Sunday, January 25, 2026:
“And we welcome you to Lumen Field here in Seattle, Washington for the 2026 NFC Championship game here on FOX, between the Seattle Seahawks and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Hello everyone, I’m Kevin Burkhardt, this is Tom Brady, and we got a good one here tonight.
The Eagles, led by MVP Jalen Hurts, are looking to get back to the Super Bowl and defend their crown, but they’ll have to do it on the road, something they’ve never done as a franchise.
On the other side we have Seattle, the feel good story of the year. Few thought that Seattle would be in the playoffs when the season started, let alone hosting the NFC championship game, but here we are. Tom, how’d they do it?”
We had a feeling, didn’t we? It was only a preseason game, but when the Seahawks ran all over the Kansas City Chiefs back in August, the we saw that the potential was there. In week one, the vision became a reality as Kyle Shanahan’s former pupil, Klint Kubiak, gave him a taste of his own medicine. A dominating 34-10 victory in which the Seahawks ran for over 200 yards, set the tone that they were going to be a threat in the NFC West.
The journey to one of the most magical seasons in franchise history really all started with the defense. Mike Macdonald’s second year jump was true to form, as the Seattle Seahawks boasted the number one scoring defense in the league, while finishing third in both turnovers and sacks. The ascension to superstar corner by Riq Woolen made his massive contract extension worth it, as Seattle’s top ranked secondary allowed up and coming stars in Byron Murphy (6 sacks) and Derick Hall (16 sacks) to take this defense to a whole new level.
While pressure and picks caused havoc on opposing offenses, Seattle’s ground and pound approach led way to a top nine offense, built around their dynamic duos at running back, tight end and wide receiver.
In a contract year, Kenneth Walker finally stayed healthy, he bought into the wide zone scheme, and ran for over 1,600 yards. While he racked up the yards, Zach Charbonnet was a touchdown machine, totaling 15 scores. With so much “12” personnel, the two tight end sets with A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo caused fits for defenses all year, as they each caught over 30 passes and scored four touchdowns each.
The homecoming for Cooper Kupp proved to be much more than just about jersey sales and nostalgia, as Kupp actually had a better season in Seattle than his previous with the Rams. Cooper became one of the best #2 wideouts in the league and a much better compliment to Jaxon Smith-Njigba than DK Metcalf was. Kupp would finish the year with 71 receptions and 750 yards with 8 touchdowns. It was his game winning overtime touchdown over the Rams in LA that really broke their back, and made him a Seahawks legend.
While the running game and complimentary pieces were huge, it was the trio of JSN, Sam Darnold, Jalen Milroe that allowed this offense to perfectly compliment the dominant defense and hit 13 wins for the second time in franchise history.
JSN’s evolution to being the number one guy and one of the best wide receivers in the whole NFL was a complete game changer. His 108 receptions were a franchise record and his 12 touchdowns were second most in franchise history. With an offensive line that healthy and consistent, Sam Darnold was able to hit JSN and his targets consistently, proving that he was closer to the man we saw in Minnesota than with the Jets.
As he guided this offense in a Alex Smith style way, Jalen Milroe provided the juice with being the example for the Kubiak’s ground and pound attack. He only averaged eight snaps a game, but his talent was undeniable (six rushing touchdowns, two throwing touchdowns) and it really does feel like Seattle may have two potential franchise quarterbacks.
As the season progressed, it became quite clear that Seattle would be focusing on playoff positioning, rather than worrying about their division rivals. The Cardinals finally came to the conclusion that Kyler Murray is a purgatory quarterback as they finished 8-9 again. The 49ers were once again ravaged by injuries, and you have to wonder what their future looks like with Trent Williams retired and stars like Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey unable to play more than ten games each. The Rams at times looked like a true division threat, but their top heavy roster folded by December as Matt Stafford started to look closer to broadcasting than another Super Bowl.
Who would have thought that the Seahawks would have already clinched the NFC West before their Thursday night game against Los Angeles in Week 16? Seattle Seahawks, NFC West champions…been too long.
As the NFC cannibalized itself, the Seahawks took advantage of a weak division and weak schedule to stun the football world and take home the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Facing MVP runner up Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, it was an emotional experience seeing a Seahawks home playoff game with fans for the first time since 2016. The fans were not disappointed, as Devon Witherspoon’s pick-six in the final minute sealed a 31-20 victory and brought the Seahawks to their fourth NFC Championship game in franchise history.
We had a feeling, but to see the Seahawks, a year ahead of schedule maybe, but here at home and hosting the NFC championship game against the Eagles? It really does feel like everything went right.The media is saying that the Eagles will win, and that Seattle had a great Cinderella run, but that the clock has struck midnight. Isn’t that’s why they play the game though? The Seattle Seahawks are 60 minutes away. Sixty minutes from dethroning the defending Super Bowl champions. Sixty minutes away from going to play a Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills, in San Francisco’s stadium of all places.
It’s been a magical season, a magical ride. Here’s to hoping for a little more magic.
