@Tobstroyer asks, "Who do we continue winning? What is the big difference between this year and the last few years?"
A: The Seahawks are doing a lot of things well already this season, so more than anything, they need to just keep doing what has gotten them to 6-2 at the midway point of the season. On offense, they're getting great play out of quarterback Sam Darnold, Smith-Njigba is on a record-setting pace at receiver, and other playmakers are complementing his big season, while the offensive line is providing great protection for Darnold to operate. The running game still has room to grow, and that might be the final step for the Seahawks to really hit their stride, but overall there's a ton to like about what they're doing offensive. And on defense, the Seahawks have been outstanding, led by what might be the best defensive front in football, and with the secondary working its way back to full health, that unit should only continue to improve.
As for comparing to past years, I don't see much point in comparing the team to where it was under a previous coaching staff, but relative to last year, Macdonald's first as head coach, there are plenty of reasons to like this team's chances of closing out strong. The Seahawks finished last year with a 6-2 record over the final eight games, and this team is playing a lot better on offense than last year's was down the stretch, while the defense, which was really good to close out last season, looks to be as good if not better than last year's squad. Then there are also the intangibles, and this team just feels really close and connected, and as Macdonald noted last week, it feels like they really have found an identity, something that took some time last year under a new coaching staff.
And if you're looking for numbers to make you feel good, consider the Seahawks have a plus-81 point differential that ranks second, by a point, in the NFC and third in the NFL. That's relevant because the best point-differential teams in franchise history are also the most successful ones. That may sound obvious, but there is a difference between an 11 or 12-win team that pulls off a bunch of close wins, and one that wins a lot of games by big margins. The Super Bowl-winning 2013 team had the best differential in team history at plus-186, followed by the 2005 team (181) that reached the Super Bowl, the 2012 team (167) that finished on a tear and reached the divisional round, the 2015 team (146) that also finished as one of the league's hottest teams, and the 2014 team that reached the Super Bowl (140).