Seattle has percentages in their favor for back to back titles

In the previous 48 Super Bowls, the most ill advised pass was made by Washington Redskin's QB Joe Theismann in Super Bowl XVIII 12 seconds before halftime. Head coach Joe Gibbs took the blame for the screen pass play intended for RB Joe Washington. The Redskins were reigning Super Bowl champs.

Dallas Cowboys - Won Super Bowl XII 27-10 over Denver, lost Super Bowl XIII, 35-31 to Pittsburgh
Washington Redskins - Won Super Bowl XVII 27-17 over Miami, lost Super Bowl XVIII, 38-9 to Oakland
Green Bay Packers - Won Super Bowl XXXI 35-21 over Patriots, lost Super Bowl XXXII,34-27 to Denver
Seattle Seahawks - Won Super Bowl XLVIII, 43-8 over Denver, ????

The Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers each played poorly following their win. The Dallas Cowboys were unable to recover from a wide open TE Jackie Smith drop in the end zone on a Roger Staubach pass. The Cowboys had to settle for the third quarter field by K Rafael Septien, cutting the Pittsburgh lead to 21-17. The Steelers held on for a 35-31 victory.


The Seahawks should be well aware of the absurdity after what happened in Super Bowl XL. While it was not a back to back Super Bowl appearance by Seattle, the game was rated the worst officiated contest in Super Bowl history. ProFootballTalk:

A trip to Seahawks camp on Friday gave referee Bill Leavy a chance to get something off his chest that he’s probably wanted to say for a while.

“It was a tough thing for me,” Levy said in reference to his infamous performance in Pittsburgh’s 21-10 win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. “I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I
impacted the game and as an official you never want to do that. It left me with a lot of sleepless
nights and I think about it constantly. I’ll go to my grave wishing that I’d been better.”

Seattle is a very slight favorite over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. The 8-3 record is a solid 72.7% for back to back champions. The last back to back Super Bowl Champions were the New England Patriots in XXXVIII and XXXIX. It would be premature for the Seahawks to be planning a duck boat parade on Puget Sound just yet.


Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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