3 Biggest Threats to Seahawks' Super Bowl Defense

The Seattle Seahawks can repeat as Super Bowl champions, but there are three teams that could be obstacles in their way towards their goals.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald poses with the Vince Lombardi trophy. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks are going into the 2026 NFL season as defending champions, but it won't be easy to come out on top for a second year running.

In 60 years of Super Bowls, only eight teams have won back-to-back, the latest being the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII and LVIII. The Seahawks have a generational defense and a thriving offense that could allow them to join the ranks of football's greatest dynasties, but there are three teams that could challenge Seattle the most.

ESPN's Football Power Index listed three teams with higher rankings than the Seahawks and are the biggest threats to Seattle's title hopes.

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Ravens may have missed the playoffs last season, but they are retooling in hopes of making a deep run in the postseason in 2026. With quarterback Lamar Jackson under center and a defense that should look different with new head coach Jesse Minter, the Ravens hope to get back to where they were for the early parts of the decade.

If Jackson can stay healthy and the Ravens respond well to Minter's coaching, Baltimore will be one of the bigger threats in the AFC and the league at large.

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen keeps the ball and gets about five yards on the play | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Like Jackson, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is one of the biggest difference makers in the NFL. He has led the Bills to the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, but Buffalo has not gotten over the hump and into the Super Bowl.

Allen's Bills remain a big threat for football's greatest stage, so long as they remain healthy. Analytics favor the Bills as the team to come out of the AFC, which is always a possibility with Allen under center. If the Bills defense can find a way to level up, they could see the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Myles Garrett poses with general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Rams are at the top of the Football Power Index. They are nearly a point and a half better than the Bills and two full points higher than them in the FPI rankings.

With one of the best offenses in the league and a defense revamped by trading for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, Los Angeles should be the biggest target of any contending team this season, including the Seahawks.

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