I like the Seahawks to repeat as Super Bowl champions, crowning the 2026 NFL season that opens Wednesday with the Seattle-New England rematch.
Oddsmakers say I’m wrong.
The star-laden Los Angeles Rams occupy the top spot on betting lines, followed on the consensus board by the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and then Seattle with the Kansas City Chiefs close behind.
I see age and attrition erosion derailing the Rams in January, enabling the Seahawks to become the first NFC team since the 1993 Dallas Cowboys to win consecutive Super Bowls.
They’ll do it in the Kroenke Dome, where the Rams won the Super Bowl five years ago.
For now, the Rams boast the NFL’s best roster.
Will 38-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford and his surgical back hold up as well as last year, when Stafford started 19 games and earned his first MVP award?
Can Stafford count on Davante Adams thriving in the red zone once again? The receiver will turn 34 in December.
Yes, the Rams could field an all-time great defensive line.
End Myles Garrett, obtained in a trade that sent Jared Verse and several draft picks to the Browns, and tackle Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement recently, belong in the best-ever debates at their respective positions.
Assume another great season from Garrett, who’ll turn 31 in December, and a very good one from the 35-year-old Donald, although the tackle will sit out the season opener Thursday against the 49ers due to insufficient build-up time.
Rams All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua’s durability raises questions, however, due to the 25-year-old’s punishing style on the field and erratic behavior off the field.
The Seahawks boast a high number of above-average starters in their 20s, improving the club’s health-and-improvement profile a year after the team earned the NFC’s top seed behind a dominant defense (first in points), an explosive offense (third in points) and top-tier special teams led by San Diego County high school alums in returner Rashid Shaheed (Mt. Carmel) and kicker Jason Myers (Mater Dei Catholic).
Quarterback Sam Darnold, 29, stands as a league-average starter who’s now capable of winning higher-stakes games.
Darnold ranked tied for 14th with Baker Mayfield this summer in an annual survey of NFL executives and coaches by The Athletic’s Mike Sando.
He had a very good NFC Championship Game against L.A. and a winning performance in the Super Bowl, overcoming his habit of erring too often in bigger games.
The Seahawks also return all five starters from an above-average offensive line that boasts good tackles in Charles Cross, 25, and Abraham Lucas, 27; a guard in Grey Zabel, 23, who looks to have Pro Bowls in his future; and a sturdy center in Jalen Sundell, 26.
Rookie running back Jadarian Price, who backed up Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame, brings a low-mileage body and promising cutback skills as the replacement for Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, 25, now with the Chiefs.
All-Pro receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is just 24.
Seattle Seahawks players Jason Myers and Rashid Shaheed throw out the first pitches before the San Diego Padres game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park on Friday, March 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Seahawks paid up to retain No. 2 receiver Shaheed, 28, a November trade acquisition of John Schneider’s who provided a spectacular half-season on special teams and a high-speed dimension as a receiver and gadget player.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald smiles after getting doused after a win over the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Defensively, the outlook remains bright.
There’s impressive youth in tackles Byron Murphy, 23, and Rylie Mills, 24, and end Derick Hall, 25. There’s veteran star power in tackle Leonard Williams, 31, and end DeMarcus Lawrence, 34. Jarran Reed, 33, lifts the unit as a versatile high-effort tackle who sells out to benefit his teammates.
Safety Nick Emmanwori earned six All-Pro votes last year as a rookie, although it’s of some concern that the 22-year-old’s ankle injury last winter has lingered.
Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, 25, made the All-Pro second team.
Assuming Myers’ erratic preseason doesn’t spill over into the season, the special teams set up as a major strength. Michael Dickson, 30, is a two-time All-Pro. The Seahawks don’t give short shrift to special teams, differentiating them from the Rams and several others.
So when the confetti falls in Inglewood, it’ll be head coach Mike Macdonald, 39, becoming the first coach since the Chiefs’ Andy Reid three winters ago to raise a second consecutive Super Bowl trophy.