Bump: Why Seahawks will avoid a Super Bowl hangover

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off one of the most dominant Super Bowl-winning seasons of the past quarter-century.

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During their run to the Lombardi Trophy, they compiled a plus-246 point differential across both the regular season and postseason, which is the highest mark by a Super Bowl champion since the 1999 St. Louis Rams. Along the way, they won 14 of their final 15 games, capped by a smothering performance on the sport’s biggest stage from their top-ranked scoring defense.

And heading into 2026, the Seahawks bring back the vast majority that juggernaut team. By combined regular-season and postseason snap counts, they retained 14 of their top 15 offensive players, 14 of their top 17 defensive players and 15 of their top 16 special teams players.

And yet, it’s the archrival Los Angeles Rams who have captured much of the national media’s attention this offseason.

After going toe to toe with the Seahawks last season, the Rams dominated headlines this spring with a pair of blockbuster trades for reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. As a result, Los Angeles is now widely regarded as the Super Bowl favorite heading into 2026.

While that may be frustrating to Seahawks fans, there’s a silver lining. As Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus explained, the national media’s focus on the Rams should fuel the Seahawks and help them avoid the so-called Super Bowl hangover.

“Whenever a team has won a Super Bowl, they are talked about (like) they are gods, how they are destined to at least get back to the big game,” Bumpus said during a Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “And the Hawks just haven’t gotten that. And (when) we’ve asked questions to these players about how you feel about that, they’ve expressed their frustration and whatnot.

“That’s why there’s going to be no hangover.”

Bumpus also pointed to head coach Mike Macdonald’s “run it forward” mantra – a play on the usual “run it back” phrase many teams use after winning a championship.

That forward-looking mentality appeared to on full display this spring.

On multiple occasions, Macdonald praised his team’s attendance and buy-in during the voluntary portion of the offseason program. And earlier this month on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman said the intensity and execution at a recent practice was “really noticeable” and that there’s been “absolutely no drop-off” in the team’s approach.

“With the way that Mike Macdonald is approaching this whole thing, the way he talks to the team and how he’s preparing these guys – if there’s any team that I’m not worried about a hangover, it’s this team,” Bumpus said.

“There’s so many things that go into (winning the Super Bowl),” he added. “But as far as the mentality of going into a football season and having that hunger, I’m not worried about this team at all.”

Listen to the full Four Down Territory segment at this link or in the audio player above. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on the Seattle Sports app.

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