Stacy: NFL critics keep finding ways to doubt the Seahawks

Another day, another Seattle Seahawks doubter.

While every Super Bowl winner will complain about doubters — ESPN’s Bill Barnwell joked that he’s never heard a team say they feel “adequately respected” when he joined us on Bump and Stacy earlier this offseason — the Seahawks sure feel surprisingly overlooked considering their 14-3 record in 2025.

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The latest knock comes from ex-NFL scout John Middlekauff during a guest hosting appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Perhaps the Super Bowl-favorite Los Angeles Rams should feel slighted here too, because Middlekauff picked the San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC West. He cited Seattle’s loss of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who is the new Las Vegas Raiders head coach, for picking the Niners over the Seahawks.

“(Klint) Kubiak was a huge reason for Seattle’s success and now he’s gone,” Middlekauff said. “They replaced him with a first-time play caller (Brian Fleury)… Seattle won 14 games and lost three. You know where one of the losses came? In Seattle against the 49ers.”

Here’s where Middlekauff’s right: the Seahawks’ loss of Kubiak is a big (and an admittedly overlooked) storyline, and the 49ers at their healthiest in Week 1 last season did hold the Seahawks to just 13 points. He fails to mention the Seahawks beating the 49ers twice after that, including a 41-6 drubbing in the divisional round, and the age and injury risk of existing 49ers players. And in dismissing the Rams, he knocks Matthew Stafford’s injury history while ignoring George Kittle entering his age 33 season coming off a torn Achilles.

The 49ers have lost wide receiver Ricky Pearsall for the season, and for as brilliant as Christian McCaffrey is as an all-around player, he can’t do it on his own — they were 25th in rushing yards per game last season. Either way, it’s not a bad take. The 49ers are a great team with superstars and one of the best play callers in the league in head coach Kyle Shanahan. There’s no “right” answer when it comes to which of these three very good teams could win the best division in football.

But for all the perfectly fair debate, there seems to be a lingering dismissiveness around the Super Bowl champions. And that feels less about the rarity of repeating as champs, which is something just two teams have done in the past 27 years, and more about NFL critics trying to make sense of a winner that felt more random than not.

You didn’t pick the Seahawks to win it all? You weren’t wrong — the season was a fluke. Surely that’s it.

You thought Sam Darnold would flame out without Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell? He won 14 games (again), but that was only his play caller (again) … obviously.

Oh, did we mention Aaron Donald might return for the Rams? Not sure if you heard that.

Finally, don’t forget the controversial two-point conversion that handed the Seahawks the division! Just ignore the fact that the Rams gave up a 16-point lead, then lost again to Seattle when they played in the conference championship game.

The Seahawks are facing an uphill battle because repeating — and staying healthy — is incredibly difficult. Not because they didn’t prove they were the best defensive line in football (carrying the top DVOA nearly wire-to-wire and edging out the Texans as the top-scoring unit in the season’s final weeks). Not because Sam Darnold is a bad quarterback. And not because they got a lucky bounce against a divisional foe. They have questions and a few holes (far fewer than other teams), but they proved they’re one of the league’s elite squads.

Just as important, that season-long dominance proved that sometimes the smartest critics just miss the mark.

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