Honestly, if you look at the list of Super Bowl past winners, it kinda feels like a time capsule of American culture. One year you've got the Packers in black-and-white grain, and the next, you're watching Jalen Hurts dismantle a dynasty in New Orleans. It’s wild how much has changed, but the pressure? That stays exactly the same.
Take last year. Super Bowl LIX in 2025. Most people expected the Kansas City Chiefs to stroll into the Caesars Superdome and snatch that historic three-peat. It felt like a foregone conclusion, right? But the Philadelphia Eagles had other plans. They didn’t just win; they absolutely wrecked the script with a 40-22 blowout. Watching Patrick Mahomes get sacked six times while the Eagles' defense didn't even blitz was one of those "I can't believe what I'm seeing" moments. Jalen Hurts ended up with the MVP, rushing for 72 yards—a record for a QB in the big game—and basically proved that even the most "inevitable" dynasties have a breaking point.
The Heavy Hitters and the Heartbreaks
When we talk about the legends, we’re usually talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. They’re still sitting at the top of the mountain with six rings each. It’s sort of a "pick your flavor" of greatness. Do you prefer the 1970s "Steel Curtain" defense that redefined what it meant to be physically punished on a football field, or the cold, calculated efficiency of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era?
The 49ers and Cowboys are nipping at their heels with five apiece, though San Francisco fans are probably still feeling the sting of those recent close calls against Kansas City.
It’s easy to forget that before the Chiefs became the modern-day villains of the NFL, they were the team that hadn't won a title in fifty years. Their victory in Super Bowl LIV (2020) against the 49ers broke a half-century drought. Then they did it again in 2023 and 2024. But that 2025 loss to Philly? That stopped the first-ever three-peat in its tracks. It just goes to show that being a Super Bowl past winner doesn't buy you a head start in the next one.
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The Games Nobody Expected
Sometimes the "who" matters less than the "how." Everyone remembers the 19--0 Giants beating the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That’s the gold standard for upsets. But what about the Baltimore Colts losing to the Jets in Super Bowl III? Joe Namath literally "guaranteed" a win when the Jets were 18-point underdogs.
That was the moment the Super Bowl actually became the Super Bowl.
Before that, the AFL was looked down upon as a "junior" league. Namath's win forced the world to take the merger seriously. Without that upset, the NFL landscape might look completely different today.
A Quick Look at the Recent Hall of Fame
If you’re trying to keep the recent history straight without staring at a boring spreadsheet, here’s the vibe of the last few years:
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- 2025 (LIX): Philadelphia Eagles 40, Kansas City Chiefs 22. The "Tush Push" met a brick wall of a defense.
- 2024 (LVIII): Kansas City Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22. An overtime thriller in Vegas where Mahomes proved he's the king of the "clutch" gene.
- 2023 (LVII): Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35. A high-scoring shootout where a late holding penalty basically decided the game.
- 2022 (LVI): Los Angeles Rams 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20. Cooper Kupp just decided he wasn't going to let the Rams lose in their own stadium.
- 2021 (LV): Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 9. Brady showed up to a new team and won it all just to prove he could.
Why the 2026 Game in Santa Clara Matters
Right now, we're staring at Super Bowl LX (60). It’s happening at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026. The stakes are weirdly high because the 49ers are playing in their own backyard, and the pressure to join the "6-win club" is suffocating. Plus, the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks have been surging in the odds, looking to add their names to the list of champions.
The Texans, specifically, are the "it" team everyone’s watching. C.J. Stroud has turned that franchise from a basement dweller into a legitimate powerhouse in record time. If they win, they’ll be one of the few teams to go from a #1 overall pick to a Lombardi trophy in just a few seasons.
The MVP Factor
You can't talk about winners without talking about the MVPs. Quarterbacks usually hog the trophy—it's happened over 30 times. But the real ones remember when a linebacker like Von Miller (Super Bowl 50) or a wideout like Julian Edelman (Super Bowl LIII) completely hijacked the game. In 2025, it was Hurts, but it was really the Eagles' defensive line—Josh Sweat and rookie Cooper DeJean—who set the tone. DeJean’s pick-six on his 22nd birthday was basically the dagger.
How to Use This History
If you’re a bettor or just a fan who wants to sound smart at a bar, look for patterns in the Super Bowl past winners.
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First, the "Super Bowl Hangover" is real. The Chiefs made it back to the big game in 2025 after winning in 2024, but they looked gassed by the fourth quarter. Second, defense really does win championships in the modern era, but only if that defense can pressure the QB without bringing extra blitzers. That’s how the Bucs beat the Chiefs in 2021, and it’s how the Eagles did it in 2025.
If you want to dive deeper into the stats or check the specific point spreads for every game since 1967, you should definitely check out the official NFL History portal. It’s got the full play-by-plays if you're into that level of nerdery.
To really get ahead of the curve for Super Bowl 60, start tracking the "Trench Efficiency" stats for the playoff teams. The winner is almost always the team that allows the fewest sacks in the Divisional Round. It’s a boring stat, but it’s the most consistent predictor of who ends up holding the trophy in February.
Keep an eye on the injury reports for the Seahawks and Texans as we head into the 2026 playoffs. Those two teams are currently the favorites to join the list of legendary winners, but as the Chiefs learned in New Orleans, being the favorite doesn't mean a thing once the confetti starts falling.
Go ahead and look up the 2026 playoff bracket—you'll see the road to Santa Clara is a lot narrower than it looks on paper.