Seattle wins the Super Bowl easily, and it's time to ponder whether this can be the first team in 10 years to lift back-to-back Lombardi trophies.
Seahawks win the Super Bowl. They have a young team. And talk is whipping around that this is the start of a dynasty – like they might win a couple more.
Much easier said than done in today’s NFL, where rosters change dramatically from year to year and there’s very little difference between being a Super Bowl champion and not even making the playoffs.
In the Super Bowl era, 20 other teams have won the championship game by 15 or more points. Only three of those teams made it back to the Super Bowl the next season, and only two of those teams won it (the Packers after Super Bowl I, and the Cowboys with their back-to-back wins over the Buffalo Bills in the early ‘90s).
Seven of those teams, on the other hand (over a third) didn’t even make the playoffs the next year.
Maybe Seattle can become the first team since the Patriots (following the 2003-2004 seasons) to make it to back Super Bowls, but we’ll see. There was essentially no difference between Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC title game two weeks ago.
BLOWOUT WINNERS IN SUPER BOWL -- THE NEXT YEAR | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Super Bowl | Next Season |
1990 | San Francisco | 55-10 vs. Denver | 14-2, lost in NFC title game |
1986 | Chicago | 46-10 vs. New England | 14-2, lost in playoffs |
1993 | Dallas | 52-17 vs. Buffalo | 12-4, won Super Bowl XXVIII |
2014 | Seattle | 43-8 vs. Denver | |
1988 | Washington | 42-10 vs. Denver | 7-9, not in playoffs |
1984 | Raiders | 38-9 vs. Washington | 11-5, lost wild card game |
2001 | Baltimore | 34-7 vs. NY Giants | 10-6, lost in playoffs |
2003 | Tampa Bay | 48-21 vs. Oakland | 7-9, not in playoffs |
1967 | Green Bay | 35-10 vs. Kansas City | 9-4-1, won Super Bowl II |
1995 | San Francisco | 49-26 vs. San Diego | 11-5, lost in playoffs |
1985 | San Francisco | 38-16 vs. Miami | 10-6 lost wild card game |
1972 | Dallas | 24-3 vs. Miami | 10-4, lost in NFC title game |
1968 | Green Bay | 33-14 vs. Oakland | 6-7-1, not in playoffs |
1987 | NY Giants | 39-20 vs. Denver | 6-9, not in playoffs |
1977 | Oakland | 32-14 vs. Minnesota | 11-3, lost in AFC title game |
1978 | Dallas | 27-10 vs. Denver | 12-4, lost in Super Bowl |
1994 | Dallas | 30-13 vs. Buffalo | 12-4, lost in NFC title game |
1974 | Miami | 24-7 vs. Minnesota | 11-3, lost in playoffs |
1981 | Oakland | 27-10 vs. Philadelphia | 7-9, not in playoffs |
1970 | Kansas City | 23-7 vs. Minnesota | 7-5-2, not in playoffs |
1999 | Denver | 34-19 vs. Atlanta | 6-10, not in playoffs |
--Ian Allan