No team has yet to scale the summit of an NFL three-peat. Only a handful of teams in the history of the National Football League have even made it to the rarified heights of being able to attempt a third consecutive Super Bowl victory.
For most franchises, the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy is a generational achievement, and a single ring can define the legacy for a coach or player. Three NFL franchises have never even appeared in a championship game: the Detroit Lions, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans.
That's what makes the current run of sustained success by the Kansas City Chiefs such a rare achievement. Four Super Bowl appearances in the last five Super Bowls with three wins in that span of time. They're off to another 4-0 start with a two-game lead in the division and they're chasing a third consecutive ring.
Joe Montana talks about the difficulties of a Chiefs three-peat and the thrill of playing in front of Chiefs Kingdom.
A three-peat has never been claimed in NFL history and for good reason: the challenges are many. Few quarterbacks know the pressures as well as NFL legend Joe Montana, a hero to the fan bases of both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. As a QB who won both Super Bowl 23 and 24, Montana and the 49ers chased potential Super Bowl glory in Super Bowl 25 and came away empty-handed.
The set-up for Montana and company was ideal. They won 14 of 16 regular season games and were the top seed in the NFC. They were eight-point favorites over the New York Giants coming into the conference championship and only needed that win to make an appearance in the big game. However, the Giants' defense knocked Montana out of the game in the fourth quarter and ended up winning 15-13.
In a recent exclusive interview with our own Sterling Holmes on the Arrowhead Addict podcast, Montana spoke about several subjects, including his own experience chasing that same summit. When it comes to the challenge before the Chiefs, Montana had some interesting notes about the biggest hurdle of all.
"Well, I think the one thing about the game, especially now because the season's longer, is that physically it gets demanding every time you get in the playoffs," said Montana. "And now if you take it all the way to the Super Bowl like done, physically it's hard to stay healthy that last third season. It's nothing that you can really point at other than it's a physical game and your body needs rest and you just don't have the opportunity to get it.
"You hope that if you get injuries, they come earlier in the season rather than later," he continued. "And when guys start missing games... it's not about trying to win your division, yeah, you'd like to do that, but for those guys, you want to just get back into the playoffs somehow and some way. Obviously, they're off to a pretty good start, so I don't perceive that happening, but you never know how the season goes. It's a crazy game. But they're fun to watch. I know that."
Check out our full interview with Joe Montana below:
Joe Montana is working with Pfizer to help spread the word about the importance of getting vaccinated heading into another flu season, especially against pneumococcal pneumonia—a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that, in serious cases, can put people in the hospital and even be life threatening. Check out vaxassist.com to find out more and join Joe in being prepared.