For the second year in a row, NFL fans will be treated to a rematch in the biggest game of the season. Last February saw the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the San Francisco 49ers for the second time in five years for the championship. This year, Kansas City will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.
With just two years between games, there are lots of players and coaches still with the Chiefs and Eagles from the last time these teams played in the big game. Both starting quarterbacks — the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes — still are leading their respective offenses. Other stars on offense remain on both teams, including tight end Travis Kelce (Chiefs) and wide receivers A.J. Brown (Eagles) and DeVonta Smith (Eagles).
This is the sixth time in NFL history that two teams have played each other in the Super Bowl within a 10-year span.
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There are repeat matchups with a longer break between the first and second games, but those often included significant changes in personnel as well as coaching staffs. As an example, the Eagles and New England Patriots faced off in Super Bowl 52 for the second time but their first matchup was in Super Bowl 39. That’s a long layoff between contests that saw lots of changes on both teams.
Here’s what happened in the prior five Super Bowl rematches in NFL history that meet the 10-year criteria.
Super Bowl rematches in NFL history
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys
First game: 1976 Super Bowl; Steelers won, 21-17
Rematch: 1979 Super Bowl; Steelers won, 35-31
The Steelers and Cowboys had played in at least one Super Bowl before the 1976 title game. Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl, 16-6, a year earlier over Minnesota. Dallas won Super Bowl 6, over Miami, after losing Super Bowl 5 to Baltimore.
Pittsburgh scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the 1976 Super Bowl. MVP Lynn Swann made one of the most iconic catches in NFL history in that matchup. His 161 receiving yards was the record for more than a decade and still ranks fourth all-time in Super Bowl history.
Three years later, the same starting quarterbacks and defensive stars met again, at the same venue (the Orange Bowl). Pittsburgh held a 21-17 lead entering the final quarter. The Steelers later scored two touchdowns to take and hold the lead for a win.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
First game: 1982 Super Bowl; 49ers won, 26-21
Rematch: 1989 Super Bowl; 49ers won, 20-16
This is the longest gap between meetings on the list with the least carryover in key personnel as a result. Super Bowl 16 in 1982 marked the first appearance in the game for both teams.
San Francisco raced out to a 20-0 lead by halftime and held on in the second half. The Bengals outgained the 49ers 356 to 275 on offense but committed four costly turnovers.
Seven years later, the teams looked slightly different as they met in Miami for another championship battle. This one was much closer; it took until the third quarter for either team to score a touchdown as Cincinnati’s Stanford Jennings took a kickoff return 93 yards for a score.
Down 16-13 with just over three minutes to go, the 49ers offense took the field with a chance to win. Quarterback Joe Montana looked to the sideline and famously told tackle Harris Barton ‘isn’t that John Candy?’ before the team marched 92 yards to score the game-winning touchdown.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills
First game: 1993 Super Bowl; Cowboys won, 52-17
Rematch: 1994 Super Bowl; Cowboys won, 30-13
It doesn’t get any closer than this back-to-back rematch.
Super Bowl 27 in 1993 was the third consecutive championship game appearance for Buffalo. The Bills already had lost to Washington and the New York Giants. Dallas was back in the Super Bowl for the first time since that loss to Pittsburgh in 1979.
The Cowboys dominated the first half to take a 28-10 lead by the break. Halftime that year included a performance by Michael Jackson that changed the Super Bowl halftime shows to include popular musicians instead of marching bands. Dallas outscored Buffalo 21-0 in the fourth quarter to secure a dominant win.
Things were a bit closer when the teams met the next season. Buffalo took a 13-6 lead at halftime thanks to a Thurman Thomas four-yard touchdown. But Dallas roared back in the second half to score 24 unanswered points and secure another Super Bowl title.
New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
First game: 2008 Super Bowl; Giants won, 17-14
Rematch: 2012 Super Bowl; Giants won, 21-17
The 2008 Super Bowl marked seven years since the Giants made the Super Bowl. They’d lost 34-7 to a Baltimore Ravens team with one of the best defenses of all time. New England was no stranger to the title game; since New York’s loss to Baltimore, the Patriots had won three Super Bowls.
New York was one of the biggest underdogs in Super Bowl history in 2008. The undefeated Patriots held onto a 7-3 lead entering the final quarter. Down 14-10 with just over a minute to go, Giants wide receiver David Tyree made one of the biggest catches in Super Bowl history. That set up the go-ahead score to give New York the win and end the Patriots’ hopes of a perfect season.
Four years later, the teams met again with the same head coaches and starting quarterbacks. Once again, the Patriots held a slim lead entering the fourth quarter, this time 17-15. A back-and-forth final frame culminated in a go-ahead touchdown by Ahmad Bradshaw with less than a minute to go. New York won once again and became the only team to beat Tom Brady multiple times in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
First game: 2020 Super Bowl; Chiefs won, 30-21
Rematch: 2024 Super Bowl; Chiefs won, 25-22 in OT
It’s hard to imagine now but the 2020 Super Bowl marked the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years. Their opponent, the 49ers, were back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 25 years.
San Francisco built a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter following a Raheem Mostert touchdown run. But it was all Chiefs in the final frame as Kansas City took the lead with 2:44 to play and sealed it with a Damien Williams touchdown.
Four years later, the teams faced off again. San Francisco held a 19-16 lead late in the fourth quarter but Kansas City managed to force overtime with a field goal in the closing seconds of regulation. In overtime, Mahomes orchestrated a game-winning drive to give the Chiefs a third title in five years and a second Super Bowl win over San Francisco.
2025 Super Bowl: Rematch history for Eagles vs. Chiefs
History is on Kansas City’s side for Super Bowl 59. The winner of the first Super Bowl won the rematch every time with the 10-year span criteria. If they’re able to do that, Kansas City would make history as the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.