Can the Seahawks Repeat? The Rams Are Coming, and the NFL's 2026 Season Has Three Storylines You Need to Track
The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February 2026. Now they're chasing something only nine franchises have ever done: win it again.
Seattle returns 21 of 22 starters from that championship roster, a level of continuity that's almost unheard of in the salary-cap era, where winning teams get picked apart in free agency (the period when players whose contracts expire can sign with any team). Head coach Mike Macdonald has the defensive infrastructure intact. The offense, though, has a gaping hole where its biggest star used to be.
Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason. Seattle's plan to replace him is Jadarian Price, a first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame who'll be asked to step into a featured role as a rookie. That's a steep ask for any first-year player, let alone one replacing the guy who just hoisted the MVP trophy.
The coaching staff had a shake-up, too. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was hired away by the Las Vegas Raiders as their new head coach. His replacement is Brian Fleury, who comes over from the division-rival San Francisco 49ers, where he coordinated the run game and coached tight ends.
If the Seahawks want a preview of their biggest threat, they need only look at last season's NFC Championship game. Seattle beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 to reach the Super Bowl. The two teams played three times total, with Seattle going 2-1 and the combined score across all three meetings sitting at 88-85 — a three-point margin across 180 minutes of football (The Guardian).
The Rams have spent the offseason closing that gap. And then some.
Los Angeles traded pass-rusher Jared Verse — a first-round pick — and additional draft compensation to the Cleveland Browns for Myles Garrett, who tied the NFL's single-season sack record in 2025 and ranks among the most productive pass rushers in league history. Then the Rams acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs and signed his former Kansas City teammate Jaylen Watson to shore up the secondary (The Guardian).
There's even chatter that Aaron Donald, the Rams' retired Hall of Fame defensive lineman, is considering ending his two-year retirement to line up alongside Garrett. For fans, the prospect of Donald and Garrett on the same defensive front is the stuff of video-game rosters.
This is the Rams' blueprint. General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay previously went all-in on trades for quarterback Matthew Stafford and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, moves that delivered a Super Bowl title after the 2021 season. They're running the same play again — mortgage future draft capital for proven stars, compete for a ring now. Stafford is 38, so the window is narrowing.
The betting market agrees. The Rams opened the preseason as the +550 favorites to win Super Bowl LXI, according to ESPN's odds, with no other team shorter than +1000 (ESPN). CBS Sports lists their odds to make the playoffs at -460, meaning you'd need to wager $460 to win $100 — a strong vote of confidence (CBS Sports).
Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are dealing with a different kind of preseason noise. Head coach Mike Vrabel faced zero questions about a recent controversy involving NFL reporter Dianna Russini when players reported for training camp in late July (Fox News). The NFL confirmed in April that it is not investigating Vrabel's behavior after published photos of the coach circulated (USA Today Sports). The franchise carries a complicated history — Spygate, Deflategate, owner Robert Kraft's solicitation charges — but for now, the league's position is that there's nothing to look into.
The road to Super Bowl LXI runs through Seattle, where the champions kept their band together. But the Rams loaded up like a team that believes the window is now. If Donald actually suits up again, buckle up.
