Stacy Rost: What changed to make Seahawks a Super Bowl team

The Seattle Seahawks have been one of the NFL’s winningest franchises for the last 15 years. They’ve finished in fourth place just once (2021) and have had an original first-round pick no higher than 16th. There have been no real step-backs, no true tear-down rebuilds. Every single year — regardless of the underlying talent level — the stated expectation from the front office down has been to win the Super Bowl.

But this year’s team is the first in 11 years with a chance to actually do it.

Why?

What’s different?

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Think of what they’ve accomplished over that time. They had a top rushing offense in 2018, when they led the league with 154 yards per game. Their 2015 defense was the league’s top scoring unit. Their 2020 offense scored the most single-season points in franchise history (up until this year) and won the NFC West. They had three consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins and back-to-back seasons of 11 or more with one playoff win to show for it. In 2022, Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf became just the second pair of Seahawks receivers ever and the first since 1995 to have 1,000 yards in the same season.

Here’s what changed.

Investing in the trenches

Previously mentioned was the No. 16 overall pick being the Seahawks highest original first-round pick. They used that on defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, who started every game this year and recorded seven sacks. And with their 18th overall pick this past April, the Seahawks invested in the offensive line, improving a weak interior with left guard Grey Zabel. The Seahawks have seen a boost in pass protection (Sam Darnold was sacked just 27 times this year compared to 48 times in Minnesota) and have one of the best defensive lines in franchise history.

An on-field product that matches their philosophy

The Seahawks have had great moments in seasons that were mostly just “good” and one of the biggest critiques has been an on-field product that hasn’t quite matched the stated philosophy. Pete Carroll wanted to run the ball, but Seattle didn’t invest in the trenches and had money wrapped up in contracts for top receiver talent. In 2017, just one running back had a rushing touchdown. That wasn’t just a Carroll era issue; last year’s offense under Mike Macdonald also wanted to be balanced, but new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb struggled to build on those concepts (highlighted by a futile goal-line passing approach against the Jets).

This year’s offense under Kubiak was struggling with run efficiency earlier in the season, but they remained stubborn. From wire to wire, they were a top-five team in rushing attempts per game, finally hitting their stride in the final month of the season (a four-game stretch that saw them rack up at least 160 rushing yards in each game).

Leaps in personnel

Nearly added here was have a genuinely cohesive group, even if it is easy to get along when everyone’s winning.

But given John Schneider’s recent nod as the Pro Football Writers of America’s Executive of the Year, it’s equally important that Seattle has taken a very real step forward in overall talent level.

They may still lack a top edge rusher (there’s no Myles Garrett or Nick Bosa on this squad) but they still finished near the top of the league in sacks and pressure because of a defense that boasts three Pro Bowlers (Devon Witherspoon, DeMarcus Lawrence and Leonard Williams) and second-team All-Pro Ernest Jones IV.

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