Patriots opponent preview: Get to know the Seattle Seahawks

The New England Patriots entered the 2025 season off of back-to-back four-win campaigns and without having won a playoff game in six seasons. They hired their third head coach in as many years, and even the most optimistic of prognostications did not have them advance deep into the playoffs.

And yet, here they are as one of only two teams left standing.

Their opponent in Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks, were also not exactly a popular Super Bowl pick before the season. They did go 10-7 in 2024, but failed to qualify for the postseason in a competitive NFC West. However, like the Patriots, they managed to exceed expectations and are now only one game away from claiming the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

We will take a deep dive into the matchup all week. For now, however, let’s get to meet the Patriots’ final opponent of the 2025 season.

Seahawks key stats

The Seahawks were as successful a team as there was in the NFL this year, earning the top seed in the NFC playoff picture and tying the Patriots and Denver Broncos for the best record in football. They managed to accomplish all of that behind a rejuvenated offense as well as one of the stingiest defenses in the league.

Record: 14-3 (1st NFC West/1st NFC)
Scoring differential: +191 (1st)
Turnover differential: -3 (t-19th)
Offense: 28.4 points/game (3rd), 351.4 yards/game (8th), 28 giveaways (31st), 0.036 EPA/play (14th), 0.137 EPA/dropback (8th), -0.076 EPA/run (22nd)
Defense: 17.2 points/game (1st), 285.9 yards/game (6th), 25 takeaways (6th), -0.113 EPA/play (1st), -0.065 EPA/dropback (5th), -0.206 EPA/run (1st)

Even though it was ranked only 14th in the NFL in expected points added and turned the ball over more than every team but one during the regular season, the Seahawks offense was quite successful in 2025. That is particularly true in the passing game, where the team finished second in net yards per attempt (7.6) — a ranking mirrored by the defense (5.1). The points and yards per game rankings are all impressive as well, but do not quite hold up when looked at on a drive-by-drive basis: the team is ranked 11th in both categories on a per-series average.

Defensively, there is no such drop-off between the raw data and the efficiency metrics. Seattle finished the regular season first in points allowed and first in points allowed per drive (1.48), sixth in yards and fourth in yards per drive (25.8), and top-10 in virtually all major categories including scoring percentage (28.7%; 2nd) and turnover rate (12.8%; 6th). The run defense was particularly stout, but teams did not have any easier of a time moving the ball through the air. Long story short, this is as complete a defense as any in the NFL.

Seahawks 2025 season

Seattle started its second campaign under head coach Mike Macdonald on the wrong foot, losing at home to the San Francisco 49ers. Fourth months later, they got their revenge in the divisional playoff round in blowout fashion.

In between, the Seahawks had few slip-ups and are therefore currently on a nine-game win streak.

Week 1: 17-13 loss vs. San Francisco 49ers (0-1)
Week 2: 31-17 win at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
Week 3: 44-13 win vs. New Orleans Saints (2-1)
Week 4: 23-20 win at Arizona Cardinals (3-1)
Week 5: 38-35 loss vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
Week 6: 20-12 win at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
Week 7: 27-19 win vs. Houston Texans (5-2)
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: 38-14 win at Washington Commanders (6-2)
Week 10: 44-22 win vs. Arizona Cardinals (7-2)
Week 11: 21-19 loss at Los Angeles Rams (7-3)
Week 12: 30-24 win at Tennessee Titans (8-3)
Week 13: 26-0 win vs. Minnesota Vikings (9-3)
Week 14: 37-9 win at Atlanta Falcons (10-3)
Week 15: 18-16 win vs. Indianapolis Colts (11-3)
Week 16: 38-37 (OT) win vs. Los Angeles Rams (12-3)
Week 17: 27-10 win vs. Carolina Panthers (13-3)
Week 18: 13-3 win at San Francisco 49ers (14-3)

Wild card round: Bye
Divisional round: 41-6 win vs. San Francisco 49ers
NFC Championship Game: 31-27 win vs. Los Angeles Rams

The Seahawks did play some close games particularly early on in the season, but they have been dominant since losing 21-19 at the Rams in mid-November. Including their two playoff games, they beat their opponents with an average score of 29-15 over their nine-game run.

It also did not matter where the Seahawks played. While they do enjoy the advantage of calling one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums their home, they also went 8-1 away from Seattle’s Lumen Field this season.

Seahawks active roster

Roster up-to-date as of Feb. 2, 6 a.m. ET | *denotes nominal starter

Offense

Quarterback (3): Sam Darnold* (14), Drew Lock (2), Jalen Milroe (6)

Running back (4): Kenneth Walker III* (9), George Holani (36), Robbie Ouzts (40 | FB), Brady Russell (38 | FB)

Wide receiver (5): Jaxon Smith-Njigba* (11), Cooper Kupp* (10), Rashid Shaheed* (22 | KR/PR), Jake Bobo (19), Dareke Young (83)

Tight end (4): A.J. Barner* (88), Eric Saubert (81), Nick Kallerup (89), Elijah Arroyo (18)

Offensive tackle (4): Charles Cross* (67 | LT), Abraham Lucas* (72 | RT), Amari Knight (79), Josh Jones (74)

Interior offensive line (6): Grey Zabel* (76 | LG), Jalen Sundell* (61 | C), Anthony Bradford* (75 | RG), Olusegun Oluwatimi (55), Christian Haynes (64), Mason Richman (78)

Long gone are the days when Sam Darnold was the latest in a long list of quarterbacks failing to live up to the expectation of being a highly-drafted quarterback with the New York Jets. The journey to Seattle was not an easy one to travel for the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he made it count and is now playing the best football of his career: Darnold is the motor powering one of the league’s top offenses.

In the regular season, the Pro Bowl selection completed 323 of 477 pass attempts (67.7%) for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also was sacked 27 times and lost six of his 11 fumbles. While his turnover numbers were a problem, he steadied his game in the playoffs: in two postseason contests, he remained a highly successful thrower, completing 69.8% of passes for 470 yards with four touchdowns and no turnovers whatsoever.

Darnold looked particularly good in the NFC Championship Game, when he went toe-for-toe with MVP candidate Matthew Stafford. The Sam Darnold of old would have been capable of a similar performance, but consistency was an issue that is now far less of an hinderance.

Of course, it also helps when you have one of the best wide receiver trios in football to throw to. The first player to mention is, of course, JSN.

A first-team All-Pro, Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished the regular season with 119 catches for a league-leading 1,793 yards as well as 10 touchdowns. He was Darnold’s go-to guy and big-play threat, all rolled into one. One of the best wideouts in the game today, he kept his momentum going in the postseason, catching 13 passes for 172 yards and a pair of scores so far. In 19 games, he cracked 100 receiving yards 10 times and is averaging 103.2 yards per contest.

Smith-Njigba alone would be a problem, but he is paired with former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp and speedy in-season addition Rashid Shaheed. Kupp has caught 56 total passes this year for 689 yards and three scores; Shaheed put up a 16-239-1 stat-line in the 11 games since his arrival from New Orleans.

The trio of JSN, Kupp and Shaheed is capable of putting pressure on any cornerback group in football. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones will have their hands full come Super Bowl Sunday, with the rest of the defense having to account for No. 1 tight end A.J. Barner (54-531-6) as well as a powerful and versatile 1,000-yard rusher: Kenneth Walker ranked second on the Seahawks with 1,309 scrimmage yards in the regular season and tops the team in both yards (256) and touchdowns (4) in two playoff games.

Seattle also fields a high-quality offensive line that managed to show some significant progress since the end of the Pete Carroll era in 2024.

Defense

Interior defensive line (6): Leonard Williams* (99), Byron Murphy II* (91), Jarran Reed (90), Brandon Pili (95), Mike Morris (94), Rylie Mills (98)

Defensive edge (6): DeMarcus Lawrence* (0), Uchenna Nwosu* (7), Derrick Hall (58), Boye Mafe (53), Connor O’Toole (57), Jared Ivey (51)

Linebacker (4): Ernest Jones IV* (13), Drake Thomas* (42), Tyrice Knight (48), Patrick O’Connell (52)

Cornerback (4): Devon Witherspoon* (21), Riq Woolen* (27), Josh Jobe (29), Nehemiah Pritchett (28)

Safety (4): Coby Bryant* (8), Nick Emmanwori* (3), Julian Love* (20), Ty Okada (39)

While not quite as disruptive as the Patriots’ recent two playoff opponents, the Texans and Broncos, the Seahawks’ pass rush is up there with the best of the best. Just look at it from this perspective: four of their players have notched over 7.0 sacks this season, the same number as Denver. Those four are also the first men on the depth chart, edge rushers DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu as well as interior linemen Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy.

The quartet has played some outstanding football this year against both the pass and the run, and also has been involved in its share of big plays. That is, one player in particular: Lawrence has forced six fumbles this season, including three in two playoff games; the ex-Cowboy also recovered three and returned two of those for touchdowns.

Those are not the only defensive scores Seattle has produced this year. Linebacker Ernest Jones, a second-team All-Pro like Williams and cornerback Devon Witherspoon, ran back one of his team-leading six interceptions for a TD.

Jones, in general, has been a key cog in his team’s defensive machinery. He rarely leaves the field, leads the team in tackles, and is responsible for the on-field communication. He is, effectively, Seattle’s version of New England’s Robert Spillane: a do-it all linebacker — Jones is better in coverage, though — who is capable of making game-changing plays and elevating the team around him.

That is something the secondary also knows how to do. The aforementioned Witherspoon is arguably the group’s most notable player, but the other four starters are of the highest quality as well: Riq Woolen is one of the top cover corners in football himself; Coby Bryant is a ball-hawks in the secondary; Nick Emmanwori is one of the best nickels; Julian Love is a jack of all trades in the defensive backfield.

Special teams

Specialists (3): Jason Myers (5 | K), Michael Dickson (4 | P/H), Chris Stoll (41 | LS)

Seattle’s kicking game operation has been rock-solid in 2025, with kicker Jason Myers being on-point so far this postseason — 12 of 12 on combined field goals and extra points — after missing six kicks in the regular season. He is being joined by second-team All-Pro punter Michael Dickson and second-year long snapper Chris Stoll.

The player to watch, however, might just be Rashid Shaheed, who has returned both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown since joining the Seahawks in November. He is one of the most electric returners in the game.

Seahawks reserves

Practice squad (16): RB Cam Akers (30), RB Velus Jones Jr. (35), WR Montorie Foster (87), WR Courtney Jackson (84), WR Ricky White (86), OT Logan Brown (73), DT J.R. Singleton (70), DT Bubba Thomas (69), ED Jamie Sheriff (50), LB Chris Paul Jr. (49), LB Ja’Markis Weston (46), CB Shaquill Griffin (24), CB Tyler Hall (35), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (34), S Quandre Diggs (37), S Maxen Hook (43)

Practice squad international (1): OL Federico Maranges

Practice squad/injured (3): RB Jacardia Wright, WR Tyrone Broden, OL Shane Lemieux

Injured reserve (7): RB Zach Charbonnet, RB Kenny McIntosh, WR Tory Horton, WR Cody White, OL Bryce Cabeldue, LB Chazz Surratt (44 | IR-R), S A.J. Finley

Seattle has some noteworthy names on its reserve lists, both available and unavailable for game-day activation. The first group is headed by a pair of former starters in the secondary, cornerback Shaquill Griffin and safety Quandre Diggs. Griffin has started 87 games over his career, Diggs 128.

The latter group, meanwhile, includes Seattle’s regular season touchdowns leader. Zach Charbonnet, who found the end zone 12 times, tore his ACL in the divisional round.

Seahawks coaching staff

Head coach: Mike Macdonald

Coordinators: Klint Kubiak (OC), Aden Durde (DC), Jay Harbaugh (ST)

The Seahawks’ coaching staff will look differently in 2026 and with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak off to become head coach in Las Vegas. For now, however, second-year head coach Mike Macdonald’s crew remains one of the best in football — despite not having an official running backs coach: Kennedy Polamalu took a leave of absence in mid-December and will not be back. His duties, were taken over by run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach Justin Outten and offensive assistant Michael Byrne.

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