Repeating as the NFL’s Super Bowl champion is not impossible.
But it didn’t get any easier for Seattle when the MVP of Super Bowl LX joined the Kansas City Chiefs and the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator was hired as the Las Vegas Raiders’ new head coach.
Kenneth Walker III is now teammates with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in KC.
Klint Kubiak must choose between Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza at quarterback with Tom Brady’s Raiders, which means that team chemistry and toughness will be even more important for the Seahawks if they’re going to go back-to-back as NFL champs in 2026.
“(Seattle head coach) Mike (Macdonald) wanted us to be a connected and tough team, and they really embraced that and they made it a priority,” Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde exclusively told talkSPORT, while discussing what made the 2025 team so successful.
“The coaches made it a priority. And we, as a collective, it was a vision we drove towards. And I thought that was different. I thought the way the guys interacted with each other, they loved being with each other on the field and off the field.”
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The Chiefs repeated as champs in 2022-23, while the New England Patriots went back-to-back with Brady in 2003-04.
Below, talkSPORT examines three big reasons why it will be so difficult for the Seahawks to join the elite Super Bowl trophy repeat franchises in NFL history.
The West is the best
Sure, San Francisco has some serious injury issues and might practice too close to a bad-luck electrical substation.
But the 49ers have 18-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl this season, according to talkSPORT Bet, and the overall talent to beat Seattle twice this season.
McDonald’s 2026 crew doesn’t have to worry about the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals, who could end up as the worst team in the league.
But the Los Angeles Rams feature the NFL’s reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, and will be out to avenge a painful 31-27 defeat to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.
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The Rams, 49ers and Seahawks could all take the NFC West in 2026, and all three teams ranked in the top 10 in Super Bowl betting odds as the preseason began.
Seattle’s overall schedule will be tougher this year and the West will be even more dangerous.
Then there’s the fact that Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett could be chasing down a 29-year-old Sam Darnold, who was overcome with emotion after he fought off years of critics to win Super Bowl LX via a trouncing of the Patriots.
“Some people called me crazy throughout my career for believing in myself so much and having so much confidence,” Darnold said in response to a question from talkSPORT.
“But it was because of my parents, because of the way that they believed in me throughout my entire career, and it allowed me to go out there and play free and have a ton of confidence.”
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Brain and talent drain
Walker is a Chief.
Kubiak is a Raider.
Boye Mafe, Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant also moved on from a Seattle team that continually improved last season, turning a 7-3 start into a 14-3 record that was followed by playoff wins over the 49ers, Rams and Patriots.
It won’t be nearly as easy to win the NFC by two games without Walker and Kubiak charging the offense.
Seattle failing to make the playoffs in 2026 would be stunning.
But a by-committee approach at running back could limit Darnold’s precision-based passing game, while Kubiak is being replaced by the inexperienced Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator.
Darnold is a top 10 QB but he won’t reach 14 wins again without Walker in the backfield.
Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba could also see his numbers decline in 2026.
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Defense will carry too much weight
The Seahawks produced the best point differential (plus-191) in the NFL last season and the league’s best scoring defense (17.2).
That all-around attack peaked in Super Bowl LX, when second-year QB Drake Maye was humbled and Mike Vrabel was reminded how hard it is to win the big game.
But if the Seahawks’ offense takes a step back this season, will the defense be able to make up the difference?
Durde was adamant that Seattle isn’t facing any ‘repeat’ pressure.
“You can’t look at it that way. You’ve got to look at still building your process,” Durde told talkSPORT.
“Mike (Macdonald) talks ‘run it forward’ and we’re running our process forwards, and we just keep honing that and keep driving towards the little, tiny things and chasing the edges we need to chase to keep perfecting. And we probably never will perfect it, but we just keep driving towards this goal.”
With the Patriots, Rams, 49ers, Broncos, Chiefs, Bears, Cowboys and Eagles all waiting on the 2026 schedule, the NFL will be looking for the Seahawks to falter.
It will take a near-perfect defense from Week 1 through Super Bowl LXI for the Seahawks to join the back-to-back Chiefs and Patriots in recent NFL history.
