The Kansas City Chiefs are, barely, the favorite to win this year's Super Bowl. However, you can't help but wonder if they'd have much better odds if not for the fact a team hasn't won back-to-back championships in the NFL since the New England Patriots did so back in 2003 and 2004.
It's damn hard to repeat these days, which is wild when you consider how dominant teams like the Chiefs, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have been at various points this century.
Let's look at the dynamics in play.
The Curse of the Defending Champs: By the Numbers
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- Set Number: X159220 TK1
- Each of the 18 teams that won the Super Bowl between 2004 and 2021 failed to win the following season
- During that span, only three champions (Seattle Seahawks in 2013, New England in 2016, Kansas City in 2019) have returned to the Super Bowl the following season
- Also during that stretch, five teams (Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, New York Giants in 2011, Baltimore Ravens in 2012, Denver Broncos in 2015, Los Angeles Rams in 2021) have failed to make the playoffs entirely as defending champions
So lately, you're more likely to miss the playoffs than to get back to the Super Bowl—let alone win it.