Eight teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls, with only two pulling off the elusive double-dip since the turn of the century. So, the odds are stacked against the Seahawks in their quest to repeat.
But which team is most likely to dethrone the reigning champions?
In May, all we can do is speculate with the season still months away. For any fan base feeling spurned by not having its team on the list, I don't recall a ton of fervor around the Seahawks at this time a year ago, but it didn't stop them from going on a dominant run to the title. It's entirely possible a squad not on this list will emerge once the real action begins. It could even be the defending AFC champion Patriots, although their chances of winning it all seem lower than Seattle's chances of going back-to-back considering the Super Bowl loser has made it back to the game the next season only once in the last 32 years.
With that, here's my ranking of the biggest threats to the Seahawks.
Super Bowl odds provided by DraftKings are as of 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 27.
I’m not ready to declare the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes Chiefs dead yet, even after witnessing their very ugly unraveling last season.
The most pressing question is Mahomes’ health, but it’s not the only concern. I don’t know when he will be back to playing his usual brand of football, even if the target for his return from an ACL tear is Week 1. However, the possibility of him returning to something close to elite form -- and DC Steve Spagnuolo working his magic on the other side of the ball -- carries enough heft for me to include Kansas City on the list.
The Chiefs have to be better everywhere else on offense, too, and the only marquee addition they made on that side of the ball was the signing of Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III. He filled a major need, but it’s going to take Reid bringing along some young receivers and offensive linemen -- primarily former first-round picks Xavier Worthy and Josh Simmons -- for the offense to really pop.
On defense, Spagnuolo has to somehow generate more pass-rush juice to help a remodeled secondary that will be leaning heavily on rookie CB Mansoor Delane.
It feels like asking a lot of the Chiefs to get back to playing title-caliber football, but I do believe there is value in knowing what it takes to win in the NFL, and this franchise is only a year removed from playing in three consecutive Super Bowls. We’ll get a great look at how they measure up to the Seahawks when the teams meet on a Sunday night in Seattle in Week 7.
It was somewhat lost in Detroit’s collapse late last year, but the Lions started 5-2 and looked like they were bound for a third straight playoff appearance. They are now tied for the NFL’s fourth-longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons (four).
I’m expecting the bad taste in their mouths from the way last season ended to fuel a heightened sense of urgency in a prideful group. Yes, the NFC North remains tough, but overall, the Lions’ schedule is one of the most favorable in the league, with only two true road games against teams that won a playoff game last season. They catch a huge break by missing all of the NFC West heavyweights in the regular season -- the Cardinals are the only team they play from the division.
While they wouldn’t go head-to-head unless they meet in the postseason, it’s worth noting that in the two years since Mike Macdonald took over as head coach, the Seahawks have allowed 40-plus points to only one team -- the Lions, in a 42-29 home win for Detroit on a Monday night in Week 4 of the 2024 season. It’s going to take a better performance from a reworked offensive line for peak Jared Goff to return. If that group jells and they can get a relatively healthy year from Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta, the Lions are built to give even the stoutest defenses fits.
Of course, health is a major concern for the back end of the Lions defense, with Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch coming off injuries. There’s enough talent in the front seven, led by Aidan Hutchinson, to relieve some stress on the secondary, but head coach Dan Campbell has to find a way to get that group into decent shape to avoid more disappointment.
I can’t remember the last time a team coming off 14 wins entered a season with softer buzz. A quiet-as-a-mouse offseason -- outside of the Jaylen Waddle trade -- is probably the main culprit, but I’m not going to overlook one of the most complete rosters in the game.
When I was putting together the top five draft needs for all 32 teams after the dust settled from free agency, it was hard to fill out Denver’s list. The team is strong everywhere you look, with the interior defensive line the only spot that might have taken a significant hit this offseason, due to the departure of John Franklin-Myers.
Now, if Bo Nix is a lesser version of himself in his return from ankle surgery, the outlook changes a lot. At the same time, I also can’t rule out that he reaches new heights in Year 3, with arguably the league’s best offensive line, quality depth at running back and an upgraded receiving corps via the Waddle deal. The defense looks no worse than good on paper, even without JFM, and it’s possible DC Vance Joseph coaches the group to elite status once again after ranking first in yards allowed and third in scoring in 2025.
Sean Payton’s teams have finished with a winning record in seven of his last eight seasons as a head coach, with the 8-9 2023 Broncos the lone sub-.500 squad in his first year with Denver. They came within a touchdown of winning the AFC title last season. I’m expecting the reigning AFC West champions to contend again, although they’ll have to survive a gauntlet of a schedule in the first six weeks that concludes with a Thursday night home game against the Seahawks. We’ll know before midseason how this version of the Broncos measures up.
Playing in the NFC West helps push the 49ers up the list here, since they will get at least two chances to knock the reigning champs from their perch. San Francisco was one of the three teams that defeated Seattle last season, with a 17-13 victory at Lumen Field in the opener. The Seahawks avenged that loss by dominating defensively in a 13-3 win at Levi’s Stadium in Week 18, but by then, the 49ers were a shadow of their former selves due to injuries to a long list of starters. I can’t imagine Kyle Shanahan’s squad having worse health luck than it did in 2025, when ailments tore through the roster on both sides of the ball.
Returning from injury for the San Francisco defense will be Nick Bosa, a Pro Bowl selectee in all five of his healthy seasons since entering the league in 2019, four-time first-team All-Pro Fred Warner and 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams. The acquisition of DT Osa Odighizuwa filled a big need. The pass rush must be better for the team to have a legit chance of making a title run, and there’s nowhere to go but up after tying for the fewest sacks in a single season by any NFL team since 2022 with 20.
It’s easy to have faith in Shanahan’s ability to put one of the league’s better offenses on the field week in and week out after watching him navigate injuries to Brock Purdy and other key contributors on that side of the ball in 2025. It’s going to be fun to see what he can do with Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle (coming off an Achilles tear) and blockbuster addition Mike Evans, if they can all stay on the field.
Last season ended with a thud, as the injury-plagued 49ers knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend. The last two times the Eagles were bounced from the first round of the playoffs, they played in the Super Bowl the following season. So, go ahead Philly fans, book your flights to Los Angeles in February!
Obviously, that pattern is only going to hold if the team gets better play from Jalen Hurts, who was a net negative in passing EPA (-10) during the final nine games of the regular season, per Next Gen Stats. GM Howie Roseman has given the QB a much different receiving corps, with Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon joining the team and A.J. Brown reportedly on his way out. There’s good news on the offensive line, with OT Lane Johnson and OG Landon Dickerson returning after considering retirement, but Philadelphia will need them to stay healthy to reap the benefits.
Vic Fangio’s defense isn’t without question marks (at safety, primarily), but it has the potential to be elite once again after allowing the fewest yards and second-fewest points in the league last season.
Philly gets to host Seattle on a short week (Saturday game) in mid-December, which might give Nick Sirianni and Co. an edge in a game that figures to be pivotal in determining playoff positioning. No team has won more games than the Eagles since the start of the 2022 season. They’ve earned a spot in this conversation.
With playoff appearances in each of the last seven seasons -- the longest active streak in the NFL -- the Bills are going to make their way onto lists like this one for as long as Josh Allen is playing at a high level. He bends the game in his team’s favor like few players can, and is only one season removed from an MVP year. Buffalo has a new head coach in Joe Brady, but any challenges related to that transition might be mitigated by the bond that already exists between Allen and Brady, who has been on the team’s staff since 2022, including as offensive coordinator for the last two-plus seasons.
The question, as has long been the case for the Bills, is whether Allen can carry the team to the top despite shortcomings in some other areas of the roster. The receiving corps was not nearly good enough last season, and while DJ Moore helps, there’s still a need for dynamic, downfield ball-winners to maximize Allen’s talent.
On the other side of the ball, the run defense can’t sag like it did in 2025 if Buffalo is going to make a deeper run. The Bills allowed 136 yards per game on the ground, fifth-most in the league. Fixing that area has to be the first priority for new DC Jim Leonhard, who has the squad moving to a 3-4 base, but squeezing more out of the pass rush ranks high on the to-do list, as well, and that might not be an easy task.
The team has a favorable schedule, at least , and won’t face the Seahawks in the regular season. If everything comes together around Allen, the Bills will have as good a shot as anyone at the title.
New Ravens head coach Jesse Minter and the Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald followed similar paths to their current jobs, with both serving on Baltimore’s staff from 2017-2020 and Minter replacing Macdonald as Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2022. Now Minter has a shot to succeed Macdonald as a Super Bowl winner.
Minter was hired to make sure last season was an aberration and not a sign of things to come in the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson era. The ingredients are there for a rebound. After all, Jackson is a two-time MVP and still hasn’t turned 30 years old, but last year’s performance was often tough to watch as he dealt with injuries. If he returns to form, Baltimore’s probably going to win a lot of games, but it will take the team reestablishing its identity inside the trenches to advance deep into the postseason.
Help for the offensive line arrived in the form of first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane, who should start from Day 1 at guard. Marquee free-agent signee Trey Hendrickson, second-round pick Zion Young and 20th-year veteran Calais Campbell were brought in to help the defensive front regain its footing. The healthy return of Nnamdi Madubuike would go a long way to solidifying the interior, but it’s still not clear if/when he’ll be able to play after undergoing neck surgery.
The range of potential outcomes might stretch a bit wider for the Ravens than it does for some other teams on this list, even with a manageable schedule, but the ceiling earns them an enviable spot in the conversation.
While the surprising decision to draft Alabama QB Ty Simpson 13th overall didn’t help their chances for 2026, the Rams are the favorites to win Super Bowl LXI for good reason.
Matthew Stafford, coming off an MVP year, is not showing any signs of slowing down entering his age-38 season and will be spearheading one of the league’s most explosive offenses once again. I’m sure Stafford would have preferred the addition of another weapon via the draft’s first round, but he still has offensive genius Sean McVay calling plays with Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and a deep group of tight ends at his disposal.
The focus for McVay and GM Les Snead in free agency was tightening up on defense after the team allowed 31 or more points in four of its last seven games, including the playoffs. They were aggressive in upgrading the cornerback position, trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson. The defensive line has the potential to be elite. It would be nice if they were a little more dynamic at linebacker, but overall, this group looks better than last year’s on paper.
Los Angeles dropped two of its three games against division-rival Seattle last season, including the NFC title game. Those were some epic battles, though, with all three decided by four or fewer points. It will take surviving a meat-grinder of a schedule to get it done this season. Seattle’s road doesn’t look like it will be much easier, though. There’s a long way to go before the two teams meet in two of the final three weeks of the regular season, but it’s easy to envision them slugging it out down the stretch for the second year in a row. For now, the Rams are in a better position to come out on top this time.
