Four Lessons Ravens Can Learn From Seahawks Super Bowl Run

There are several key takeaways the Baltimore Ravens can glean and apply in their pursuit of another title.

Jan 29, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Jesse Minter at press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Ravens and their fans just had to watch their former defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, lead the Seattle Seahawks to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history in just his second year on the job, becoming the first defensive play-calling head coach to do so in NFL history.

After watching him achieve the ultimate goal using a formula that they're very familiar with in all three phases, the blueprint and path to reaching the same lofty heights are laid before them to follow to give themselves the best chance to claim their third-ever championship in 2026 with new head coach Jesse Minter.

Every Super Bowl run reveals instructive lessons that the other 31 teams should take note of and keep in mind when building their teams for the foreseeable future, and the 2025 Seahawks made quite the loud statement with the 29-13 shellacking of the New England Patriots.

Defense still wins championships

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) celebrates with safety Nick Emmanwori (3) after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The overarching theme of the 2025 season, but especially the playoffs, was that dominant defense is not only back in style but is essential to having success and mounting a deep run. Just the AFC postseason field alone featured three of the top five units on that side of the ball, and the Patriots looked were carried to the Super Bowl on the back of their defense as their offense sputtered in all four games.

Seattle was led by its defense all season, and that strength only intensified during the playoffs, as it was far and away the most ferocious and overwhelming unit after returning from a first-round bye. Macdonald called an excellent game in the Super Bowl that his players executed to near perfection as they were pitching a shutout through the first three quarters.

For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl resulted in a double-digit blowout that was fueled by a suffocating defensive performance from the winning team. Last year, it was the Philadelphia Eagles thwarting the Kansas City Chiefs' attempt at a three-peat in a game that was essentially over by halftime. The Seahawks forced eight punts, three turnovers, recorded six sacks and only allowed 79 rushing yards on 18 attempts.

If the Ravens defense, which has talented players at all three levels, can get back on track under Minter, there's no reason aside from getting hit hard with the injury bug that they won't be able to field one of the league's elite units again. Macdonald was able to build his unstoppable force in the Pacific Northwest without having a single player record more than seven sacks and just three Pro Bowlers, only two of which were Second Team All Pro selections.

Run-based offense can carry the load

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald and running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrate with the Vince Lombardi trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

While the Seahawks dominant defense and quarterback Sam Darnold's redemption arc were the biggest storylines of their impressive playoff run, one of the underlying keys to their success on offense in particular was the emergence of fourth-year running back Kenneth Walker III. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards in the playoffs and was the engine of the offense in the Super Bowl with 135 yards on 27 carries for an average of five yards per carry. His totals and averages would've been even higher had a holding penalty in the fourth quarter not nullified a 49-yard touchdown run he ripped off up the middle.

Despite not scoring one of Seattle's two touchdowns between offense and defense, Walker was able to become just the second running back since Terrell Davis in 1997 to be named Super Bowl MVP. He ran with tremendous patience, power behind his pads through contact, explosion through the creases that opened up and made sharp, decisive cuts to bounce runs to the outside and accelerate up the sideline.

With first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, the Ravens are expected to deploy a more outside zone-centric running scheme similar to the core concepts of the Seahawks offense under soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak. They also have better talent at running back with five-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry, fellow veteran Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell, who possesses a similar skillset to Walker.

Special teams can make the difference

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks place kicker Jason Myers (5) kicks a field goal against the New England Patriots during the first quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Playing complementary football is what separates the great teams from just the good teams, and the Seahawks were the best team in all three phases throughout the season, but especially in the Super Bowl. The contributions they got from Pro Bowl kicker Jason Myers and All Pro punter Michael Dickson helped them establish their two-score lead and consistently win the battle for field position.

Myers was the NFL's leading scorer during the regular season and didn't let the wind stop him from drilling all five of his field goals and both extra points. Dickson was a field-flipping weapon and worked in tandem with his excellent punt coverage team to pin the Patriots offense back inside their own 20-yard line on three of his seven punts, and he averaged 47.9 yards per punt in the game.

Even though he didn't get many chances to put his dynamic return specialist capabilities on display, with just two punt returns for 16 yards and one kick return for 20 yards, two-time Pro Bowl return specialist Rashid Shaheed made smart decisions when fielding punts and secured the ball every time.

The Ravens had the best punter in the league in 2025 with First Team All Pro selection and Pro Bowler Jordan Stout, who broke out in a big way in a contract year. Re-signing him is one of their top priorities this offseason. Their punt and kick coverage teams vastly improved, especially following the emergence of undrafted rookie defensive back Keondre Jackson.

After struggling to come up clutch in some big moments as a rookie, none bigger than the regular season finale with the AFC North crown on the line, kicker Tyler Loop will need to make a significant leap in overall consistency and accuracy from 50-plus in year two because they can't afford for him to be a liability.

Winning turnover battle makes and breaks games

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) fumbles as he is sacked by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) in the second half in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A team's ability to take care of the ball on offense and generate takeaways on defense have direct correlation to achieving optimal results in the playoffs, and the Seahawks were a prime example. According to ESPN Insights, they are the first-ever Super Bowl champions to go an entire postseason without turning the ball over once. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, their defense forced at least one in each playoff game and recorded seven in total over the three-game span.

The Ravens' lack of ball security in crucial situations when it matters most in the playoffs and their defense's inability to give their offensive counterparts more chances to score points with short fields or just by making clutch stops have been the two biggest hurdles that have kept them from reaching the Super Bowl in the Lamar Jackson era.

In their six trips to the playoffs since 2018, the Ravens have turned the ball over a whopping 16 times. That's more than five times the number they've forced with just three on defense, with their last one coming in the 2022 wildcard round. Before running into the buzz saw that was the Seahawks, the defense of the reigning AFC champion Patriots had forced eight turnovers in this postseason alone, including five in the divisional round.

What makes the discrepancy so baffling is the fact that they've had some of the most talented rosters and most complete rosters in the league over that span, including playmakers at all three levels of the defense, a unit that led the league in takeaways in 2023, and offenses that couldn't be stopped in the regular season.

There is hope that under Minter, those ugly trends could begin to change, and the Ravens could even flip the script to change the narrative about themselves. His Los Angeles Chargers defensive unit recorded five turnovers in the team's last two one-and-done postseason appearances over the past two years combined and ranked ninth and seventh in the regular season, with him designing and calling the plays. He and Doyle will have to stress the importance of ball security to Jackson and the rest of the offensive skill players to ensure they fully exorcise those demons of past playoff failures.

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