Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting while alive. Emily Dickinson had fewer than a dozen of her thousands of poems published during her lifetime. Greatness is often easier to recognize given the benefit of context and reflection. The more unexpected the source of the splendor, the longer it takes to be embraced. The 2025 Seattle Seahawks are a work of art. What makes them special is not simply the sublime blending of young and old, power and precision, simple and complex. It is the collection of second hand parts, who have been overlooked and underestimated. Sam Darnold is doing things the NFL has not seen since peak Tom Brady. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is doing things not seen since Calvin Johnson. Leonard Williams is wrecking lines like Tony Montana. These are just a few of the men on this team who have been cast aside, played second fiddle, or deemed lesser than they are. Collectively, they were expected to win seven or eight games. Collectively, they are The Starry Night, the perfect poem, the unforgettably forgotten. Outside praise has come through clenched teeth. That’s okay. This team is happy to knock a few loose.
Seahawks fans have seen their team rise before. The 2005 squad won 11 straight games. The 2012 team exploded for wins of 58-0, 50-17, and then 42-13 over their most bitter division rival. Both were Seahawks teams, but saying they were the same would be like saying California and Alabama are the same because they are part of the same country. Each team has its own DNA. Their destiny is partly nature and partly nurture. An inescapable part of this team’s story is how little people outside the organization thought of them before the season.
They were expected to win seven or eight games. The only reason Darnold’s deal was considered palatable was because Seattle could “get out of it” after one season. Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s offenses were what the league should fear, not Mike Macdonald’s defense. Smith-Njigba was only a slot receiver and not true number one receiver material. The offensive line was destined to be near the bottom of the NFL again. Klint Kubiak was a mediocre nepotism hire. Uchenna Nwosu was too injured, too often. Byron Murphy II was a not worth a first round pick. Josh Jobe was a weak spot in the secondary. A.J. Barner and the tight end room was not talented enough.
To say they were overlooked would be inaccurate. They were considered and roundly dismissed as not worthy. There has never been a Seahawks team that has so completely outpaced expectations as this crew has done so far.
Consider that their +81 point differential is the highest in the history of the franchise through eight games, besting the 2013 Seahawks by one point. The 2005 squad is third (+68). They are close to their projected win total (7.5 games) with half the season left to play. They have not lost on the road this season, and have won 10 straight away from Seattle. They are the top-ranked DVOA team, and the only team that ranks in the top five in offense, defense, and special teams. The are 5th in points scored and 5th in points allowed. They are 2nd in yard per play, and 3rd in opponent yards per play. That questionable offensive line has paved the way to the 5th-best opponent pressure rate while the defensive line has powered them to the 2nd-best pressure rate on the other side of the ball.
This team has lost players like Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tariq Woolen, Robbie Ouzts, Derick Hall, and Cooper Kupp without losing their mojo.
Macdonald is cooking people on defense while Kubiak dishes the second course of butt whooping on offense. Jay Harbaugh finishes the meal with a dessert of mascot brûlée.
The signs have been there all season. Seattle has only two losses, to two winning teams, by a combined total of seven points. They should have beaten the Steelers, Jaguars, and Texans by many more points than they did. As good of a meal as the Seahawks coaches have been cooking, the team has played with their food far too often.
It would have been understandable if this was the latest game for the Seahawks to allow an inferior team to make fans sweat. The Commanders were playing for their season in front of their home crowd on primetime. They had their dynamic quarterback in the lineup, and most of their key players were able to return from injury to start the game. Dan Quinn is a great motivator, and Seattle was making a long trip after a bye week.
Bettors seemed to be wary as the game drew near, as the line moved from Seattle -3.5 to -2.5 before kickoff. The folks who caused those lines to move lost a lot of money Sunday night.
The Seahawks put together one of the most dominant games in franchise history. It started with a first drive that actually covered more than 100 yards. Officially, it was a 90-yard touchdown drive that took over eight minutes, but multiple penalties meant it took Seattle 104 yards of offense to complete the task. The team overcame a 1st and 25 and a 2nd and 17 with relative ease. It was a sign of things to come.
Washington had no answers for what Kubiak and Darnold threw their way. The Seahawks offense has excelled this season in 12 and 21 personnel groupings where extra tight ends or a fullback are on the field to force defenses to match with heavier, slower, players, and taking more defenders out of coverage to defend the run. It stood to reason that the team would lean into that even more with starting receiver Kupp out for the first time this year. Kubiak did the exact opposite.
Seattle utilized three receivers more often, especially in the first half. In fact, it was their highest percentage of 11 personnel usage in the first half this season.
First Half 11 Personnel Usage by Week:
- Week 1: 44.4% (12 of 27 plays)
- Week 2: 36.4% (12 of 33 plays)
- Week 3: 30.0% (6 of 20 plays)
- Week 4: 13.3% (4 of 30 plays)
- Week 5: 54.2% (13 of 24 plays)
- Week 6: 50.0% (12 of 24 plays)
- Week 7: 45.2% (14 of 31 plays)
- Week 9: 55.6% (15 of 27 plays)
His receivers and his quarterback rewarded him with a fireworks show fitting for the nation’s capital. Tory Horton Jr. caught the first two touchdown passes. Cody White caught his first career touchdown on a 60-yard strike that had Commanders fans mumbling to themselves in their seats. In between, tight end Elijah Arroyo caught his first career touchdown.
Darnold authored a first half that was as good as any in NFL history. He was 16-16 for 284 yards, an incomprehensible 17.6 yards per attempt, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a perfect passer rating. The last time a quarterback had four touchdowns on his first four drives without an incomplete pass was Tom Brady in 2007. Fitting, considering Brady was the person who convinced the Raiders not to sign Darnold this offseason.
Blowouts are not just the product of explosive offense. Separation comes from all phases contributing. The defense dominated a motivated Commanders offense. Jayden Daniels was pressured on over 50% of his dropbacks, the highest rate of his career. Ty Okada had a gorgeous interception. Coverage was smothering, even after Jobe was lost due to a friendly fire hit that led to some concussion concerns. Nick Emmanwori was the latest Seahawk to manhandle two opponents on one play. Ouzts and Barner have blocked multiple guys to key big plays. Williams has tossed multiple offensive linemen ten yards back to free up others for sacks. Emmanwori drove a blocker into the backfield and then wrapped one arm around the ball carrier with the other arm around the blocker for the best kind of bear hug. It was a play that would have made Kam Chancellor proud.
Meanwhile, Brandon Pili, was charging down the field on kick coverage at the behest of Harbaugh. The rare sight of a 330+ pound nose tackle on special teams looked like a stroke of brilliance when Pili forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by the Seahawks and quickly turned into the Arroyo touchdown.
Macdonald asked the team after the win over the Texans to imagine what it would be like when all three phases are working in the same game. They did not have to wait long to turn that dream into reality.
Two straight primetime games. Two straight convincing performances. Three thousand miles and two weeks apart. Some key players exit. Others return. The style of play remains the same.
Younger Seattle Mariners fans hate when older fans always reference the 1995 season. The idea that the team’s best years are long past and their most iconic stars are irreplaceable can be aggravating and depressing. The same applies to the Seahawks Super Bowl teams of 2005, 2013, and 2014. The Legion of Boom, especially, was one of the best teams of the modern NFL era.
Just like the 2025 Mariners started to write their own storyline with their own iconic stars, this Seahawks team is making it harder for fans to yearn for the good ol’ days. The present is proving to be worth every bit of your attention.
One thing that ties all great teams together is that they must pass a crucible of increasingly difficult tests to earn a spot in history. This Seahawks team has passed a number of tests. Many remain. None bigger than the game in two weeks against the Rams in Los Angeles. These division rivals do not only look like the two best teams in their division, they may be the two best teams in football.
Macdonald was sometimes called the “McVay of defense.” The rest of this season could have teams looking for the next Macdonald.
Part of climb from obscurity to championship contender includes passing through the inflection point where national voices go from doubting to lauding. Little or no expectation turn into high expectations with more scrutiny. There will be more interview requests, more schematic dissections, more friends and family coming out of the woodwork.
This team is better equipped than most to handle that transition due to the work Macdonald and team did this offseason to foster clarity, identity, and connection. It does not make them impervious to what is ahead. The change is a little like equalizing pressure for divers coming up from depth. The faster the ascent, the bigger the chance you get the bends. Seattle’s rise is going to go subsonic after this win.
Now we see what John Schneider and Macdonald do with this fast start. There are indications they will be active before the trade deadline on Tuesday. There is not the same desperate need to address on this roster as there have been on some others that have led Schneider to make a move. We will learn more about the injury to Ernest Jones in the days ahead, but that is one to watch. Macdonald, for what it’s worth, did not seem overly concerned about the Jones knee injury after the game.
The Seahawks could go after help on the interior offensive line, linebacker, edge rush, cornerback, wide receiver, or even safety. None of those areas are in terrible shape. Each might benefit from more depth.
An artist is sometimes best served from putting the brush down. A poet can benefit from fewer words. And sometimes, it’s that final brush stroke or stanza that turns a great work into a masterpiece. Hindsight won’t be necessary to appreciate this Seahawks team. Open your eyes. It’s a new day in Seattle.