The apology tour has begun – at least for national NFL analysts who have enough integrity to admit when they’re wrong. All offseason, the vast majority of them were predicting that the Seattle Seahawks would take a step back going from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold at quarterback and wouldn’t amount to much in a tough NFC race.
Perhaps the loudest critic was ESPN anayst Ben Solak, who admitted that the Seahawks were his biggest miss this year, last week. Now we have another mainstream media member stating the obvious: the Seahawks upgraded big time at QB – and they’re a serious contender.
Here’sTyler Sullivan at CBS Sports correcting the record on the Geno-Darnold swap and identifying the Seahawks as the most balanced team in the league right now.
“In the offseason, the swapping of Geno Smith for Sam Darnold at quarterback was looked at as a semi-improvement or maybe even a lateral move. Boy, was that off… When you pair Darnold continuing to take the NFL by storm with a top-flight defense, the Seahawks are arguably the most balanced team in the NFL. They are No. 5 in the league in points per game (28.9) and points per game allowed (18.8). They are a sneaky Super Bowl contender.”
Nov 2, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on during the first half against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. / Amber Searls-Imagn Images
While everything else in the Seahawks blurb looks right, there’s nothing sneaky about this being a potential Super Bowl team. They also appear to have precious few predators in the NFC race.
Going into last week, the only other dangerously-balanced contender looks to be the Green Bay Packers. However, they also have an awful habit of playing down to their opponents – which cost them a brutal loss at home on Sunday against the lowly Carolina Panthers, despite just 102 passing yards from Bryce Young.
If we momentarily cross the Packers off the list, the only other team in the conference that really scares us right now are the LA Rams, who are on top in both offensive and defensive EPA and have yet to lose to Seattle with Matt Stafford in the lineup.
Seattle will face LA next week – and we may be getting a potential NFC Championship Game preview, depending on how the seeding plays out.
In the long run, the greatest threat may actually be from within. A great deal of Seattle’s improvement this year has been thanks to offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who will almost certainly be a hot head coach candidate thiis coming cycle.
Competing with head coach money will be impossible, but the Seahawks shouldn’t hesitate to make him the highest-paid coordinator in the game if it means they can keep him around.
Updated depth chart after Seahawks’ trade for WR/KR Rashid Shaheed
New addition adds lethal speed to Seahawks offense & special teams
Sam Darnold rivaling Tom Brady, other greats with ridiculous statistic
NFL Network breaks down why the Seahawks targeted Rashid Shaheed
