Super Bowl Rematches: A History Being Rewritten
The Super Bowl doesn’t always feature first-time matchups. Throughout history, great rivals have met again on the NFL’s biggest stage, sometimes to settle old scores and other times to repeat history.
So far, there have been 10 matchups that have been repeated in Super Bowl history, a rare phenomenon often associated with dynasties, cycles of dominance, and rivalries that span generations.
Head-to-head, these are the Super Bowls that have been repeated:
- Miami Dolphins vs Washington Redskins | Super Bowls VII and XVII
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs Dallas Cowboys | Super Bowls X, XIII, and XXX
- San Francisco 49ers vs Cincinnati Bengals | Super Bowls XVI and XXIII
- Buffalo Bills vs Dallas Cowboys | Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII
- New England Patriots vs St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams | Super Bowls XXXVI and LIII
- New York Giants vs New England Patriots | Super Bowls XLII and XLVI
- Philadelphia Eagles vs New England Patriots | Super Bowls XXXIX and LII
- Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers | Super Bowls LIV and LVIII
- Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles | Super Bowls LVII and LIX
- Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots | Super Bowls XLIX and LX
How Many Times Has a Super Bowl Rematch Resulted in Revenge?
History shows an almost perfect balance when it comes to Super Bowl rematches. Of the nine repeated matchups prior to the 2026 edition, three franchises managed to reverse the outcome, one of them on two separate occasions. In total, four rematches have resulted in revenge, a figure that leaves the overall balance practically even.
- Washington got its revenge on Miami by winning Super Bowl XVII, after losing Super Bowl VII.
- Philadelphia Eagles avenged their loss to the Patriots in 2018, thirteen years after falling in 2005.
- Dallas Cowboys had to wait until a third meeting against Pittsburgh to settle the score, after losing the first two Super Bowls against the Steelers.
- Philadelphia once again evened the score, this time against Kansas City, winning Super Bowl LIX, two years after losing LVII.
In the remaining cases, history repeated itself without changes: the team that won the first matchup prevailed again in the rematch. San Francisco defeated Cincinnati on both occasions; Dallas overcame Buffalo in consecutive years, also securing back-to-back championships; the Rams could not break the Patriots’ dominance; New England failed to get revenge against the Giants; and the 49ers fell again to the Chiefs.
Will It Be Seattle’s Turn?
The big question now is whether the Seattle Seahawks can finally overcome the New England Patriots in this new edition. According to predictions from a supercomputer, the Seahawks have the edge—but they will need to overcome not only the historical challenge of a Super Bowl rematch, but also their peculiar “curse” when playing in white uniforms.
