the Vince Lombardi trophy awarded to Super Bowl winner
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The Philadelphia Eagles will defend their crown after taking down the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL’s final game of 2024-25. History suggests the team will have another strong year.
Super Bowl champions have typically fared well in the next season. Sixteen made another appearance in the Big Game, with nine logging a second straight championship win. Twenty-five others made the playoffs.
With that being said, 17 of the 58 winners missed out on the postseason entirely. The most recent instance actually made history for an all-time bad performance.
How Super Bowl Champions fared the next season.
The Eagles will hope to avert disaster and continue a recent trend seen amongst reigning NFL champions. Here, we’ll take a look at the last 11 Super Bowl winners, and how they fared while defending their titles.
Kansas City Chiefs (2023)
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Philadelphia prevented a Kansas City three-peat in 2024-25 as the Chiefs followed up their 2023 Super Bowl win with another appearance in the final game.
The Eagles earned a convincing 40-22 win. Jalen Hurts was named MVP after throwing for two scores and running for one more.
Kansas City finished the season at 17-3, going 15-2 in the regular season.
Kansas City Chiefs (2022)
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid
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The Chiefs won the 2022 Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. It followed that up with a Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
Kansas City went 11-6 in the regular season to win the AFC West. It then took down the Dolphins, Bills, Ravens, and Niners in the postseason.
Los Angeles Rams (2021)
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The Rams won an NFL championship in 2021 after going 12-5 in the regular season and taking down the Bengals in the final game. The script was flipped in the following campaign.
Los Angeles went 5-12 in 2022 to miss the postseason altogether. It remains the worst record by a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history.
Tampa Bay Bucs (2020)
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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The Bucs, led by Tom Brady, won the 2020 Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs. They followed it up with another strong season but failed to advance in the playoff bracket.
Tampa Bay went 13-4 in the regular season slate. It won the NFC South in the process. Unfortunately, the squad would fall in the division round of the postseason to end its title defense.
Kansas City Chiefs (2019)
Patrick Mahomes wins Super Bowl with Kansas City Chiefs
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The Chiefs took home championship honors in the 2019 campaign by knocking off the San Francisco 49ers in their final game. It would continue success with another run to the Super Bowl.
Kansas City went 14-2 in the regular season to win the AFC West. It would be unable to repeat as champions, however, thanks to a loss against Tampa Bay.
New England Patriots (2018)
Tom Brady wins Super Bowl in Houston
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The Patriots won the last of their six Super Bowls in 2018 with a win over the Los Angeles Rams. While they’d make another playoff run the next season, it would not end in a title.
New England finished 12-4 in the regular season to win the AFC East. The team lost a wild card game to the Tennessee Titans, which ended its year.
Philadelphia Eagles (2017)
Nick Foles has huge hands
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The Eagles won Super Bowl LII in 2017 with an exciting victory over the New England Patriots. They did so behind a 373-yard performance by backup signal caller Nick Foles.
Philadelphia would not be able to repeat, but it did just slip into the playoffs the next season. The squad finished the 2018 season at 9-7 before losing in the divisional round of the postseason.
New England Patriots (2016)
Brady Belichick
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The Patriots won a fifth Super Bowl title in the 2016 campaign, beating the Falcons in the final game. That outcome looked bleak with the team down 28-3 in the second half. Tom Brady led a comeback effort, and New England won in overtime.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t reproduce the magic the next year. While they did go 13-3 the season after winning the Super Bowl, the Patriots fell to the Eagles in the title game.
Denver Broncos (2015)
Broncos QB Peyton Manning
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The Broncos won a defensive struggle against the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Peyton Manning threw for 141 yards and an interception. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown. Denver won, 24-10.
They wouldn’t be able to replicate success as reigning champs. They wouldn’t get an opportunity to defend their title. The Broncos finished the year at 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
New England Patriots (2014)
New England Patriots legend Tom Brady holds up Lombardi Trophy
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The Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 NFL campaign. It was the first of three titles across a five-year span.
The second championship wouldn’t come the next season, though. New England finished 12-4 and made the AFC title game where it fell to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
Seattle Seahawks (2013)
Seahawks LB Malcolm Smith
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The Seahawks annihilated the Broncos in the 2013 Super Bowl, 43-8. It nearly repeated as NFL champions the next season.
Seattle finished the year at 12-4 and would go onto represent the NFC as conference champs. They fell, however, in the Super Bowl to the Patriots.
The final result still haunts fans as Russell Wilson was intercepted on the goal line while trying to score the go-ahead touchdown.