Football season is here!!!

[sensei8]

Cowboys can hire and retain all of the coaches and coordinators they want to because of how Jones controls every aspect of the Cowboys, nothing will improve due to their pageantry moves. As a Cowboy fan, it sickens me to no end.

GO COWBOYS!!

[bushido_man96]

That Tucker thing is quite the deal.  There will probably be a large settlement that comes out of that.

I think the Saints will bring in McCarthy.  Not sure why, just seems like the right pick for that organization.

[KarateKen]

Taking a look at the other teams that attempted to win three consecutive Super Bowls, we start with the Packers in the 1960s.  Green Bay won the first two Super Bowls ever played, and actually did win three titles in a row but the first of those three was the year before the NFL launched the Super Bowl.  Won in 65, the won the Super Bowl in 66 and 67, beating the Chiefs in SB I and then the Raiders in SB II.  After SB II Coach Lombardi retired and in year three the Packers finished with a losing record.

Next is the Miami Dolphins, winners in 1972 and 1973.  The Dolphins also made it to the Super Bowl in 1971 but came up short, losing to Dallas.  In 1972 they went undefeated and in 1973 they repeated, their wins coming against the Redskins and Vikings, and in 1974 the Dolphins had an 11-3 season, winning the division, but lost in the divisional round against the Raiders in a two-point game. The Raiders would lose to the Steelers in the AFCCG, setting up the next team to win back-to-back. 

The Steelers won the SB in 1974 and 75, behind the famous Steel Curtin defense and QB Terry Bradshaw the Steelers won against the Vikings and Cowboys.  In year three they returned to the AFCCG losing the John Madden and the Raiders.

The next team to go back-to-back was the Steelers.  Yes, I know I just wrote about the Steelers, but they did it again, this time in 1978 and 79.  The Steelers beat the Cowboys again in 78, and the Rams in 79, creating the Steelers dynasty, the team of the 70s, four SB wins in six seasons.  In season three they finished with a 9-7 record, just missing out on the playoffs.  

The team of the 80s was the 49ers, and they went back-to-back in 88 and 89, the final two titles for Montana, squeaking out a victory against the Bengals, then blowing out the Broncos the next season 55-10, in what is still the largest Super Bowl blowout in NFL history.  Things looked on track for the 49ers to win three in a row, but they lost 15-13 to Bill Parcells and the Giants, who went into SF and won without scoring a touchdown.  Much credit to Bill Belichick's defense who held Montana to 190 passing yards.  The Giants went on to beat the Bills in the Super Bowl.  The performance by the Giants defense got Belichick national recognition and he was hired as the Browns head coach in 1991. 

Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to back-to-back titles in 1992 and 93, both against the Bills.  Johnson however split ways with the Cowboys after the 93 season due to conflicts with Jerry Jones.  Barry Switzer was the Cowboys coach in 1994, and Dallas went on to a 12-4 season but came up short in the NFCCG, losing to the 49ers in San Fransico.  The 49ers would go on to win Super Bowl 29 against the Chargers in a blowout where Steve Young had six touchdown passes, which remains the Super Bowl record. The Cowboys would bounce back in 1995 though, return to the Super Bowl, and beat the Steelers to become the dynasty of the 90s, the first team to win three SB titles in four years. 

Dallas was not the only team to go back-to-back in the 90s, another team that starts with D also accomplished it, the 1997 and 1998 Denver Broncos.  Lead by John Elway and Terrell Davis the Broncos won their first and second Super Bowl in team history, pulling an upset against Brett Favre and the Packers in SB XXXII, then going an impressive 14-2 in 98 and winning against the Atlanta Falcons.  However, after achieving his second ring, John Elway retired and instead of going for a three peat, the Broncos went into rebuilding mode, winning only six games and finishing in last place. 

Then there is the New England Patriots, who won it in 2001, then 2003 and 04, making them the second team in NFL history to win three titles in four years.  The 03 and 04 Patriots both went 14-2, winning against the Panthers in the final seconds, then against the Eagles, both by three points. It was part one of the Patriots dynasty with Brady and Belichick.  In the 2005 season the Patriots won the AFC East but came up short in the divisional round losing at the Denver Broncos.  In 2016, 17, and 18, the Patriots played in three Super Bowls in a row, beating the Falcons in 2016, losing to the Eagles in 2017, and beating the Rams in the 2018 season, the second team to play in three consecutive Super Bowls and win two of them.

Kansas City stands alone as the only team to win back-to-back and then make it to the Super Bowl in the third year.  Their wins against the Eagles, and then last year's overtime win against the 49ers, set them up for a possible three peat.  The only thing left in their way is another game with the Eagles. 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:02 AM by KarateKen
typos

[sensei8]

Ken, that was a fantastic post, thank you for sharing it. Whenever the Packers did in fact 3-Peated, there was no playoffs and the only title was the NFL Championship. 

Chiefs are facing an insurmountable task by just defeating the Eagles, let alone a 3-Peat in SB era.

GO CHIEFS!!

[KarateKen]

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the refs favoring the Chiefs and if the games were rigged.  He was quick to brush it off calling it a "ridiculous theory," despite lots of people saying they don't agree with him, including former NFL player Terrell Owens who has recently stated that he thinks the game is rigged, as well as the brother of Dean Blandino.  Blandino is the former NFL Head of Officials, and his brother is now saying that the league favors the Chiefs, and because of an NDA Dean is required to keep quiet about it.  An online poll in recent days showed that over 73% of the people who answered believe that the NFL is favoring the Chiefs. Further fanning the flames was the fine handed out to Travis Kelce for taunting.  During the game against the Buffalo, Kelce was taunting Bills safety Damar Hamlin after a touchdown.  He was fined over 11k dollars for it, but there was no penalty on Kelce during the game. A clearly missed call by the official which benefited Kansas City.  Despite no "smoking gun" that there are fixed games in the NFL, more and more fans appear to believe it and it could become a perception problem for the NFL.  I don't expect this to have a big impact on the viewership of the Super Bowl, nor do I think it will harm the league long term.  The NFL has been through plenty of controversy over the decades, including allegedly covering up concussions, the botched Ray Rice situation, and the kneeling for the National Anthem come to mind, yet the NFL remains the most popular show on TV and the most profitable sports league in world history.

If the games are rigged, what the NFL should do is rig the Super Bowl for the Eagles, that way it ends the conversation that it was rigged for the Chiefs, because they will have lost and it discredits everyone who claims that the NFL has fixed it for the three peat.  If the Chiefs win, and there is questionable officiating that goes their way, expect more of this after the game. 

Less than six days until kickoff! 

[KarateKen]

On 2/1/2025 at 5:24 PM, sensei8 said:

Ken, that was a fantastic post, thank you for sharing it. Whenever the Packers did in fact 3-Peated, there was no playoffs and the only title was the NFL Championship. 

Chiefs are facing an insurmountable task by just defeating the Eagles, let alone a 3-Peat in SB era.

GO CHIEFS!!

With the salary cap, free agency, and now a longer season, no question that winning two or three in a row is as challenging as ever. 

[KarateKen]

A few news items:

The Raiders have hired former Eagles and 49ers head coach Chip Kelly to be their offensive coordinator.  

Saints remain without a head coach but more rumors about Kellen Moore being the leading candidate have surfaced. 

Kicker Mason Crosby has officially retired after 17 seasons in the NFL. Crosby spent 16 years with the Packers, winning a Super Bowl ring with them in the 2010 season.  He last played for the Panthers in 2023.

More massage therapists have come out against Justin Tucker, now a total of ten.  This could lead to Tucker being cut by the Ravens in the offseason.