What position group didn't show out for the Seattle Seahawks this season? None, because they all did. From the wide receivers and returners to the linebackers and field goal kicker — every Seahawks' position group, offensively, defensively, and special teams, showed up and excelled.
They won the Super Bowl for many reasons, but the most important was that the Seahawks were the most complete team from top to bottom across the league this year. Of course, major credit also has to go to the coaching staff, led by Mike Macdonald and both lead coordinators.
The Seahawks simply got the job done everywhere. While its offense, led by Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and, especially in the playoffs, Kenneth Walker III, was overall great this season, the surprise on that side of the ball for Seattle was actually another position group, which, without their success, well, things could have been different in the end.
Seattle Seahawks offensive line might be the real heroes
When you think about the lineman in Seattle, automatically, the defensive line stands out. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Derick Hall all played a role in the Seahawks' defensive dominance. Even the backups like Jarran Reed, Boye Mafe, or Rylie Mills stepped up in big ways when called upon.
That defensive line is not the position group that Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) Zoltán Buday claims deserves a ton of credit, though, but the other line, the offensive line, as he detailed the jump the group took from last season to the one that just ended in a Super Bowl.
“After finishing dead last in 2024,” explained Buday, “the Seahawks' offensive line was the 14th-best pass-blocking unit this regular season. The unit gave up 137 pressures, including 13 sacks—tied for the second fewest in the league—on 526 pass plays. As a result, their 85.7PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating ranked 14th in the NFL.”
The sacks number is the stat that stands out the most because it shows that Darnold spent the majority of the season being able to breathe more often than not. He was able to avoid getting hit in the pocket or outside of it, which certainly led to his success in the passing game and his connection with Smith-Njigba.
Had Darnold spent the season running around and trying to evade attackers, or, worse yet, getting sacked left, right, and center, the Seahawks offense could have looked a lot different. Still, there is room for improvement.
Going from the bottom of the barrel to the middle of the pack is a gigantic improvement in and of itself, but if the Seahawks O-line can go from the middle of the pack to a top-10 group, what more would that do for Darnold?
Nevertheless, the leap Seattle's offensive line made this season further shows how the whole Seahawks team was in sync with the coaching staff and the right way to play football. That doesn't mean there won't be tweaks to the offensive line before next year, but that group certainly is coming together, and that's a massive step forward.