Super Bowl Winners of the Past 5 Years

 

The Past 5 Super Bowl Winners

2023: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs made their third Super Bowl appearance in four years and were seeking a second Lombardi Trophy in as many, while the Philadelphia Eagles and their powerhouse defensive line were seeking their first championship since 2018. 

The contest at State Farm Stadium in Arizona was an offensive slugfest that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs won by a final score of 38-35 after a game-winning Harrison Butker 27-yard field goal with just eight seconds remaining.

One of the game’s defining moments was a scoop and score fumble recovery by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, who returned a Jalen Hurts fumble 36 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 after it looked like the Eagles would march down the field and expand upon their lead as they’d done in previous drives. 

Mahomes was awarded the Super Bowl MVP for his performance after throwing for three touchdowns and 182 yards, while adding 44 rushing yards including a game-sealing scramble during KC’s final drive to set up the field goal. 

Philly quarterback Jalen Hurts surely would have been named MVP had the Eagles managed to hold onto their 10-point lead at the half, as he threw for 304 yards and a touchdown while adding three rushing touchdowns and 70 yards on the ground. In the end, the Chiefs were Super Bowl champions for the third time and cemented the organization as the closest thing we’ve seen to a modern-day dynasty since Tom Brady left New England. 

2022: Los Angeles Rams

The LA Rams became the second consecutive NFL team to win the Super Bowl in their own home stadium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. They defeated Joe Burrow and the upstart Cincinnati Bengals in a tight 23-20 contest, where quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp on LA’s final drive in the fourth quarter. This Super Bowl was the Rams’ fifth Super Bowl appearance and marked their second Super Bowl title. The Bengals were making their third appearance in The Big Game, and they’ve yet to win the big one as a franchise. 

This was the first Super Bowl with full attendance since Covid hit, and it was a packed house at SoFi with 70,048 football fans.

This game was a tight contest throughout and a tough battle between the teams. It featured an incredible halftime performance headlined by LA-area natives Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Snoop Dogg, as well as notable artists like Eminem and Mary J. Blige, with surprise performances by 50 Cent and Anderson.Paak.

2021: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs entered Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attempting to become the first team to win consecutive Super Bowl titles since the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX. The game was played at Raymond James Stadium, the home stadium of the Buccaneers, marking the first time in NFL history that a team played a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

Due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, attendance was limited to 25,000 fans, with 7,500 free tickets provided to vaccinated healthcare workers.

The game was a duel of superstar quarterbacks at opposite ends of their careers. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, the youngest player to win Super Bowl MVP, faced off against Tom Brady, possibly the game’s best-ever quarterback, who was attempting to win his seventh Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa Bay, after winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots.

The Buccaneers won the franchise’s second Super Bowl in a rout, thumping the favored Chiefs 31-9 behind a dominant defensive effort that stymied and frustrated Mahomes. Brady, who was appearing in his record 10th Super Bowl, also set a record for most Super Bowl MVP awards (winning his fifth), and became the first player to win Super Bowl MVPs with different teams. At 43, Brady was also the oldest player to win the award and the oldest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

Brady tossed three first-half touchdown passes (two to Rob Gronkowski and another to Antonio Brown) as Tampa Bay stormed to a 21-6 halftime lead. The Bucs’ defense, as well as costly penalties, doomed the Chiefs in the first half. Kansas City was penalized eight times for 95 yards in the first half, a Super Bowl record, and could only muster a pair of Harrison Butker field goals.

After the Chiefs opened the second half with a field goal to narrow their deficit to 21-9, the Bucs effectively put the game away on their next drive, punctuated by a 27-yard touchdown run by Leonard Fournette. Mahomes struggled in the second half, throwing two interceptions: one leading to a Ryan Succop field goal, and the other coming with 1:33 left in the game.

Brady finished the game 21-for-29 for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Mahomes was 26-for-49 for 270 yards and two interceptions.

Kansas City became just the third team, joining the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI and the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, to fail to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl. At 68, Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

2020: Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs broke a 50-year drought, and the longest gap between championship game victories in NFL history, with their Super Bowl LIV, win over the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, but it took a second-half comeback to do it.

Kansas City trailed San Francisco 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes and running back Damien Williams helped erase the deficit with a 21-point fourth quarter, as the Chiefs defense held the 49ers scoreless in the quarter, leading to a 31-20 Kansas City victory.

It was the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl win since defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

Williams rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, helping pace a Chiefs ground game that was able to control the clock. Many believed Williams deserved the game’s MVP award, but Mahomes threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns and managed to overcome two interceptions earlier in the game to take home the award, giving him both league MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in his first two seasons as a starter.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid finally won his first Vince Lombardi Trophy, and this exciting game in Miami will perhaps be remembered as much for San Francisco’s collapse as it was for Kansas City’s comeback, as 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo badly missed wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on a ball deep over the middle for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. The Chiefs got the ball back and scored a touchdown to put the game away.

2019: New England Patriots

Super Bowl LIII featured the New England Patriots, who were making their record 11th Super Bowl appearance, and the Los Angeles Rams, who were making their fourth appearance, and first since being upset by the Patriots (as the St. Louis Rams) in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. The game was held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and was quite frankly a snooze-fest (or a defensive battle, whichever way you’d prefer to look at it). The Patriots took a 3-0 lead into halftime, and the score stood at 3-3 heading into the fourth quarter, as two of the league’s premier offenses couldn’t get anything going all game. Credit each defense with executing a great game plan, and when it came down to it, Tom Brady and the Patriots showed the world why they’ve won five Super Bowls entering the game. An incredible throw and catch by Brady to tight end Rob Gronkowski put the ball at the Rams’ 2-yard line, before running back Sony Michel punched it in for the game’s only touchdown.

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman won Super Bowl MVP honors, catching 10 passes for 141 yards, and consistently extending drives to keep the Rams’ offense off the field. New England came into the contest as 2.5-point favorites and did ultimately cover by winning the game 13-3, completely stifling the Rams’ vaunted offensive attack, and rewarding the few fans out there who took the under, which was set at a laughable 56 points.

Previous Super Bowl Winners

2018: Philadelphia Eagles

In Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia Eagles, led by backup quarterback Nick Foles, did what no other team on this list could: defeat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl (as three-point underdogs, at that). In a thrilling back-and-forth affair at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Eagles managed to hold off a furious comeback effort by New England, winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl, 41-33. It was one of the most exciting games in Super Bowl history, one that set several records, including the most combined yards in a game in NFL history (1,151) and the most points scored by a losing team in Super Bowl history.

The game also featured one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history: the Philly Special. Facing fourth-and-goal from the Patriots’ 1-yard line with 38 seconds remaining in the first half, running back Corey Clement took a direct snap and pitched it to tight end Trey Burton. Burton then threw a perfect pass to a wide-open Foles, who became the first quarterback to catch a touchdown in Super Bowl history, giving the Eagles a 22-12 halftime lead.

Foles was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns, but the Eagles’ dominant rushing attack that night was the unsung hero, with running backs LeGarrette Blount (a former Patriots player) and Jay Ajayi combining for 147 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries. Foles may not ever reach the heights that he reached during Philadelphia’s remarkable run that season, but he will always be remembered as a Super Bowl champion.

Overshadowed amid the loss, Brady threw for 505 yards, breaking his own Super Bowl record, and three touchdowns. This game will go down as one of the most enjoyable Super Bowls ever, obscuring the fact that New England tied the record for Super Bowl losses (along with the Denver Broncos) with five.