On a late-night Sunday Surmising, we are here to briefly toast the 1965–1967 Green Bay Packers—still the only modern-era team to win three consecutive NFL championships, after the Philadelphia Eagles took down the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs today in Super Bowl LIX. It’s nuts to think that in the 59-year history of the Super Bowl, no team has threepeated. We blame Pat Riley, of course, to be sure.

The Chiefs had been living dangerously for a long time, scraping out wins over good teams and bad teams. Their offensive line finally broke down hard, and the Kansas City defense kept hurting itself with costly, dumb penalties. So much for that theory that the NFL was favoring the Chiefs with officiating: the Eagles even got away with a head shot to Patrick Mahomes in the game, long after the outcome had been firmed.

It’s harder today to threepeat, though, than it was in the 1960s: more games, more travel, more playoff games, etc. Kansas City has played in seven consecutive AFC Championship games since 2018, meaning two-to-four extra postseason matchup each year. Do the math: that’s 21 extra games for Mahomes & Company, which is more than a full season. That takes its toll, unless your personal trainer is a criminal.

In addition to the offensive line, the Chiefs defense didn’t have a lot of answers for the Eagles’ multifaceted offense: they did the right thing in focusing on Saquon Barkley, shutting him down (57 yards on 25 carries), and forcing quarterback Jalen Hurts to beat them. And he did, that simple. As we noted two weeks ago, the Eagles should have been the favorites here on paper, due to the basic math and sabermetric edges.

However, it will go down as an “upset” due to the Chiefs’ run at a threepeat. Kansas City was the sentimental favorite, perhaps, in terms of going for a historic achievement. That certainly titled the betting lines unrealistically. So, how did the Packers of the 1960s do it? Hard work, luck, and favorable conditions (i.e., a shorter regular season and much fewer playoff games). We give the Eagles credit, but time was on their side.

As for the Chiefs, this is hardly the end for them, as the team has won 10-plus games for 10 straight seasons now. The last time Kansas City lost a Super Bowl, the team missed out on the big game the following year. In fact, the 2021 season is the only time since 2019 the Chiefs have not been in the Super Bowl. Maybe they will need time to recover; maybe they will reload and be back next year; maybe they’ll miss out entirely in 2025.

Only time will tell, but for now, the 1965-1967 Packers remain atop the NFL dynasty hierarchy, and they will stay there for at least another few years. The deeper that achievement fades into history, the more impressive it becomes—and the harder it will be to vanquish it from the record books. It’s the same for 1972 Miami Dolphins, really, who dodged a challenger in 2007 thanks to some sort of odd intervention process.

This is a good reminder that no matter how much the modern athlete accomplishes, it’s usually going to play second fiddle to something someone else did in the past, previously and more spectacularly.