The offseason hype has been all about the Los Angeles Rams. Understandable (if unforgivable) — since they took some aggressive swings in a year in which L.A. is hosting the Super Bowl. They are also not stationed in the upper left outpost of the Pacific Northwest.
Luckily, HBO’s refreshing “Hard Knocks” series took a unique peek into how an elite-tier franchise is run. That same outpost of non-east coast-bias is one that was framed in full majesty, complete with shimmering water, careening bald eagles
and a city abuzz with positive vibes.
Hard Knocks aside, if you want to revisit the glory of last year’s title run one more time before the title defense starts on 9/9, then there are two documentaries worth your time.
America’s Game: The 2025 Seattle Seahawks
NFL Films created a moving tribute to last year’s Super Bowl-winning Seahawks’ championship season. America’s Game on the 2025 Seattle Seahawks is currently airing on YouTube TV. The same America’s Game that Seahawks head coach, Mike Macdonald (born in Boston) confessed to watching in high school when the New England Patriots were authoring a dynasty.
America’s Game brought to life player and coach perspectives on the way to the title.
Ernest Jones IV says of Sam Darnold and his redemptive journey at quarterback in Seattle: “I think he just models what everybody on that team’s been through. We’ve all been rejected, we’ve all… not been respected.”
Darnold addressed Jones IV’s expletive-laden defense of him after a 4-INT performance against the Rams: “He had my back. It’s what I’ve kinda been talking about with this whole team: everyone had each other’s backs throughout the season. You come back into the locker room, and you just felt that brotherhood; we had a brotherhood, we had that love. And I felt that when E.J. said those things.” Darnold continued: “I don’t think it was a coincidence that we didn’t lose a game the rest of the year.”
It was also amazing to hear that the “Dark Side” defense “actually ran out of blitzes in the 2nd quarter” of the big game.
Super Bowl Champions: The 2025 Seattle Seahawks
The Roku documentary, “Super Bowl Champions: The 2025 Seattle Seahawks” has been out since March, but it is an alternate view. It was more of a game-to-game summarizing of the journey.
In the NFC Championship game, Rams head coach Sean McVay called the play when DeMarcus Lawrence dropped to the flats with Kyren Williams (to form bracket coverage of a hot route) a “fortuitous bust,” saying, “They kinda lucked into having two guys peel on Kyren right there I know that can’t be part of their design.” Even Seahawks coach, Mike Macdonald admitted that they “we actually didn’t even execute that play well on the fourth down.”
For his part, D-Law laughed at the term, “fortuitous bust,” saying: “I’ll take it. I’ll take it all day.” Lawrence would go on to explain that “playing football as long as I done played, I’ve seen so many formations and schemes. The back is flaring out that fast, that means that’s his hot. He’s going to the back first. If the back wasn’t his hot, the back would’ve waited to see if Julian was gonna rush versus the end flaring out. But he didn’t wait.”
Both documentaries displayed the resiliency, brotherhood and resolve of a title contender. They also showcase (as did Hard Knocks), the Hawks’ fearless leader and strategist.
Mike Macdonald’s affable and quirky demeanor with the media gives way to a laser-focused intensity on the gridiron. It’s a joy to experience.
In the “Super Bowl Champions” piece, Macdonald delivers the now famous line: “We did not care. It’s always been about us and what we do.”
Here’s to watching this new Seattle Seahawks team and how they run it forward, in an attempt to reach that generational mountaintop once again. No matter what, the 2025 team was special. It was about them, not their opponents, and both the Roku as well as the America’s Game documentaries highlight that.
