The Seattle Seahawks’ 2025 season has reached the point where national conversation and local belief finally meet. What began as a year filled with uncertainty has turned into a playoff run that demands real analysis — not just from a Seahawks-centric lens, but from a league-wide perspective. That’s exactly why I’m welcoming Garret Greenlee of Football Analysis onto The Hawks Eye Podcast for an in-depth breakdown of where Seattle stands as they prepare for the Divisional Round. If you recall from over
the spring, Garret said “I definitely think the national media is a lot lower on Seattle than what they should be, especially with how many positives there were to take away from year one of the Mike Macdonald era.”
One of the central discussions on the show is whether this Seahawks season merely met preseason expectations or exceeded them. From the immediate impact of the rookie class to the offense finding its rhythm and the defense solidifying under Mike Macdonald, Seattle has become one of the more intriguing teams left in the postseason. Garret’s Football Analysis background allows us to zoom out and evaluate Seattle in the context of the entire league, which is where this team’s growth becomes even more apparent.
You can’t talk about the Seahawks in 2025 without addressing Sam Darnold. The conversation has shifted from “Can he hold the job?” to “Where does he rank among NFL quarterbacks right now?” We’ll dig into Darnold’s efficiency, situational play, and how his season stacks up against other playoff quarterbacks — while also discussing what his postseason performance could mean for Seattle’s future at the position.
“I’d probably say 9-12 somewhere in there, 8-12 somewhere,” Greenlee said. “Josh Allen and Patrick Mahoems are up there. Lamar’s up there, Stafford’s up there and then you have like four or five guys right in that next range of ‘hey well you could have him above him and then him above him.’ Even if you wanted to put Sam as high as six or seven somewhere in there, by all means.
“I think the quarterback discussion is way more wide open now than it was a year ago, which I think is beneficial for the sport. I mean, I think it’s good to have parity. I think it’s good to have, you know, ‘hey, I have this guy above this guy.’ And you could have Sam for me anywhere in that 6-7 to 10-12 area somewhere in there.
“The reality is with Sam is there are times that—I mean he had 14 interceptions this year. He finished third in the NFL in interceptions. There’s times where it’s kind of like he gets just like like lock-eyed vision on whoever he is playing and it might happen once a game, but when it does it seems like it’s at an inopportune time whenever it happens. And for those plays to come up when they do, it stinks. But Sam Darnold at his peak, I mean that Washington first half that he had this year was amongst the best halves of quarterback this decade—I mean in the past 10 years. So Sam Darnold, I mean the the peaks are are right up there with the best of them, but there’s times where the valleys are a little lower than you’d like for a guy that should be in those top 6-7 or 8-10 discussions.”
Greenlee also has a positive view on Darnold as more than a stopgap QB for Seattle.
“Sam fluctuates at times where there could be six or eight games in a row where Sam is on a roll, right? But if you had to ask me right now, is Sam Darnold a franchise quarterback? Yes.”
Wild Card weekend gave us plenty to chew on as well. Some teams confirmed what we already believed, while others revealed vulnerabilities that will matter as the competition tightens. We’ll break down what those results mean league-wide and how Seattle can apply those lessons heading into another high-stakes matchup.
That matchup, of course, is another chapter in the Seahawks–49ers rivalry. This Divisional Round game is more than familiarity — it’s about adjustments, execution, and which team can dictate terms when it matters most. We’ll dive into where Seattle can stress San Francisco, what must go right for the Seahawks to advance, and why this iteration of the matchup feels different than previous playoff meetings.
“I’m not even just saying this just to like, you know, get the Seahawks fans excited on your channel,” Greenlee said. “This is one of the most complete teams and I hate to even like, talk about this. The only way that I see it being that close… I mean, it can be a close game; I don’t want to say it’s going to be a 21 point blowout, but Seattle’s going to have to make mistakes [to lose]. I fully expect them to be locked and loaded.
“George Kittle is that sixth offensive lineman [and he’s not playing]. He’s [also] a great locker room guy. Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, that secondary, that [Seahawks] pass rush. Good luck, man. And even two weeks ago they put up 173 yards and nine first downs in a 60-minute game with the one-seed on the line. So you’re telling me now that they already played a game while the Seahawks are coming off rest. Seattle should comfortably win this game.”
We’ll also touch on one of the league’s growing storylines: the head coaching buzz surrounding offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. What does that interest say about Seattle’s offensive evolution, and how might it factor into the broader picture moving forward?
The show wraps with a rapid-fire 2-Minute Drill and live viewer Q&A, blending Seahawks-focused questions with league-wide playoff takes. If you’re looking for thoughtful football conversation, analytical insight, and perspective that goes beyond the box score, this is a show you won’t want to miss.
