WE DO NOT CARE SPORTS

by Mitchell Hammon

Before I start talking about this season, I am going to bring this back to a date that started it all: March 8th, 2022. 2021 was a disappointing season in Seattle, in which the Seahawks finished with a 7-10 record and a last place finish in the NFC West. The first last place finish since the conference realignment in 2002. The first losing season in the Pete/Russ era in Seattle. It was also the first time Russell Wilson missed games to due to an injury.

After many successful seasons together, the time was coming to an end for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Drafted in 2012 in the 3rd round, Wilson won the starting job in preseason over quarterbacks Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson. The Seahawks finished 11-5 and won a playoff game in his first season. The team reached new heights in 2013, as Wilson led the Seahawks to their first championship ever in Super Bowl XLVIII winning 43-8 over the Denver Broncos and led them back to Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots the following season.

With a devastating loss in Super Bowl XLIX, losing 28-24 after Patriots CB Malcolm Butler picked Russell Wilson at the goal line. Which is still one of the most controversial play calls in Super Bowl history and the head scratching move of not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch is still talked about to this day. This loss lingered over the team in the following seasons.

The team started to crumble. Marshawn Lynch suddenly retired after the 2015 season. In 2017, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman played their last game as Seahawks on a Thursday night in Arizona. Chancellor with a career ending neck injury and Sherman with a ruptured achilles. One year later, Earl Thomas infamously flipped off the sideline while being carted off with a broken leg to end his tenure in Seattle, also against the Cardinals in Arizona. A bitter end to the LOB era in Seattle. Ironically ended in the same stadium in Glendale the Hawks lost the Super Bowl in a few years prior.

In spite of this, Wilson was in his prime with multiple MVP level seasons and being the one to carry the Seahawks to the playoffs multiple times from 2015-2020. But Wilson and Carroll were unable to reach the heights of 2013 and 2014 again. Only 3 playoff wins and no conference championship appearances in that span. Offensive line woes along paired an aging and falling apart defense made it difficult to keep the window open along with Wilson’s contract. Having Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay now in the division did not help matters for Seattle.

Tensions between Pete Carroll and the team escalated. After Paul Allen’s passing in 2018, Pete was running the franchise over John Schneider. This led Schneider to flirt with other teams for GM roles, particularly the Detroit Lions in 2021. Carroll increasingly had say over the drafts, which led to questionable players drafted with premium draft picks. Even though there were some good picks like P Michael Dickson, WR Tyler Lockett and WR DK Metcalf, their draft record was inconsistent at best. Huge swing and miss trades along with bad signings and the whiffed draft picks started to show on the roster. Not to mention, bad coordinator hires on both sides of the ball. Luckily Pete Carroll handed drafting entirely back to John Schneider and Schneider remained with the Seahawks.

The tension between Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and the organization heading into the 2021 season was palpable. Wilson infamously stated he would accept trades to the Raiders, Saints, Bears and Cowboys. Which was the writing on the wall that he would not finish his career in the Emerald City. This increased tensions between him and the team.

It is worth mention that even back in 2017, the front office was already looking at other quarterbacks to draft. Seahawks scouts attended QB Patrick Mahomes pro day workout and the following year, John Schneider proposed a trade to send Wilson to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the number 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, so the Seahawks could draft QB Josh Allen. It did not happen due to Wilson’s no trade clause in his contract.

With that said, let me revisit March 8, 2022. The Seattle Seahawks sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in exchange for two first round picks, two second, one fifth and players TE Noah Fant, DT Shelby Harris and QB Drew Lock. The Seahawks also franchise pillar LB Bobby Wagner who quickly signed with the rival Los Angeles Rams. Many talking heads in the media called this move catastrophic move for Seattle. Trading away their star QB, who in spite of injury, finished the season with 25 TD’s and 6 interceptions. Denver was getting their final piece for a team hoping to compete for a Super Bowl alongside first time head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

The Seahawks ended up drafting LT Charles Cross and LB Boye Mafe in the 2022 NFL Draft with the first set of picks they received in the trade. It had appeared the Seahawks were in tank mode to draft QB Bryce Young or QB CJ Stroud in the next years draft while quarterbacks Geno Smith and Drew Lock battled it out in training camp for the starting job. Geno ultimately won the job, stemming from a solid performance filling in for Wilson for a few games in the previous season. In addition to his familiarity with the team and Shane Waldron’s offense.

The expectations however flip flopped for both teams in 2022. Seahawks and Broncos ended up playing Week 1 on MNF where the Seahawks won 17-16. A spoiled homecoming for Russell Wilson to Lumen Field. All due to clock management issues and untimely turnovers committed by the Broncos. It was followed by Geno Smith’s famous “They wrote me off but I didn’t write back tho” postgame interview moment.

The Seahawks ended up finishing with a respectable 9-8 record and a playoff appearance. Geno Smith earned his first Pro Bowl nod and won Comeback Player of the Year. Seahawks ended up getting blown out 41-23 by the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in the wild card round, but Seahawks and Smith exceeded expectations. There was hope and optimism with the team, especially a new young core consisting of LT Charles Cross, LB Boye Mafe, RB Kenneth Walker III, T Abe Lucas, CB Coby Bryant and CB Tariq Woolen among others.

Things only got worse for the Broncos, who finished 5-12. Nathaniel Hackett was fired by the Broncos after getting blown out by the Rams on Christmas Day. Russell Wilson by far had the worst season of his career and was released by the Broncos a year later. It ultimately led to the Seahawks picking 5th overall with the pick they got from Denver.

With that pick they drafted CB Devon Witherspoon and selected LB Derrick Hall with the remaining pick from that trade. Also another stellar draft from Seattle who also picked WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and RB Zach Charbonnet in the 2023 NFL Draft.

2023 would mark the last season of the Pete Carroll era, which also finished 9-8 but this time missed the playoffs. It did see the return of Bobby Wagner to Seattle, but the team battled injuries from Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Devon Witherspoon during the season. The Seahawks traded for two New York Giants defenders, S Julian Love before the season and DT Leonard Williams at the trade deadline, which both ended up being impact players moving forward. On January 10th, 2024, Pete Carroll was relieved of his duties after 14 seasons as head coach and was reassigned to an advisory role. Another big decision by John Schneider that was met with backlash, but was clear the Seahawks needed a new voice and direction to take this team to the next level. Someone with a vision for the future with a talented young core. A lot of concern about who the next guy would be to step up to the plate.

The Seahawks decided Ravens DC Mike Macdonald was the man for the job. He was introduced as Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks on January 31, 2024. Macdonald coached one of the leagues best defenses in his tenure as DC in Baltimore. After the Ravens loss to the Chiefs in the 2023 AFC Championship game, Macdonald wasted no time making his way to Seattle to become their next head coach. At a time where most teams were trying to find their next offensive guru as head coach, the Seahawks found their defensive counterpart to Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.

On April 8th, 2024 he held his first team meeting at the VMAC and sent a clear message to the team. Many of you saw the hype video released prior to this years NFC Championship. He cast a vision of the team hosting this game, describing the conditions as being cold, windy and rainy. “Sh***y for them, but just right for us” and “Playing eleven as one… they know we are like that”. Established a new culture that wins as a team and that other teams will have fear of playing this Hawks team.

Another strong draft would follow with the drafting of DT Byron Murphy and TE AJ Barner in 2024, adding onto their strong young core. The Seahawks would go on to finish the season with a 10-7 record under the first year head coach, narrowly edged out of the playoffs and NFC West title from the Rams with the same record. During the season, the Hawks acquired LB Ernest Jones IV from the Titans in exchange for LB Jerome Baker. Some more big moves would soon follow in the off-season that would solidify this team as a contender.

Macdonald would fire one and done OC Ryan Grubb and would hire Klint Kubiak as OC. Former OC of the Saints and Vikings. The son of Gary Kubiak, who was the head coach of the Houston Texans and the Super Bowl 50 champions Denver Broncos. This was seen as a solid hire for the Seahawks, a Shanahan disciple who could take the offense to the next level.

The Seahawks shipped Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 3rd round pick, traded DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2nd round pick and released fan favorite Tyler Lockett. A continuation of moves that started the previous offseason which saw the release of Bobby Wagner for a second time, Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams in 2024. Macdonald released key players of the Pete Carroll area and shaped the team in his vision. The Seahawks signed pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence from Dallas, who infamously said he wanted to go to a team that can win a Super Bowl. WR Cooper Kupp, who won Super Bowl LVI MVP with the Rams, also a local kid from Yakima and EWU. The Seahawks quickly found their replacement for Geno and signed QB Sam Darnold after a stellar season with the Minnesota Vikings. Brady Russell was re-signed as a FB converted from TE. In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Seahawks took G Grey Zabel in the first round and S Nick Emmanwori in the second, a solidified team heading into the 2025 season.

Heading into the 2025 season and 50th season for the Seahawks franchise, the overall expectations that the Seahawks would finish about the same as they did in 2024. Some saying Sam Darnold was at best a lateral move from Geno Smith and trading away star WR DK Metcalf was a mistake. The Rams were favored to win the division. The 49ers would benefit from having the weakest strength of schedule and the Cardinals were expected to improve upon their 8-9 finish the previous season.

The big story on the team was QB Sam Darnold.

I actually got to see Darnold in 3 stages of his football career, I was at the WSU vs USC game in 2017, where Luke Falk and the Cougs upset Sam Darnold and the Trojans 30-27 in a Friday night upset in Pullman. In 2022, where the Seahawks lost to the Darnold led Panthers at home and this past season. Then this season, the Darnold led Seahawks beat the Houston Texans at home on MNF 29-17 (yes THAT game with JSN dunking on the goal post after a TD). Now back to Darnold’s incredible story.

After two incredible seasons with USC and only 20 years old at the time, Sam Darnold declared for the 2018 NFL Draft. The New York Jets traded up to take him 3rd overall, ahead of MVP quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in a loaded 2018 draft class.

After a strong first start in week 1 with a blowout win over the Lions in Detroit on MNF, it was a rocky tenure in New York. He got mononucleosis and the infamous graphic on ESPN followed. The mic’d up “seeing ghosts” game in 2019 against the New England Patriots. By the 2020 COVID season, writing was on the wall that his time with the Jets was coming to an end. Adam Gase was a lame duck head coach and the team went all in on tank mode to try and acquire Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft. Darnold crushed these hopes by pulling off an upset against the playoff Rams in December, which gave the Jacksonville Jaguars the number 1 pick and the Jets the 2nd pick. They would go on to select QB Zach Wilson and ship Darnold to the Carolina Panthers. After a strong start in 2021, he battled injuries and was eventually benched. The Panthers then traded for QB Baker Mayfield in the 2022 offseason and Darnold entered the season on the bench. After a tumultuous season for the Panthers which saw head coach Matt Rhule get fired, RB Christian McCaffrey get dealt to San Francisco and the release of Baker Mayfield. Darnold got a second chance at the end of the year where he finished strong by going 4-2 to finish the season.

Panthers hired a new coaching staff in 2023 and Darnold was a free agent, Darnold signed with the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan to back up new star QB Brock Purdy aka “Mr. Relevant” for the 2023 season. The only action he saw was playing in a week 18 loss against the Rams, which was a rest the starters game for the 49ers as they had secured the 1 seed the week prior. The 49ers ended up playing in Super Bowl LVIII, losing again to the Chiefs 25-22 in OT. Darnold was again a free agent and signed the Minnesota Vikings to compete for the starting job. Darnold was viewed as a bridge quarterback after Vikings took QB JJ McCarthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Darnold ended up as the starter for the season after McCarthy went down with a season ending torn meniscus in the preseason. Darnold blew expectations out of the water by going 14-3 as a starter, threw for 4,319 yards and 35 TD’s to 12 interceptions and got his first Pro Bowl nod of his career and MVP votes. However his last 2 starts as a Viking did not go well, got blown out by the Lions in week 18 with the NFC North title on the line. Then got blown out by the Rams in the wild card round. The Vikings decided they wanted to move forward with JJ McCarthy as the starter and Darnold was again a free agent.

He signed with the Seattle Seahawks on March 10, 2025 to a 3 year $100.5 million dollar deal, which then would become the best decision of Darnold’s career and one of the best decisions the Seahawks ever made.

Finally, we arrive to the 2025 championship run.

The season started on a rocky note with a 13-17 week 1 loss at home to the rival 49ers. The Seahawks would then cruise past the Steelers, Saints and Cardinals. Lose in a 35-38 shootout at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then beat the Jaguars, Texans, Commanders and Cardinals (again).

Then the Hawks would face their first true test of the season, the Los Angeles Rams. Like his last two starts against the Rams, things did not go well for Darnold where he threw for 4 interceptions and lost 19-21 on a missed kick by Jason Myers. This would be the last loss the Seahawks would endure this season.

The defense gained steam over the course of the season and finished the year as the best in the NFL. Giving the defense the nickname, The Dark Side and MOB. A huge part of it was the nasty front which included Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy, Leonard Williams, Demarcus Lawrence, Derrick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe and Ernest Jones. Paired with a deep secondary of Devon Witherspoon, Nick Emmanwori, Julian Love, Tariq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Coby Bryant, Drake Thomas and Ty Okada. This also saw the breakout season of AJ Barner emerging as a true number 1 tight end, Torry Horton who emerged as a great 2 or 3 option at receiver before getting injured for the season, Gray Zabel emerging as one of the leagues best guards and best overall offensive lines in over in a decade in Seattle, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet became a 1-2 punch in the backfield, Cooper Kupp thrived in clutch moments and Jaxon Smith-Njigba broke out as a true number 1 receiver. JSN led the league in receiving yards and won Offensive Player of the Year. Darnold picked up where he left off in Minnesota with another Pro Bowl season. On November 4th, 2025, the Seahawks traded for Saints WR/KR Rashid Shaheed, which added a punch to the special teams and another weapon on offense.

After the Rams loss, the Seahawks bounced back against the Titans, a shutout win over Darnold’s former squad Vikings at home and the Falcons in Atlanta. Spoiled QB Philip Rivers return to the NFL entirely on Jason Myer’s leg, beating the Indianapolis Colts at home 18-16.

Then came the rematch with the Rams.

The first 3 quarters of the game looked like the same old story of Sam Darnold vs the Rams dating back to last season. He threw two picks and the Seahawks were down 14-30 with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter. That was all about to change.

Rashid Shaheed on the next Rams punt scored a 58 yard TD on a punt return and a two point conversion to make the game 22-30. After another Rams 3 and out, Shaheed put Seattle in good field position on the return. Which set up a 26 yard TD pass to AJ Barner.

This is where things get interesting, on the two point conversion it appeared Darnold threw an incomplete pass to Zach Charbonnet tipped by Rams DE Jarred Verse, in which Charbonnet picked up the ball in the end zone at the conclusion of the play. After what many thought was a failed 2 point conversion, the play was reviewed and appeared that Darnold threw a backwards pass which by definition is a fumble. Charbonnet casually picking up the ball to hand back to the refs was a recovery making the 2 point conversion good and tied the game up 30-30. This play was then dubbed the “Zachwards Pass” and determined the outcomes of these teams for the rest of the season, but I will get to that in a moment. With a Rams missed field goal, the game then went into overtime with the Rams getting the ball first and the Rams drove down the field to score the first TD of overtime with a Stafford pass to Puca Nacua. The Seahawks would respond with a TD pass to JSN, making it a one point game.

The Seahawks opted to yet again go for two, this time in a win or lose situation. Darnold hit TE Eric Saubert for the winning 2 point conversion and the Seahawks beat the Rams 38-37 in one of the greatest TNF games of all time.

This game was so insane, it has it’s own Wikipedia page. A game that was a turning point for both teams, if Charbonnet didn’t recover the conversion, we may have seen not only a different finish to the season for both these teams, but a whole different playoff shakeup in the NFC.

The Seahawks would go on to beat the Panthers in Charlotte then the 49ers in Santa Clara, clinched the NFC West title for the first time since 2020 and the 1 seed for the first time since 2014. The Rams would lose to the Falcons the following week and beat the Cardinals in week 18 giving them the 5 seed and second place finish in the NFC West. The 49ers would also make the playoffs coming in third with the 6 seed, despite an injury riddled season which saw DE Nick Bosa and LB Fred Warner go down with season ending injuries among other stars who missed significant time. These would also be the teams the Seahawks would face on their way to the Super Bowl.

After knocking off the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in a stunner wild card round win in Philly, the 49ers would face off for a third time against the Seahawks in the divisional round. This was the first home playoff game for the Seahawks since the 2020 COVID season with no fans and the first TRUE home playoff game since 2016. The series was split for the season, with that loss being at home week 1 for Seattle. A lot of anticipation and angst for the game despite feeling confident Seahawks was the better team. The game started with a bang with a Rashid Shaheed kickoff return TD. It was B2A from then on out, where the Seahawks crushed the 49ers 41-6. The 49ers offense felt the full force of the Dark Side. Unfortunately this game saw Zach Charbonnet go down with a season ending torn ACL. Kenneth Walker stepped up in his place with 116 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. He did not miss a beat the rest of the postseason.

A rematch with the Rams, this time for the NFC Championship at Lumen Field. Both WR Davante Adams to pair and WR Puka Nacua were healthy this go around.

The Rams skirted by the Panthers in the wild card round and beat the Bears in Chicago in OT in the divisional round. The Rams still wanted to prove they were the best team in the NFL. In the AFC Championship game, the Patriots ended up winning 10-7 in a Denver snowstorm, both teams knew what team they were going to face if they won. Both teams looking to avenge Super Bowl losses against them.

Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford had a QB duel for the ages, both played perfect games. The game was back and forth for the first half with exchanged field goals, Seahawks scored 2 touchdowns (K9 and JSN catch on the other) and the Rams 1 (Kyren Williams). Kenneth Walker stepped up again in Zach Charbonnet’s absence with the opening TD score. The Seahawks were up 17-13 at half.

The Seahawks would receive opening kickoff and quickly drove down the field for a WR Jake Bobo TD catch to make the game 24-13. The Rams would respond with a TD of their own, with a TD catch from Davante Adams. Seahawks would then again respond with a long drive to cap off with a TD catch from Cooper Kupp against his former team, making the game 31-20. The Seahawks would force a 3 and out on the Rams the next drive, but was immediately wiped away when Tariq Woolen taunted the Rams sideline, which ended up being a 15 yard penalty and first down for the Rams. Stafford and Nacua would burn Woolen on the next play for a TD now making the game 31-27, a chance to put the Rams away squandered. Unlike the last game, there was no scoring in the 4th quarter, Seahawks would punt twice and the Rams would not convert on a 4th and goal which would have given them the lead. Seahawks would drain the clock as much as possible before giving the ball back to the Rams. Rams would drive down the field but would run out of time, and would send the Seahawks to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX to face off against the New England Patriots on February 8th, 2026. A chance at redemption against the Patriots for Super Bowl XLIX 11 years earlier and opportunity for the Seahawks second championship in franchise history and first since 2013.

As a consolation prize for the Rams, Matthew Stafford deservedly won NFL MVP for the 2025 season and announced he will return in 2026. We will at least have one more season of these legendary Seahawks Rams matchups.

Now onto Super Bowl LX

The Dark Side vs the Evil Empire. A rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, despite these two teams being entirely different rosters and coaching staffs from last time. The scars of the Malcolm Butler goal line interception remained, and the decision not to hand it to Marshawn Lynch on second and goal with 28 seconds left still remains one of the most puzzling decisions in Super Bowl history. With the non stop talk of this in the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl, this was the opportunity for the Seahawks to free themselves from those demons. During Super Bowl week, Macdonald was asked many times about what he would do if the Seahawks were in that situation yet again. At first he gave lighthearted responses, stating that he would make the best decision given a situation. He then was growing tired of this question. He started clapping back at reporters stating that it was accomplishment that Seattle team won a championship and were in position to win it again the next season, also that he works with people in the organization who were part of those teams. This is also the team Sam Darnold infamously “saw ghosts” against in 2019.

The New England Patriots finished their season 14-3. Won their first AFC East title since 2019 with the 2 seed. With second year QB Drake Maye leading the way and Mike Vrabel in his first year as head coach in New England. The Patriots were expected to improve from their 4-13 season in 2024 and make a potential run at the postseason. They proceeded to blow expectations out of the water. They had one of the easiest strength of schedules in the league and took full advantage. The Patriots defense would dominate in the postseason with wins over the Chargers, Texans and Broncos. The Patriots took down some of the best defenses in the NFL, but would soon face the number 1 ranked Dark Side defense.

The Seahawks went into this game as 4.5 point favorite, there was exciting yet nervous feelings going into this game. But overall good since it seems like the Hawks were the better team. They were not facing the prime Tom Brady and Bill Belichick teams of last decade where an AFC Championship game appearance was a given. But a Patriots team that was ahead of schedule and benefitted from an AFC that strangely did not involve Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow. Seahawks were battle tested at the end of the year and postseason, as I like to say it. They had to win the NFC West TWICE to get here. The one area the Patriots were better than the Rams was secondary with CB Christian Gonzalez leading the charge, where his match up with JSN was highly anticipated. I felt confident in shutting down RBs Rhomandre Stevenson and Treveon Henderson, locking down receivers Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs and constantly pressuring Drake Maye. If all things were going to go according to plan, the Seahawks would dominate. Spoiler alert: they did.

After a killer national anthem from Charlie Puth, the game was finally here. The Seahawks received the opening kickoff, after some good tempo and passes up the sideline. Seahawks offense stalled and Jason Myers would kick the first of 5 field goals in this game. The Patriots struggled to pick up first downs in the first half, Drake Maye getting sacked a bunch of times by many Seahawks defenders. The Seahawks went up 9-0 going into half, with the help of Kenneth Walker putting Seattle in position to kick two more field goals. Not only a dominating first half by the defense, but a clinic from special teams with the multiple field goals and punter Michael Dickson pinning the Patriots deep multiple times.

The third quarter picked up right where they left off, Patriots opened the half with another 3 and out and the Seahawks driving down to kick another field goal going up 12-0. After multiple drives ending in punts, Derrick Hall strip sacked Drake Maye, Byron Murphy recovered the ball at the New England 37. Sam Darnold proceeded to drive down and hit AJ Barner in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, which was the first touchdown scored in the game and the only offensive TD for Seattle in the game.

Now up 19-0, New England finally responded with a 3 play drive ending in a TD reception by WR Mack Hollins cutting the score 19-7. Seahawks responded by continued commitment to the run with Walker which ended in another Jason Myers FG putting the Hawks up 22-7. The next drive, the Hawks defense got a TD of their own. What looked like a Witherspoon strip sack fumble and recovery TD by LB Uchenna Nwosu, was actually a pick 6 from Nwosu since the ball never touched the ground and he ran it straight to the house putting up Seattle 29-7.

The game was not quite over yet with 4:27 left, Maye threw a TD pass to Rhomandre Stevenson on the next drive cutting the deficit to 29-13, but failed the 2 point conversion. Seattle drained clock on the next drive, almost had a 49 yard Walker rushing TD to seal the game but was nullified by a holding on Jalen Sundell. This cost Seattle ten yards and a punt back to the Patriots, but New England was unable to score as time expired. FINAL SCORE 29-13.

Just like that the Seattle Seahawks were Super Bowl LX Champions, world champions for the second time in franchise history. With Kenneth Walker as Super Bowl MVP.

The 2025 Seattle Seahawks are the only Super Bowl Champion to not commit a turnover in the postseason. While Sam Darnold the only QB in the playoffs to not throw an interception. The 2025 Seahawks had the highest point differential for regular season and playoffs, in franchise history.

Both the Seahawks and Darnold busted ghosts on February 8, 2026. Even sweeter victory the Seahawks won a Super Bowl in the 49ers stadium and celebrated with cigars in THEIR locker room. With the same cigars that have been waiting for them since their 13-3 week 18 win over the 49ers, that put them in place for this legendary run.

The Seattle Seahawks were headed home with the Lombardi trophy and to celebrate with all of Seattle in the parade, but not before Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker made a quit pit stop at Disneyland first.

Then the new U District Raising Canes for Sam Darnold.

Having the opportunity to celebrate in the parade was one of the greatest moments of my life and getting to see all the players and coaches celebrate with all of us was truly special. We truly showed up and all out. Also having the chance to see a game last minute this season on MNF against the Houston Texans, where the Seahawks won 27-19 is even more special now. Despite that being the night the Seattle Mariners were eliminated in game 7 of the ALCS by the Toronto Blue Jays, but different article for a different day. I guess looking back, it wasn’t an elimination day in Seattle, but a passing of the torch one, where it was handed off to the Seahawks that night and they were the ones to carry it on and bring a championship home in 2025. Had a great time watching this team week in and week out, and loved the game day feeling each Sunday had to offer. All the beers and prime rib dips at Tom’s Watch Bar just hit different watching my favorite team play and dominate every week. All the fun conversations with buddies on what this team can be capable of. This was truly the perfect season. Like Mike Macdonald said, I am sad there are no more games this season but couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the season.

Thanks for reading this long post that took you about as long to read as watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy extended editions back to back to back, as I did prior to our playoff run. But the Seattle Seahawks would not be here without a years long journey leading up to it. I guess the 2025 Seahawks and the LOTR Trilogy aren’t that different when you think about it. This team had strong fellowship, two trophies and a triumphant return as the Kings of the NFL.

We will see where the 2026 season will lead us, with an impending sale of the team this offseason along with deciding on what free agents to re-sign or release. I am feeling hopeful about this season. We have the pieces to go on another run to the Super Bowl, but am grateful this team took advantage of the window they had and capitalized on it.

Your 2025 Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl LX Champions

WE DID NOT CARE