Are the Rams the worst defending Super Bowl champions in NFL history? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Los Angeles Rams went all-in to win a Super Bowl at their home stadium during the 2021 season.
Trades for Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller gave the Rams a slim window to win a title at the expense of their long-term flexibility. They pulled it off, though, beating the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium last February for the franchise’s second championship.
Was it worth it? A million times out of a million.
Will they win a third Super Bowl anytime soon? It’s not looking pretty.
The Rams’ 2022 season mercifully ended with a whimper on Sunday. They were shellacked in their season opener against the Buffalo Bills at the site of their Super Bowl triumph, went 3-3 over their next six games going into the bye and proceeded to lose six consecutive games following their break. They broke their skid with a surprising win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football and spread some holiday cheer with a blowout victory against the Denver Broncos on Christmas Day, but they came nowhere close to the postseason with their 5-12 record.
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Making matters worse is that they do not own their 2023 first-round draft pick. L.A. shipped that selection, along with another first-rounder, a third-rounder and Jared Goff, to the Detroit Lions as part of the Stafford trade in January 2021. The Lions will now take the Rams’ pick at No. 6 overall to go along with their own pick at No. 18.
Bring it all together, and the Rams had the worst season of any defending Super Bowl champion – ever. Here’s a look back at how the prior 55 title-winning squads fared the following season:
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How many NFL teams have repeated as Super Bowl champions?
The NFL has awarded back-to-back champions eight times in the Super Bowl era.
The Green Bay Packers were the first team to do so, winning each of the first two Super Bowls. Next were the Miami Dolphins, who completed the NFL’s only perfect season in 1972 before earning a second straight title the following year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only franchise to have won back-to-back Super Bowls on separate occasions. Their first two championships came in the 1974 and 1975 seasons. After a two-year hiatus from the Super Bowl, Pittsburgh once again won consecutive to cap off the 1978 and 1979 campaigns.
The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are the other four franchises to win two Super Bowls in a row.
How many NFL teams missed the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl?
Sixteen of the first 55 Super Bowl champions did not make the playoffs the following year.
Here is a breakdown of end results for reigning champions the season after they won the Super Bowl, including the 2022 Rams:
- Missed playoffs: 17
- Lost in wild card round: 5
- Lost in divisional round: 13
- Lost conference championship game: 7
- Lost Super Bowl: 6
- Won Super Bowl: 8
Which reigning Super Bowl champion had the worst record the next season?
While 16 prior Super Bowl winners failed to make the following playoffs, no defending champion struggled as badly as these Rams. Only seven teams finished with a sub-.500 record the year after winning a Super Bowl, and only one of those teams picked up double-digit wins.
The Broncos went from two straight championships in 1997 and 1998 to a 6-10 record in 1999. The drop was a predictable one considering Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway retired following the Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXIII win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Rams were without their Super Bowl quarterback at times in 2022, too. Stafford missed a Week 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals due to a concussion, returned the following week and missed the rest of the season because of a spinal cord contusion. The team has trotted out John Wolford and Bryce Perkins off the bench and picked up Baker Mayfield off waivers ahead of their primetime game against the Raiders.
Still, the Rams went 3-6 in Stafford’s nine starts, a record that still would have put them on pace for more than 11 losses.
How every Super Bowl champion fared the next season
Here is a look at how every prior Super Bowl champion has done after winning their title:
1966 Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl I, finished 9-4-1 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1967 Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl II, finished 6-7-1 (missed playoffs) in following season
1968 New York Jets: Won Super Bowl III, finished 10-4 (lost divisional round game) in following season
1969 Kansas City Chiefs: Won Super Bowl IV, finished 7-5-2 (missed playoffs) in following season
1970 Baltimore Colts: Won Super Bowl V, finished 10-4 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1971 Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl VI, finished 10-4 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1972 Miami Dolphins: Won Super Bowl VII, finished 12-2 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1973 Miami Dolphins: Won Super Bowl VIII, finished 11-3 (lost divisional round game) in following season
1974 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl IX, finished 12-2 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1975 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl X, finished 10-4 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1976 Oakland Raiders: Won Super Bowl XI, finished 11-3 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1977 Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl XII, finished 12-4 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
1978 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl XIII, finished 12-4 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1979 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl XIV, finished 9-7 (missed playoffs) in following season
1980 Oakland Raiders: Won Super Bowl XV, finished 7-9 (missed playoffs) in following season
1981 San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowl XVI, finished 3-6 (missed playoffs) in following season
1982 Washington: Won Super Bowl XVII, finished 14-2 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
1983 Los Angeles Raiders: Won Super Bowl XVIII, finished 11-5 (lost wild card game) in following season
1984 San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowl XIX, finished 10-6 (lost wild card game) in following season
1985 Chicago Bears: Won Super Bowl XX, finished 14-2 (lost divisional round game) in following season
1986 New York Giants: Won Super Bowl XXI, finished 6-9 (missed playoffs) in following season
1987 Washington: Won Super Bowl XXII, finished 7-9 (missed playoffs) in following season
1988 San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowl XXIII, finished 14-2 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1989 San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowl XXIV, finished 14-2 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1990 New York Giants: Won Super Bowl XXV, finished 8-8 (missed playoffs) in following season
1991 Washington: Won Super Bowl XXVI, finished 9-7 (lost divisional round game) in following season
1992 Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl XXVII, finished 12-4 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1993 Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl XXVIII, finished 12-4 (lost conference championship game) in following season
1994 San Francisco 49ers: Won Super Bowl XXIX, finished 11-5 (lost divisional round) in following season
1995 Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl XXX, finished 10-6 (lost divisional round game) in following season
1996 Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl XXXI, finished 13-3 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
1997 Denver Broncos: Won Super Bowl XXXII, finished 14-2 (won Super Bowl) in following season
1998 Denver Broncos: Won Super Bowl XXXIII, finished 6-10 (missed playoffs) in following season
1999 St. Louis Rams: Won Super Bowl XXXIV, finished 10-6 (lost wild card game) in following season
2000 Baltimore Ravens: Won Super Bowl XXXV, finished 10-6 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2001 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl XXXVI, finished 9-7 (missed playoffs) in following season
2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Won Super Bowl XXXVII, finished 7-9 (missed playoffs) in following season
2003 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl XXXVIII, finished 14-2 (won Super Bowl) in following season
2004 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl XXXIX, finished 10-6 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl XL, finished 8-8 (missed playoffs) in following season
2006 Indianapolis Colts: Won Super Bowl XLI, finished 13-3 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2007 New York Giants: Won Super Bowl XLII, finished 12-4 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2008 Pittsburgh Steelers: Won Super Bowl XLIII, finished 9-7 (missed playoffs) in following season
2009 New Orleans Saints: Won Super Bowl XLIV, finished 11-5 (lost wild card game) in following season
2010 Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl XLV, finished 15-1 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2011 New York Giants: Won Super Bowl XLVI, finished 9-7 (missed playoffs) in following season
2012 Baltimore Ravens: Won Super Bowl XLVII, finished 8-8 (missed playoffs) in following season
2013 Seattle Seahawks: Won Super Bowl XLVIII, finished 12-4 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
2014 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl XLIX, finished 12-4 (lost conference championship game) in following season
2015 Denver Broncos: Won Super Bowl 50, finished 9-7 (missed playoffs) in following season
2016 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl LI, finished 13-3 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
2017 Philadelphia Eagles: Won Super Bowl LII, finished 9-7 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2018 New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl LIII, finished 12-4 (lost wild card game) in following season
2019 Kansas City Chiefs: Won Super Bowl LIV, finished 14-2 (lost Super Bowl) in following season
2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Won Super Bowl LV, finished 13-4 (lost divisional round game) in following season
2021 Los Angeles Rams: Won Super Bowl LVI, finished 5-12 (missed playoffs) in following season
