The NFL is a copycat league, and as the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are the only two remaining teams left in the playoffs, you can already see people trying to figure out how to emulate their success. I always find this to be a particularly amusing game to play, because the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs is so narrow that we could just as easily be talking about two completely different teams had the tiniest of outcomes gone the other way.
It also assumes that
these two teams possess the only proper way to team build.
So I thought I’d use this space to knock down some overreactions I’m already seeing from the fact that the Seahawks and Patriots will be competing for Super Bowl 60.
JUST SPEND MONEY!
Credit to ESPN’s Ben Solak for pointing out that when it comes to overall value of the contracts, the Patriots and Seahawks rank first and fourth in free agent spending during the 2025 offseason (via Spotrac). New England added players like Milton Williams (3.5 sacks, 8 TFLs), Stefon Diggs (1,013 yards, 4 TDs), Carlton Davis (10 PBUs), and Harold Landry (8.5 sacks). The Seahawks added Sam Darnold (4,048 yards, 25 TDs, 14 INTs), Cooper Kupp (593 yards, 2 TDs), and DeMarcus Lawrence (6.0 sacks, 3 forced fumbles).
But the context in how they were able to spend that money is also important, and it follows a more common trend with Super Bowl teams: their quarterbacks cost them next to nothing. Drake Maye’s cap hit was just $8.3 million this year. Darnold’s was $13.4 million. Those ranked 29th and 19th, respectively this year among quarterbacks. This is a long-standing trend in the Super Bowl: if you can somehow sport an impressive offense with a rookie-contract or low-salary quarterback, yeah, you should absolutely spend all that extra money you have. That is a winning formula.
The key is the quarterback, not the spending. Because the other teams that spent a ton in free agency this past year? The Vikings, Giants, Titans, Panthers, Saints, and Cardinals.
Get a new coach to put you over the hump!
Mike Vrabel is in the Super Bowl in his first year with New England. It only took two years for Mike Macdonald to take the Seahawks there. Hell, Sean Payton nearly did it in three years for the Broncos, and look at what Ben Johnson and Liam Coen did in Year 1! Just go out and get a new coach, and, voila, Super Bowl!
Coaching matters, don’t get me wrong. And if you’re pretty sure things aren’t working, it’s time to move on. No one would fault the Bears or Broncos from moving on from the situations they did.
But I wonder if teams may get a little too impatient based on this year’s results. We’ve already seen the Bills, Steelers, and Ravens move on from some very successful coaches this offseason in what appears to be pretty risky moves.
If anything, Vrabel’s success may be the best example of patience winning out. In six seasons with the Titans, Vrabel produced a 54-45 record, made the playoffs three straight years—including an AFC Championship appearance—and did so with a fairly mediocre roster and average-at-best quarterback play. Since firing Vrabel, the Titans have won six games across two seasons. Vrabel, with the Patriots, has won nearly triple that (17 games including the playoffs) in one season. I know Vrabel produced two losing seasons with the Titans before getting canned, but there were things outside of his control (mainly QB injuries) that influenced that.
And, of course, only focusing on the successful new coaches ignores the majority of the ones who failed. Don’t forget the likes of Pete Carroll, Kellen Moore, Aaron Glenn, Jerod Mayo, Raheem Morris, Antonio Pierce, Brian Callahan, Jonathan Gannon, and Frank Reich among many other examples.
NFL coaching hires are far more likely to not work out then to work out. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t always try to improve that situation, just make sure you’re focusing on the entire picture, not just the success stories.
The trade deadline is key!
It’s hard to imagine the Seahawks being where they are without the savvy move to trade for receiver Rashid Shaheed. In limited time, he’s been a special teams phenom for Seattle (three return touchdowns, including one in the playoffs), and he’s come up with some big plays in big moments—including a 51-yard bomb in Sunday’s Conference Championship game.
But as I detailed earlier this month, the 2025 NFL trade deadline was otherwise a pretty significant bust. The Eagles wasted a third-round pick on a good defensive player when their offense was the side of the ball that sunk them. The Chargers desperately sought out an offensive tackle after losing both starters, but Justin Herbert was sacked six times in their playoff loss. The Cowboys tried to make amends from their terrible Micah Parsons trade, but Quinnen Williams couldn’t fix foundational defensive issues. The Colts’ aggressive move for Sauce Gardner was offset by the devastating injury to Daniel Jones.
Again, it’s always easy to point to the success stories, because the failures often go overlooked.
Also, the Patriots? Despite some criticism and roster holes, they stood pat at the trade deadline. In fact, they actually traded away two players in October—sending away Keion White and Kyle Dugger for late-round pick swaps.
