Super Bowl Rematches: What Does NFL History Tell us About Seahawks vs. Patriots Round 2?

For just the 11th time in Super Bowl history, we'll have a rematch in The Big Game with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots facing off in Super Bowl 2026 on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET from Levi's Stadium. Every era has its handful of dominant franchises, and that can lead to Super Bowl rematches.

We'll be treated to another this year after the Seahawks and Patriots clashed in 2015, a game that Malcolm Butler made famous with his goal-line interception to seal New England's 28-24 win.

Let's look back at every Super Bowl rematch in NFL history.

🏈 Super Bowl rematches

Super Bowl 60 will mark the 11th time in league history that two teams will face off after previously meeting in the Super Bowl.

That typically hasn't gone well for the losing team in its second shot at glory, as only four teams have earned revenge. The Dallas Cowboys even needed two cracks at it to finally break through.

Here's a look at every Super Bowl rematch across the 59-year history of The Big Game:

Every Super Bowl rematch in NFL history

Here are a few quick observations:

• Most of these rematches are predictably in the same era as the first meeting, as both teams remain in the league's upper echelon at the same time
• The Patriots were an era unto themselves while staying in that top tier for the better part of two decades, and they were incredibly part of three separate rematches
• The Cowboys and Bills are the only teams to meet in back-to-back years, while the next-shortest time between rematches is the two years between Chiefs-Eagles tilts
• Of the eight times when teams have met twice, there have been five sweeps, and the Patriots will go for a sixth during this year's Super Bowl
• The games that took place within five years were relatively tight, coming with an average margin of victory sitting at 10.2 points - and that's even with the Cowboys-Bills blowouts skewing the average

How do teams perform in Super Bowl rematches?

Shield your eyes, Seahawks fans. The history of losing teams in the Super Bowl rematch doesn't exactly offer a vote of confidence for the Seahawks' Super Bowl odds and any Super Bowl predictions favoring them.

Of the 10 previous Super Bowl rematches, the losing team in the first meeting won the subsequent clash just four times. That includes the Cowboys winning a third bout with the Steelers two decades after Dallas' initial loss in Super Bowl 10.

It's even tougher to flip the script when the rematch comes within five years. While just over 10 points on average has been the margin of victory in those games, the original winner is 4-1 in the rematch.

🎥 Top moments from Super Bowl rematches

While the results haven't changed all that often the second time around, we've been treated to some legendary moments in Super Bowl history between teams with bad blood.

Giants vs. Patriots, 2012 Super Bowl

The helmet catch of 2008 was a difficult moment to top. But the Patriots and Giants sure tried, especially the latter with another unlikely hero emerging en route to a second upset of New England.

This was an incredibly narrow defensive battle, as the Patriots entered the fourth quarter with a mere 17-15 lead. Whether it was an overthrow from Tom Brady or a drop from Wes Welker is up for debate (unless your name is Gisele Bundchen), but the result was a Patriots miscue on a key late drive when they could have lengthened their lead.

That opened the door for more heroics from Eli Manning. And like David Tyree before, his target was an unlikely one.

Remember, this is coming at the end of a season when Victor Cruz was at his peak for the Giants, as was Hakeem Nicks. Cruz finished the regular season with 1,536 receiving yards, while Nicks posted 1,192, and both of those totals would eventually stand as career highs.

Mario Manningham was fourth on the team at 523 yards, behind tight end Jake Ballard. Yet there he was with three minutes and 46 seconds left during a two-point game, with his outstretched hands cradling the ball 38 yards downfield, and his toes remaining in bounds between two Patriots defenders after Manning dropped the ball into the laughably tight window.

A few plays later, the Giants scored what would hold up as the game-winning touchdown to extend Tom Brady's misery against New York.

Eagles vs. Patriots, 2018 Super Bowl

There's too much distance between the first Eagles vs. Patriots clash in 2005 and this rematch for much continuity to exist among these rosters, beyond the looming presence of Brady and Bill Belichick during the height of the Patriots' powers.

That's part of what makes the upcoming Chiefs vs. Eagles tilt so intriguing, and it takes some of the luster away from this rematch in 2018. Still, this game produced one of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl history, and it's since been made into so very many T-shirts, tattoos, sandwiches, and even a statue of Nick Foles and Doug Pederson.

The Eagles faced 4th-and-goal from New England's 1-yard line with 34 seconds left in the first half while nursing a 3-point lead. Head coach Doug Pederson decided to go for it, wanting to score a key touchdown to stretch the lead to 10 points heading into halftime.

Pederson called a timeout when his team first lined up. Through the mic he was wearing, Foles is later heard asking Pederson, "You want Philly Philly?" to which his coach says, "Yeah, let's do it."

The creativity that followed featured Foles walking up to the line and signaling before a direct snap to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw a pass to his wide-open quarterback.

The second half went back and forth, and more clutch play from Foles was needed for Philadelphia. But that bit of goal-line trickery will forever live in Super Bowl lore.

Chiefs vs. 49ers, 2024 Super Bowl

The Chiefs are about to appear in five of the last six Super Bowls. It's been a rotating cast of characters opposing them, with the Eagles about to get a second crack, and the San Francisco 49ers still smarting from being dismissed for a second time in 2024.

The rematch was tight throughout, with largely a defensive battle taking place early. The first quarter was scoreless, and the first touchdown didn't come until there were four minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the opening half.

The defensive slugfest continued, with both teams held under 20 points during regulation, and overtime needed for just the second time in Super Bowl history.

Arguably, the key moment for this Super Bowl didn't happen during game play. It occurred during the coin toss prior to overtime, when 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan inspired countless hours of talk radio chatter by deciding to take the ball to begin the extra frame.

That resulted in the Chiefs getting possession with an opportunity to win through a touchdown after the 49ers tallied a field goal to open the overtime period.

That result always felt inevitable, with the Chiefs methodically marching downfield, and a 19-yard run from Mahomes featuring prominently. Two plays later, he connected with a wide-open Mecole Hardman on a short pass to the right.

The win sealed not only the Chiefs' second straight Super Bowl and their third over the past five years, but also a second defeat of the Niners in short order during the Big Game.

Chiefs vs. Eagles, 2025 Super Bowl

This game was the exception to the five-year trend in which the original winner has usually prevailed. It was an exception in another way too, with utter domination from the side that lost the first time.

What first started as an early advantage for the Eagles grew to a massive halftime lead. Philadelphia scored 17 points in the second quarter alone to take a 24-0 lead into halftime. It grew to an embarrassing 34-0 before Kansas City finally scored its first points of an eventual blowout with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

The defining moment came earlier on when the game was still close. Eagles safety Cooper Dejean quickly gave us the impression there would be no Mahomes magic on that night.

It's a game that wasn't remotely close, though some garbage-time scoring from the Chiefs made the final score of 40-22 moderately more respectable.

The Chiefs have since crumbled after going 6-11 this past season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Mahomes now faces an offseason of rehab after tearing his ACL, and Travis Kelce could retire.

Kansas City could rise again, but at the very least this game will be remembered for putting the team's dominance on pause for a while.

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📺 How to watch Super Bowl 2026: Seahawks vs. Patriots

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 8
• Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.)
• TV: NBC/Peacock

See our full breakdown for how to watch Super Bowl 2026, including TV info and streaming options for Seahawks vs. Patriots in Super Bowl 60.