Anniversary seasons are supposed to be symbolic. For the Seattle Seahawks, their 50th year has become something far more tangible.
Next week, Seattle will appear in its fourth Super Bowl, returning to the same stage—and against the same opponent—that defined one of the most debated moments in franchise history.
Super Bowl LX will once again pit the Seahawks against the New England Patriots, but the context surrounding this matchup feels very different.
And quietly, one trend has tilted the conversation in Seattle’s favor.
Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks haven’t just been winning in 2025—they’ve been methodically dismantling the AFC.
The numbers don’t scream. They whisper. But they add up.
Seattle enters Super Bowl week riding a nine-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 261–132 during that stretch.
More telling, however, is who those wins came against. Starting with a 31–17 victory over the eventual AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, the Seahawks went a perfect 5–0 against AFC opponents during the 2025 regular season.
That includes a full sweep of the AFC South.
Seattle beat the Jaguars (20–12) and Texans (27–19), both playoff teams, and added wins over the Titans (30–24) and Colts (18–16).
The road victory in Nashville during Week 12 didn’t just check another box—it ignited the current nine-game surge that carried Seattle all the way to the Super Bowl.
Zoom out further, and the pattern becomes harder to dismiss.
Under Macdonald, the Seahawks are now 9–1 against AFC teams. They’ve won six straight interconference games dating back to last season. Even in Macdonald’s debut year in 2024, his first three games came against AFC opponents—and all three were wins over the Broncos, Patriots, and Dolphins.
The lone blemish? A humbling loss to Josh Allen and the Bills.
Everything else points in one direction.
Seattle, for whatever reason, has been exceptionally comfortable against teams they don’t see every year. Preparation. Scheme versatility. Defensive discipline. Call it what you want—but it’s real.
And that brings the focus back to New England.
The last time these two franchises met in Foxborough during the regular season, Seattle escaped with a 23–20 overtime win.
That game, however, existed in an entirely different NFL ecosystem. Geno Smith was Seattle’s quarterback. Jacoby Brissett led the Patriots.
Jerod Mayo was New England’s head coach. Drake Maye didn’t take a snap. Sam Darnold wasn’t even in Seattle.
Almost nothing remains the same—except the result.
Still, it would be careless to assume this trend guarantees anything.
Mike Vrabel’s Patriots bring their own quiet statistic into Super Bowl LX: a perfect 5–0 record against NFC opponents in 2025.
The caveat, of course, is that none of those wins came against teams with winning records. The Panthers, Saints, Falcons, Buccaneers, and Giants offered little resistance compared to the gauntlet Seattle ran.
That contrast matters.
Seattle’s AFC dominance wasn’t built on bottom-feeders—it was forged against playoff-caliber teams, on the road, and in tight, physical games.
The Seahawks didn’t overwhelm the AFC with style points. They beat them with control, patience, and late-game execution.
That kind of football travels.
It doesn’t guarantee a Lombardi Trophy. It doesn’t predict the outcome of a single Sunday. But it does suggest comfort in unfamiliar territory—a trait that often separates champions from contenders.
As Super Bowl LX approaches, much of the spotlight will fall on quarterbacks, injuries, and history. But buried just beneath the surface is a quieter reality:
In 2025, the Seattle Seahawks didn’t just survive the AFC.
They mastered it.
And now, they’ll see one more familiar opponent—on the biggest stage possible—to find out if that mastery still holds.
Leave a Reply