On Sunday at CenturyLink Field in the great Northwest, the Seattle Seahawks have an opportunity to reach a second consecutive Super Bowl. The only thing standing in their way are Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, a team with one of the most potent offensives in recent history. However, Green Bay was mediocre on the road this season with a 4-4 mark, including a Week 1 loss at Seattle.
The Seahawks are not the typical NFL team. Pete Carroll’s group does not have a high-powered offense led by a 4,500-yard quarterback and two 1,000-yard receivers. No, Seattle relies on the read-option weapons of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson. Lynch is still every bit the beast his nickname of Beast Mode suggests, rushing for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season. Wilson is the ultimate dual threat, gaining 3,475 yards through the air and another 849 on the ground.
Of course, defense is the main calling card in the city known for Starbucks and rain. The Seahawks’ defenders are a brutally effective unit, ranking first in scoring defense each of the last three years. Seattle is led by the Legion of Boom, featuring All-Pros Richard Sherman at corner and Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas at safety. With that secondary, Seattle is the first-ranked pass defense once again in an age dominated by footballs making the sky dark.
If the Seahawks defeat the Packers, they will be the first team to reach the Super Bowl in back-to-back campaigns since the 2003-04 New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl era (1966-present), only 12 teams have managed to reach the Big Game in consecutive years. Of those teams, the 1966-67 Packers, 72-73 Dolphins, 74-75 Steelers, 78-79 Steelers, 88-89 49ers, 92-93 Cowboys, 97-98 Broncos and 2003-04 Patriots won both times.
Considering the parity enjoyed in the NFL today and the salary cap constraints put on teams, the Seahawks would be all the more impressive. Most of the key members of Seattle’s team are home-grown, showing why the draft continues to reign as king over free agency when it comes to team-building. The Seahawks have been brilliant after the first round, finding Wilson, Sherman, Chancellor, K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner, Doug Baldwin, and others down the line.
The Seahawks are a monument to old-time football. They play hard and knock people around, not concerning themselves with finesse and glitz. Seattle is a sports town that has been messed with in recent years, what with the NBA’s Supersonics being ripped away by Clay Bennett and the Mariners being an afterthought for well over a decade. The Seahawks have brought back its swagger, giving one of the best cities in America something to puff its chest out over.
If the Seahawks can win again on Sunday, the Emerald City is witnessing one of the greatest teams to ever play.
