Seattle climbed the NFL mountain last season, but what does 2026 have in store for Mike Macdonald's team?
The Seattle Seahawks perhaps surprised the NFL last season, as Mike Macdonald's team proved to be the best in football.
A 14-3 record, the NFC's No. 1 seed, and then a playoff run that ended with Seattle hoisting the Lombardi trophy.
In Macdonald's second season as head coach, that is quite the year, and now the franchise will have a target on its back because every team will want to be the ones who beat the champs.
So the path forward, believe it or not, will be tougher than last season, but you get the sense that it will be just fine with the Seahawks.
As far as what to expect from Seattle in 2026, there are differing opinions, with some thinking a Super Bowl hangover is coming. Others think the Seahawks will again be among the NFC contenders.
But we haven't seen many think the Seahawks will repeat as champs...until now.
CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan, in his best-case scenario for Seattle in 2026, has the team once again being the best in football.
"The 2026 Seahawks do what the 2014 Seahawks could not: repeat as Super Bowl champions," Sullivan wrote. "The key pillars of what made Seattle champions last season are still intact, so this franchise still has the ceiling to win it all.
"The Seahawks even found solid replacements where needed, including in the backfield, where they drafted Jadarian Price in the first round after Kenneth Walker III left in free agency. Seattle remains the class of the NFL, earning the No. 1 seed and again being the last team standing."
No matter what you think of Seattle in 2026, it is going to require a herculean effort for the franchise to even make the postseason.
Why? Because of the division.
The Los Angeles Rams have loaded up with Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, and Jaylen Watson coming in this offseason, while the San Francisco 49ers are healthy. Let's not forget, they were ravaged by injury last season, yet still posted a 12-5 record.
So, to even get to the postseason is going to require the Seahawks to be one of the most consistent teams in football. Can they do it? Absolutely.
But it's going to mean Macdonald's team has to play at the bare minimum, to the level they played last season, and even that might not be enough.
However, they have the credits in the bank to enter the 2026 season as one team with as good a shot as anyone at claiming the Lombardi trophy.
