-
Brianna Williams, ESPN
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to host the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football” in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII — marking the ninth time two teams from the previous Super Bowl faced off the next season.
Kansas City overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and relied on Harrison Butker‘s game-winning 27-yard field goal — and a controversial holding call against Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry — to win 38-35.
This season, both teams picked up where they left off in February, entering the game fresh off a bye week as the top seed in their conference.
“I’m motivated to win the game,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said. “I don’t need the Super Bowl to get motivated to beat my brother or Andy [Reid]. I’ve never beaten them in my career. I’m more motivated by that. I don’t buy into the Super Bowl revenge.”
Read more: Eagles’ Kelce not motivated by Super Bowl loss vs. Chiefs
The teams have a limited history against each other, but Kansas City is riding a four-game winning streak versus Philadelphia and leads the series 6-4.
Here’s how the Super Bowl rematches from previous seasons played out:
The Falcons memorably led 28-3 at halftime but couldn’t hold on to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy.
Months after completing the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, the Tom Brady-led Patriots handed the Matt Ryan-led Falcons a 23-7 loss in Week 7 of the 2017 season.
After finishing the regular season with a 15-1 record, the Panthers entered the 50th edition of the NFL’s biggest game with MVP Cam Newton under center for the league’s top offense. Meanwhile, Denver boasted the top defense and Hall of Fame signal-caller Peyton Manning. The game, which featured 12 sacks and six turnovers, went the Broncos’ way but it wasn’t long before the two teams met again.
Denver hosted the rematch to open the following season. Though it was a much more competitive contest, the same squad emerged victorious, as Graham Gano missed a potential game-winning 50-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 21-20 win.
Seattle entered as the underdog, but quickly proved that label incorrect. The Seahawks built a 22-0 halftime lead and led by as much as 36 points, the largest shutout lead in Super Bowl history, before Denver put up its sole touchdown.
Their next meeting in Week 3 couldn’t be decided in regulation as Manning’s team scored 17 points in a fourth-quarter rally to force overtime. Unfortunately for Denver, Russell Wilson led an 80-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run on the first possession to secure a 26-20 overtime victory.
Green Bay set six player records to come away with its first Super Bowl victory in 29 years. Brett Favre and Antonio Freeman’s 81-yard touchdown connection was the longest pass and reception in Super Bowl history for eight years, and still occupies the No. 2 spot in the record books. More notably, Desmond Howard’s 99-yard kickoff return was the Super Bowl’s longest scoring play for 14 years. It currently stands as the third-longest scoring play in the game’s history.
The Patriots hosted the Week 9 rematch in Pete Carroll’s first season as head coach but the home field didn’t prove to be much of an advantage. The Packers shut them out in all but one quarter and cruised to a 28-10 victory.
In the 1990s, Buffalo became the second team to play in three consecutive Super Bowls. Unfortunately for the Bills, they didn’t have an answer for Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, so they also became the first team to lose all three. Dallas did most of its damage by scoring 35 points off of a Super Bowl-record nine Buffalo turnovers.
The Cowboys hosted the Week 2 rematch without Smith and had their home opener spoiled, losing 13-10.
In a rematch of Super Bowl X, which Pittsburgh won 21-17, Dallas’ bid to go back to back came up just short. The Steelers won 35-31 and became the first franchise to win three Super Bowls.
After dominating the 1970s with six combined Super Bowl appearances, the two teams had their last meeting of the decade in Week 9 of the 1979 season. It was a low-scoring affair as Pittsburgh prevented Dallas from reaching the end zone in its 14-3 win.
Decades before becoming the Las Vegas Raiders, the team dominated the “Purple People Eaters” defense to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The Raiders’ defense forced three turnovers, with two fourth-quarter interceptions — including cornerback Willie Brown’s 75-yard pick-six.
The rematch was played at the Raiders’ then-home stadium, the Oakland Coliseum, in Week 13 of the 1977 season. It ended in nearly identical fashion with a 35-13 Raiders victory.
The wet weather conditions of the final championship showdown before the AFL-NFL merger meant that the game was decided on the ground. Kansas City dominated by outgaining Minnesota in rushing yards 151-61. The Chiefs’ defense played its part by forcing three interceptions and recovering two fumbles.
The Vikings began the 1970 season with revenge as they downed the Chiefs 27-10 in the opening-week rematch.
