Vince Lombardi's Packers say don't call Chiefs' quest for 3 straight titles a first
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The story line headed into the Super Bowl revolves around the Kansas City Chiefs' quest to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowl titles.
Just don't call it the NFL's first three-peat.
While all eight teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls before Kansas City did it the past two seasons lost before making it back for a third, the NFL has had two runs of three straight championships — both by Green Bay.
Curly Lambeau's Packers won the NFL titles from 1929-31 before there was even a postseason and Vince Lombardi's crew in the 1960s also did it. Green Bay won the NFL title in 1965 — the year before the AFL and NFL champs first played in what is now known as the Super Bowl — and then the Packers won the first two Super Bowls against the AFL champions for an NFL three-peat that the players still take pride in having achieved.
'If Kansas city wins, I don't want to hear about the only three-time champions,' Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Robinson said. 'That's BS.'
Robinson's Packers won the 1965 championship with a 23-12 win over Cleveland, holding Jim Brown to just 50 yards rushing in his final NFL game.
The Bills won the title in the upstart AFL that season, beating the Chargers 23-0.
'There was no doubt in anybody's mind, AFL guy or NFL guy, that the Green Bay Packers were the best team in pro football at that point,' Robinson said. 'It wasn't close.'
A few months later, the league agreed to merge. They played separate regular-season schedules in 1966-69 before the merger became fully operational in 1970 but the champions of both leagues played for the ultimate prize in pro football in what later became known as the Super Bowl.
The Packers easily beat the AFL's best, topping Kansas City 35-10 in the first Super Bowl and then beating Oakland 33-14 the following year.
Lombardi retired as Packers coach after that game and the dynasty ended with Green Bay missing the playoffs in 1968 and the AFL's New York Jets upsetting Baltimore in Super Bowl 3.
'If he stuck around one more year, we would have won three straight Super Bowls,' Robinson said. 'No one thought the Super Bowl would be as big as it was because the NFL was a landslide over the AFL those years. We would have beaten the Jets. They were a fine team but we would have beaten them.'
Robinson, who grew up cheering for the New York Giants, is backing the Eagles on Sunday but more for his attachment to fellow Penn State alum Saquon Barkley than any deep-seated hatred of the Chiefs.
While the Packers do feel slighted, they also respect what the Chiefs have accomplished these last few years with coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.
'First of all, yes, it does bother me,' Hall of Fame guard Jerry Kramer said in a phone interview. 'I'm aware of it. I'm not crying. I'm not hysterical. I'm not having a fit. But there's a little resentment there. But when I look at the Kansas City Chiefs and I see the quality of play and I know the coach from Green Bay and I watch Mahomes and Kelce, they're doing everything well. They are a great football team. I understand that and I appreciate that and I know how difficult that is.'
Even if the Chiefs do win Sunday for their third straight championship and fourth in six years, the Packers still hold something over them. Green Bay also won NFL titles in 1961-62 and is the only team with five championships in a seven-year span.
'We'll have to start talking about five out of seven,' Kramer said. 'They still have a little hill to climb. I've gone from three in a row to five out of seven. I hope they do it, really. My life has been complete. I've had a wonderful ride.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Packers to reportedly release 2-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander
The Green Bay Packers are cutting ties with cornerback Jaire Alexander. The two-time Pro Bowler will reportedly be released Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It marks quite the fall for Alexander, a former first-round draft pick who was one of the team's best players as recently as the 2022 season, when he was selected to his second Pro Bowl. But injuries have plagued Alexander over the past two years. Back and shoulder issues limited Alexander to seven games in 2023. A knee issue caused Alexander to play in just seven games in 2024. Advertisement Prior to those injuries, Alexander had emerged as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. After a promising rookie season in 2018, Alexander started in all 16 games in his second season. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2020 and was second team All-Pro. He was limited to just four games in 2021 due to a shoulder injury, but bounced back in 2022 to play in all 16 games, once again earning Pro Bowl and second team All-Pro team honors. After signing a four-year, $84 million extension in 2022, Alexander was set to make over $16 million in 2025. The Packers reportedly offered Alexander a restructured deal in May, which would have resulted in Alexander taking a pay cut. It appears Alexander did not want to take that deal, leading to his reported release. The last two seasons in which Alexander played double-digit games, he made the Pro Bowl. That should give the 28-year-old multiple options now that he's reportedly hit the free-agent market. Given his injury struggles, Alexander may need to settle for a short-term deal. If he can stay healthy and return to form, Alexander could fetch a much larger contract on the market next season.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Browns rival Bengals cuts linebacker Germaine Pratt after six seasons
The Cleveland Browns may no longer have to see linebacker Germaine Pratt twice per year as the Cincinnati Bengals have moved on from their former starting linebacker. A former third round pick of the Bengals in 2019, Pratt went on to start 88 total games in Cincinnati. He was a member of the Bengals' 2021 squad that took down the Kansas City Chiefs to earn a spot in the Super Bowl before coming up just short in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Advertisement Throughout his six-year career, Pratt has amassed 355 solo tackles, 32 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, and seven interceptions. This output earned him a starting role extremely fast, pairing up with Logan Wilson in Year 2 as the full-time starter after even starting nine games as a rookie. It even earned him a second contract with the team, signing a three-year contract extension in 2023 worth $20.25 million in total and earning him $7 million in guaranteed money. Pratt was in the last year of that deal as he now hits the free agency market. The Bengals will see a $5.85 million cap saving after the move while opting to eat $2.33 million in dead money as a result. He now hits the free agency market at the age of 29, looking for a new home. Could the Browns be a landing spot as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remains sidelined for the entirety of the 2025 season? This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns rival Bengals cut Germaine Pratt after six seasons


Washington Post
25 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Jim Irsay's three daughters will take over ownership of the Colts, team says
The three daughters of late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will take over ownership of the franchise, the team announced Monday. Irsay's eldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, will succeed her father as the team's principal owner and will have the title of chief executive officer, the Colts said. The Colts said that 'all three sisters will share leadership duties for the club,' adding that the ownership transition was being done 'pursuant to longstanding plans set forth by Jim Irsay.' The new roles and titles for the three women are 'effective immediately,' according to the team.