Can the Seahawks Be Super Bowl Bound?
It has been a very interesting season for the Seattle Seahawks this year. They ended the season with a 14-3 record overall as of their victory against the San Francisco 49ers, the team now being at the franchise’s best in 12 years, and they are now the first seed in the NFC Playoffs. Seattle now has home-field advantage through the playoffs and a bye during the Wild Card Round. This is the first time they have obtained the first seed in over a decade; the last time they were first was when they went to the Super Bowl in 2014, nearly 12 years ago to the date. Now, this begs the question: are they worthy of going to the Super Bowl this season? I’d say so, let’s talk about a couple of big key factors into how they’d be eligible.
One of the big factors is the star quarterback himself, Sam Darnold. His total yards were 4,048 by the end of the season, as well as having a high completion percentage of 67.7% this season and a 62.3% total for his career overall, 25 total touchdowns this past season, adding to a total of 123 for his whole career since 2018. He has had really good luck with the Seahawks, despite some sacks over the course of the 18-week season. He has the tools and the fundamentals necessary to be a consistent QB for the team, and he has shown it in so many of his plays out on the field. He has been the first-string quarterback since he signed with Seattle, after starting with the New York Jets, moving to the Carolina Panthers, 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, and finally Seattle as of this season. So he is far and away a newbie at playing quarterback, even though he still has room to grow in his career for sure.
Another factor is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is the team’s star wide receiver and is on track on his own to make it to the Hall of Fame with his own record alone. Smith-Njigba has 1,793 yards this season and 3,551 yards total over the course of his three-season career. He is an unstoppable force out there on the field in every single game that he gets participation in. Smith-Njigba has moved to being the team’s top wide receiver as he has evolved from a rookie to a dominating player out there on the field.
Together, both Darnold and Smith Njigba are a force to be reckoned with, along with the rest of the Seahawks, as well as coach MacDonald’s playbook. Which, for the record, is one of the big reasons why the Seahawks have been able to play so well this season, on top of the amazing teamwork and energy that flows through each player out there on the field in each and every game. His defensive strategies have made Seattle into the fortress that it was this season. As for how they will be able to hold their own in the playoffs, that will be seen to be believed, unless another team can swoop right from under their feet and destroy their chances. Not unless the fortress of a defensive line that Seattle has the best possible unstoppable strategy up their sleeve once they take the field in round two. Possibly against a few potential rivals as well, like the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, 49ers, the Panthers, and the Chicago Bears, all competing for the same top spot that Seattle is trying to hold their ground on to make it to the Super Bowl.
