WASHINGTON — Only a select few sports teams have achieved a three-peat championship — a feat that cements dynasties in history. 

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were on the cusp of becoming one of those dynasties Sunday in their face-off against the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2025 Super Bowl. 

But the Eagles shredded the Chiefs’ offense in a 40-22 blowout, denying them the chance at making history. 

If they had won, the Chiefs would have become the first NFL team to achieve a three-peat, joining legendary teams like the 2000-02 Lakers, 1998-2000 Yankees, and 1991-93 Bulls in other sports. 

The rare championship three-peat hasn’t been accomplished in any of the major sports leagues in more than 20 years.

No NFL team has ever achieved the monumental feat of winning three consecutive Super Bowls. 

Only two NFL teams have ever won three straight championships with Green Bay doing it from 1929-31 when the champion was determined by regular-season record and then again in the 1965-67 seasons. Vince Lombardi’s Packers won the final NFL championship before the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966 and then won the first two games between the AFL and NFL champions that determined the true kings of pro football.

While dynasties have emerged and champions have repeatedly hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, the milestone remains unmatched —  for now. 

The Chiefs are the closest any NFL team has ever been to winning three Super Bowls in a row. After winning the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs became the first team to return to the NFL championship game following back-to-back wins. 

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came close in the early 2000s, having won three Super Bowls in four years between 2001 and 2004. Though the Super Bowl titles were consistent, they were not consecutive.

Only eight teams have even successfully defended their Super Bowl title. 

While Brady’s Patriots fell short in their quest for three straight Super Bowls, the former NFL player said he would be happy to see Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs be the first team in the Super Bowl era to accomplish that feat.

It would also be the fourth championship for Mahomes, putting him closer to Brady and a title record that few thought could be reached when he retired.

“I love seeing other people achieve great things and for people to detract from anything Patrick is doing, I don’t believe will ever detract from what I accomplished in my career,” Brady said.

There have been seven three-peats in the four biggest North American pro sports leagues.

The most recent team in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB to win three straight championships was the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the 2000-02 NBA Finals.

Here’s a look at those dynastic teams:

Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s dominated baseball in the early 1970s with a roster filled with big characters. Led by slugger Reggie Jackson, dominant starters Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue, the A’s knocked off the Reds, Mets and Dodgers in successive seasons to join the Yankees as the only baseball franchises to win three straight titles.

Montreal dominated the NHL for decades with 23 Stanley Cups. The majority of those came in the pre-expansion Original Six era, but the Canadiens put together an impressive run in the late 1970s under coach Scotty Bowman. Led by dynamic scorer Guy LaFleur, two Cup-clinching goals by Jacque Lemaire, Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson and goalie Ken Dryden, Montreal raced to four straight titles with a 48-10 record in the four postseason runs.

As soon as the Canadiens’ dynastic run ended, the Islanders started one of their own as the last hockey team to win at least three straight titles. Al Arbour’s squad was led by high-scoring wing Mike Bossy, defenseman Denis Potvin and goalie Billy Smith. The run started with an overtime clincher by Bobby Nystrom against Philadelphia in the 1980 Stanley Cup Final and then they lost only once in three other trips to the Final.

After coming up short in back-to-back seasons against the Detroit Pistons, Michael Jordan and the Bulls broke through in the 1991 NBA Finals by beating Magic Johnson and the Lakers in five games. Chicago then dominated for most of the decade, repeating as champs in 1992 and 1993 for the NBA’s first three-peat since Boston won eight straight titles from 1959-66.

After a brief step back in the 1994-95 seasons after Jordan stepped away to play baseball, the Bulls were even more dominant in their second run. Chicago won a then-record 72 regular-season games on the way to the title in 1996 and then won again the next two years before Jordan temporarily retired and the team broke up.

The Yankees had several dynastic runs in their history, winning four straight World Series from 1936-39 and then five in a row from 1949-53. But they are the only team to win three straight World Series in the free agency era. Led by homegrown stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams, Joe Torre’s squad won the franchise’s first title in 18 years in 1996.

After a playoff loss to Cleveland the next season, New York won three in a row starting with a then-record 114 wins in 1998. The Yankees dominated in the postseason with a 33-8 record.

After helping the Bulls to both of their three-peats in the 1990s, coach Phil Jackson did the same when he joined a talented Lakers team led by O’Neal and Bryant that had underperformed before his arrival. The Lakers needed an epic Game 7 comeback against Portland in the Western Conference Finals in 2000 on the way to the first title, went 15-1 in the postseason to repeat the following year and then had to pull out another Game 7 conference final win in 2002 against Sacramento on the way to the three-peat.

In the WNBA, the Houston Comets are the only team to have successfully pulled off a three-peat. The team won the league’s first four titles from 1997 to 2000. In those four seasons, the Comets had a 98-24 regular season record and a 16-2 playoff record. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.