undefeated season in 1972, following it up with another Super Bowl victory in 1973. The 1974 season looked promising for the Dolphins to become the league's first back-to-back-to-back champions, going 11-3 and topping the AFC East before falling 28-26 to the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Super Bowls IX & X (1974-76)

The dreaded "Steel Curtain," led by head coach Chuck Noll, looked practically unbeatable during this three year period. Pittsburgh seemingly picked up right where Shula's Dolphins left off in its quest for excellence. However, the fatal blow to its early dynasty aspirations came in the 1976 AFC Championship game when, again, the Oakland Raiders ended another attempt at the NFL's first three-peat.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Super Bowls XIII & XIV (1978-80)

The "Steel Curtain" wasn't damaged for long. Noll's Steelers returned to back-to-back titles at the end of the decade and looked to avenge their 1976 stumble. However, they wouldn't get the chance as Pittsburgh finished the 1980 season 9-7 and missed the playoffs. It took a whole decade before another challenger approached the seemingly impossible task.

San Francisco 49ers - Super Bowls XXIII & XXIV (1988-90)

Led by quarterback sensation Joe Montana, San Francisco dominated the NFL for three seasons until the 1990 NFC Championship game. The upstart New York Giants won a defensive battle in which Montana was injured and replaced by Steve Young. A last-second field goal sent New York to the Super Bowl where it defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19, ending San Francisco's attempted dynasty.

Dallas Cowboys - Super Bowls XXVII & XVIII (1992-94)

Dallas and star quarterback Troy Aikman were on the winning end of a dynastic war with the Buffalo Bills, who infamously lost four straight Super Bowls from 1990-94. Head coach Barry Switzer, who replaced the legendary Jimmy Johnson, looked like he would complete what the Hall of Fame coach started. But San Francisco and Young (remember them?) took down Dallas in the NFC Championship game and returned to the winner's circle at Super Bowl XIX with a vengeance.

Denver Broncos - Super Bowls XXXII & XXXIII (1997-1999)

Another Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway, helped Denver conquer the NFL in consecutive years. But a return to reality hit hard in 1999, with the Broncos losing Elway to retirement and finishing 6-10, missing the playoffs and an opportunity at the long-elusive three-peat.

New England Patriots - Super Bowls XXXVIII & XXXIX (2003-2005)

Part of the most recognizable long-term dynasty in NFL history, future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Bill Belichick took New England to back-to-back titles in the midst of a seven-time championship spree. Going 10-6 in the 2005 regular season and reaching the Divisional round of the playoffs had pundits and fans wondering if it might be the year it finally happened. However, Denver and new-found quarterback Jake Plummer took down the reigning champs, beginning a two-decade gap to where we are now with Kansas City.