It would seem logical for the losing team in the Super Bowl to win it the following year.
Which explains why the Chiefs are favored to win it all this year after getting routed by the Bucs 31-9 in last year’s Super Bowl.
But it is more difficult for a losing team to win the Super Bowl the following year than you might think.
It has happened only once since 1972 when the perfect Dolphins won it all after losing to Dallas at the end of the 1971 season.
That team was the Pats when Tom Brady led them to a victory over the Rams after the 2019 season after they lost to the Eagles the previous season.
Now Brady, who won his seventh ring with the Bucs last year, is trying to repeat for the second time while the Chiefs are going for their third Super Bowl appearance in a row after they beat the 49ers two years ago and lost to the Bucs last year.
The problem for the Chiefs in last year’s Super Bowl is that their offensive line was ravaged and Andy Reid, not noted a premier playoff coach, didn’t adjust and Patrick Mahomes was running for his life much of the game.
Reid is only 17-15 in the playoffs and 1-2 in the Super Bowl and also didn’t coach well when his Eagles lost to the Patriots after the 2004 season. Trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, Reid didn’t go to the huddle late in the fourth quarter and took two much time scoring a touchdown and lost by three.
This is a pivotal year for Reid as he enters his fourth year coaching Mahomes. The Chiefs put a lot of emphasis on improving their offensive line. We’ll see if that effort will pay dividends.
Does Reid join the elite ranks of two-time Super Bowl winning coaches or does he fall short again?
The Chiefs are virtually guaranteed a spot in the playoffs but then things will get dicey for Reid.
Reid has established himself as one of the great regular season coaches but has won only one title in 21 years as a head coach with the Eagles and Chiefs.
Now he has Mahomes in his prime for several years. We’ll see if he can win more rings with him.
We live in an era when several top coaches won it only once with a premier quarterback like Sean Payton with Drew Brees and Pete Carroll with Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin with Ben Roethlisberger.
Reid doesn’t want that to be his legacy.