A 50th season in the NFL in 2025-26 yielded Seattle Seahawks’ second Super Bowl triumph.
This was a victory of defensive brilliance, togetherness and shrewd tactical coaching, with the Seahawks living up to the hackneyed adage that ‘offence wins games, defence wins championships.’
Of course, Seattle will be hoping to back that up and become only the third franchise since the dawn of the new millennium to win consecutive editions of the Super Bowl.
Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No… as this walk down memory lane attests.
Chiefs Call the Shots
The Seahawks have been installed as the 15/2 favourites in the NFL betting for Super Bowl LXI in 2027.
That Super Bowl betting heat is wide open though, with seven teams in all – the Seahawks plus the Rams, Bills, Ravens, Packers, Eagles and Chargers – all priced at 14/1 or shorter to get their hands on the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Kansas City Chiefs were also the bookmakers’ favourites to defend their Super Bowl crown in 2024, having clinched the most remarkable 38-35 win over the Eagles a year prior.
It helps having a guy like Patrick Mahomes around the place – he’s one of the best quarterbacks ever to suit up in the NFL, but the Chiefs’ defence, like that of the Seahawks, was their true super power.
The Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII rings are stunning 💍😍
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) June 14, 2024
📷: @Chiefspic.twitter.com/aipPuZNurS
Although blessed with individual talent, it was the collective unit that powered Kansas City to Super Bowl LVIII – even if they needed overtime to get over the line against the 49ers.
The Chiefs ranked second in points allowed and total defence in their Super Bowl regain… a solid foundation, like that of the Seahawks, is evidently one accelerated route to success.
Brady’s Bunch
They say that variety is the spice of life.
That was certainly the case for the New England Patriots of 2004-05, who successfully defended their Super Bowl crown thanks in large part to Tom Brady’s passing range.
But he had a range of targets, including David Givens and David Patten (they both received more than 800 yards during the regular season), as well as the rushing talents of Corey Dillon (1,635 yards) to help take the pressure off.
Factor in a defence that ranked first in the NFL for fewest passing touchdowns allowed and second for total points conceded and you have a team of all-round brilliance. The 2004-05 Pats made defending a Super Bowl title look easy.
Broncos Buck the Trend
Prior to the Pats, you have to go back to the 1998-99 Denver Broncos for the prior occasion in which consecutive Super Bowls were won.
This was a team designed with control in mind. Mike Shanahan oversaw a rush-heavy offensive unit that passed with simple, metronomic efficiency – minimising turnover ball.
On this day in 1999, John Elway played his final game, helping the @Broncos to a Super Bowl win over the Falcons. pic.twitter.com/jeoOlPScVv
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 31, 2016
Make no mistake, John Elway still had a cannon of an arm, but it was Terrell Davis – who became only the fourth player to record 2,000+ rushing yards in a season – backed by fellow rushers Tom Nalen and Mark Schlereth that laid the foundation for their attacking success.
Defensively, the Broncos weren’t as strong as the Patriots and the Chiefs that would follow them, but even so they were tight enough to ensure that Elway and his rushers had the platform on which to build.
And boy, did they build.
