This article contains multiple opinions that have been supported and given the green light by the editor, promoter and owner of this website. These views contain the true thoughts and happiness of the writer regarding one of America’s top sports teams.
The 2025-2026 NFL season was unlike any other. Every week was wild and there were few consistencies. Both Super Bowl participants from the prior season struggled almost every week they played. Three of the eight divisions had at three teams that could make a deep run in the playoffs. The number of comebacks defied expectations.
Yet one consistency remained: Seattle played like the best team even in a loss. In the game that wound up being the Seahawks worst loss and lowest moment of the year, the offense turned the ball over five times against Los Angeles on November 16th. Still, Seattle was yards away from sweeping the Rams despite kicker Jason Myers missing a 61 yard field goal attempt. Every franchise painfully longs for that consistency in a landmark Super Bowl year.
So what made the Seahawks second Super Bowl championship a contender for the best or most special moment in franchise history? Was it the dominant defense in a second year head coach’s tenure? How about playing almost every important game in the NFL’s most feared stadium? Maybe it was beating almost a dozen teams that won at least eight games during the season, with at least eight of them against teams with double digit wins? Could it have been because Seattle was in the top ten of almost every major statistic on all three sides of the ball?
All of those are a yes, but there was a lot more to appreciate. The Seahawks dominated/won every game they were supposed to. Quarterback Sam Darnold exorcised his “ghosts” against pivotal teams from Minnesota, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New England. The offensive line was the best since the 2005 Super Bowl run. Two thorough beatdowns of the 49ers wounded the northern California franchise…which had to host and watch their pacific northwest division rivals win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. For all the traveling Seattle does each season, it was poetic that the furthest they had to travel in the last month of the season was to Santa Clara, California (twice).
The other two division rivals fared no better. Arizona was the only NFC West team the Seahawks swept. Los Angeles went from thinking Seattle would be easy to beat to having two postgame meltdowns in their losses at the Emerald City. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald not only out dueled Rams head coach Sean McVay when it mattered most, but he made Los Angeles spiral mentally top to bottom. There’s a chance star receiver Puka Nacua is in a similar situation as former receiver Antonio Brown with his rapidly deteriorating mental acuity. Outside linebacker Jared Verse admitted once the Seahawks got the edge early in the conference championship, the Rams defense had no idea how to flip things around. Now the Rams must figure out what has to be fixed on every side of the ball compared to how things were in mid-January.
When it came to Super Bowl hopefuls, Seattle played some of their best football of the season. A closer game than many expected against Jacksonville ended as a double digit win because of turnovers and Jaguar special teams mistakes. The Seahawks defense treated Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud IV like a punching bag in a dominant October 20th Monday night 27-19 win. A run heavy, one-sided performance in San Francisco lit up the final week of the regular season. If any team wanted to beat the Seahawks, they needed every one dialed in with some luck and maybe bad officiating to get a close win. That almost never happened.
Maybe the sweetest thing about this Super Bowl win is that unlike 2013-14, it was completely unexpected. Unlike the Super Bowl 48 season, every serious sports analyst (including the ones here on jdsportscorner) had Mike Macdonald’s team as a wild card team at best. Most believed the defense and special teams were great, but the offense was a big question mark with a rookie left guard as the highlight new player. “Everyone” knew Sam Darnold may have won 14 games with the Vikings the year before, but he didn’t show up in games where the stakes were raised. The losses of talented pass catchers D.K. Metcalf, Noah Fant and offensive captain Tyler Lockett meant third year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba would be the main receiver. Outside of Smith-Njigba and maybe second year tight-end AJ Barner, who could step up at wide receiver or tight-end and put opposing secondaries on their heels? This was an objective, reasonable and well-thought out take and question many analysts had.
This is why general manager John Schneider earned the Executive of the Year award. Drafting receiver Tory Horton (even though he was on injured reserve half the season) was an underrated, perfect pick. The trade for receiver and returner Rashid Shaheed changed the season’s trajectory. The signing of veteran, division rival Cooper Kupp did wonders for everyone on the roster who could catch a pass. Kupp played his best in every important game. Then the running game finally broke out with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet splitting carries and responsibilities throughout the season. When one faltered, the other came in and put the offense back on track.
There were franchise and league records set in this dominant Super Bowl run. Seattle’s average playoff win margin was 18.3, the highest since their twin Buccaneers in 2003. The Seahawks had the most road wins for any team in Levi’s Stadium history with nine. They trailed for only 95 seconds the entire postseason, the best since 1991 Washington and easily the best this century. Seattle became the first Super Bowl champion to not have a turnover the entire playoffs. Defensive coordinator Aden Durde became the first British coach to win a Super Bowl. Head coach Mike Macdonald became the first head coach to win a Super Bowl as the primary defensive play-caller. Macdonald won a championship in dominant fashion on his first trip to the playoffs as a head coach like another NFC west rival head coach did. That coach was Bill Walsh. Mike Macdonald is also the third head coach to lead a number one scoring defense as a coordinator, lead a number one scoring defense as a coach and win the Super Bowl as a head coach. The other two? Bill Belichick and Chuck Noll.
All of this speaks volumes to how much care and consideration have been put into the Seahawks under current owner Jody Allen. Personally, my favorite thing with Seattle this year is how all the players don’t just like, love and care about each other, but they also like, love and care about the whole fanbase. When I was in Nashville for Seattle’s 30-24 win against the Titans on November 23rd, I saw firsthand how the players and coaches love and enjoy interacting with regular people. A guy next to me was promised by cornerback Tariq Woolen he’d sign his hat and shirt. Woolen, jokingly hoping to not get caught, was more than thrilled to talk with us and interact with those around us. I found out live that AJ Barner purposely loves finding fans after games just to interact with them. The first thing Barner did after exiting Nissan Stadium was to head over and say hello to fans, sign things and chat with those in nearest proximity to him. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, punter Michael Dickson and kicker Jason Myers instantly lit up seeing the fans near the locked gate near the team buses. There were even parents of players like tight end Elijah Arroyo who took pictures with fans even before leaving for the airport. Then there’s me, the person writing this article, and fan-guy for the day who chanted for Mike Macdonald to be coach of the year. We saw Macdonald smile and fight temptation to turn around and say something. Unfortunately, he kept his composure. Macdonald probably got a lot of that this season in King County, Washington. He probably never expected that in Nashville, Tennessee.
From easier, regular season wins to the Super Bowl parade, star players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba to rookies like Grey Zabel didn’t think for a second they were better than anyone else outside the field or inside the building. In fact, when Zabel struck a conversation with Williams during a game late in the regular season on how to improve against an opposing guard, the veteran listened to his teammate. Many learned after that moment that both players helped and talked with each other throughout the season, suggesting how they could improve and what to keep in mind. The coaches, higher management, personnel and security turned words to actions on practicing what they preach, and it showed with the players every day.
Speaking of higher management, Seattle’s ownership could change by the end of the 2026-2027 season. If that is the case and say, things don’t improve (I knocked on wood after writing this), it makes this dominant Super Bowl win even more special. The Allens turned an afterthought team into one of the NFL’s most coveted organizations, continually changing how the game is played. The NFL also has made the Seahawks a team to promote on at least three different continents both in and outside the U.S. If you don’t believe ownership has changed much, then check out the image below.
Paul Allen’s ownership turned the Seahawks into a bona fide winner after the NFL re-aligned divisions in 2002. Seattle has only had one last place season in their 24 year history as an NFC team. Their stadium is fully paid off and generates surplus revenue for the public. That stadium is also the envy of the NFL, and several owners have tried to replicate the designs. The Seahawks also have one thing few teams claim in the sport: a total monopoly over their region and nearby out-of-state markets. That doesn’t happen if Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen didn’t buy the team in 1997.
It wouldn’t be a memorable, unforgettable season without a few cherries on top. Seattle dominating, winning and being the NFL’s face of the season means more on a special anniversary. This year, both the Buccaneers and Seahawks celebrated their 50th NFL anniversary. While both teams have many differences, they both won two titles each in their first 50 years of existence. Most teams can only dream of just playing in one Super Bowl. It’s incredible both franchises have accomplished this much after a rough few decades last century.
More milestones stand out for Seattle more than for Tampa Bay. On the 20th anniversary of a painful, controversial Super Bowl 40 loss, the Seahawks soared back and won their second title. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won that controversial Super Bowl 20 years ago, lost one of their best head coaches in franchise history, imploded in the wildcard round, face a major roster re-build over the next few seasons, and had the lowest grade and worst rated owner in what’s likely the final release of the NFLPA’s franchise report cards. Over a decade ago in what many still consider the best Super Bowl played, Seattle lost after an agonizing set of plays to New England. Not only did the Seahawks get to settle the score, but they capped off an odd season for the Patriots. New England started their season with a week one loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, led by former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith. They ended their season with a Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks. When retired Patriot and Buccaneer great Tom Brady enjoyed calling national games in Seattle to the point he didn’t want to pick a Super Bowl winner, it should have shown more viewers how much he respects and to a degree, appreciates the franchise.
Finally, while many don’t know this, another factor making this a particularly special season, especially for those in the organization, was how many beloved people were lost throughout the year. For anyone who either didn’t have the chance to watch the victory parade or didn’t know, a lot of players and front office staff lost their fathers throughout the season. While it is saddening that a good number of parents didn’t get to see their sons become world champions, best believe they would be proud of how dominant, relentless and determined they were throughout the year. Maybe Seattle can do what they have not done before and follow up with a repeat championship. Perhaps there are a lot more moments for that victory than this one. Still, it will never take away how great this second Super Bowl win was and the plethora of once-in-a-lifetime moments and memories.
JD's Sportscorner 