The Top Factor in the Seahawks’ Quest to Repeat as Super Bowl Champions

The 2026 NFL preseason is underway as the Carolina Panthers edged the Arizona Cardinals, 33-30, in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will take the field next Saturday (August 15) when they host the Dallas Cowboys. The obvious goal in 2026 is to win a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy.

Of course, the franchise has been down this road before. They crushed the Denver Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They owned a 10 point fourth-quarter lead against the New England Patriots a year later in Super Bowl XLIX, fell behind 28-24 and then opted for some funky play-calling at the Pats’ one-yard-line in the closing minute with a chance to win the game.

It’s not easy to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles

Mind you, repeating as Super Bowl champions has become a lot more difficult this century than it was in the early days of this championship series. Go back to the first 10 years of the Super Bowl Era, there were three instances in which a team won back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. The Green Bay Packers captured Super Bowls I and II, the Miami Dolphins won Super Bowls VII and VIII, and the Pittsburgh Steelers immediately followed that up by prevailing in Super Bowls IX and X.

Other back-to-back winners were the Steelers again (Super Bowls XIII and XIV), the San Francisco 49ers (XXIII and XXIV), the Dallas Cowboys (XXVII and XXVIII), and the Denver Broncos (XXXII and XXXIII). However, in more recent times, only the 2003 and ’04 New England Patriots (XXXVIII and XXXIX) and the 2022 and ’23 Kansas City Chiefs (LVII and LVIII) have managed the feat.

Seahawks still have a lot of talent despite some free-agent losses

Kenneth Walker III Super Bowl LX — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Does Mike Macdonald’s team, which takes a 10-game overall winning streak into its Week 1 Super Bowl LX rematch with the Patriots, have the goods to make it back-to-back NFL titles? Alex Kay of Bleacher Report states that despite some hits in free agency, the team kept the core of its championship squad intact.

“The most notable departures,” explained Kay, “were running back Kenneth Walker III—the Super Bowl LX MVP—edge rusher Boye Mafe and a pair of defensive backs in Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen. While these losses will sting, the Seahawks did well patching the holes in free agency and the draft.”

General manager John Schneider wound up choosing eight players in the draft, and also added a veteran pass rusher from the Dallas Cowboys for the second consecutive offseason.

Seahawks’ GM John Schneider did his usual outstanding job

“The influx of new talent,” added Kay, “includes first-round running back Jadarian Price, third-round corner Julian Neal and veteran edge Dante Fowler Jr…Seattle may not be as loaded on paper as it was a few months ago, but this group could end up being even better in 2026 if some of the less-heralded players on the roster step up and deliver.”

In 2025, Mike McDonald’s team tied for the best record in league at 14–3 and then played solid football in their postseason conquest of the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, and New England Patriots, respectively. And being in the ultra-talented NFC West will make the Seahawks battle-tested once again this upcoming season.

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