Seahawks chase another title in a loaded NFC West
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The Seahawks open their title defense Wednesday as one of the NFL's best teams — but not as the team to beat, according to oddsmakers.
Why it matters: While Seattle is trying to take home another Lombardi after winning Super Bowl LX, the West Coast competition is fierce.
- A repeat would make the Hawks just the ninth franchise in NFL history to win consecutive titles.
State of play: The defending champs enter the season near the top of virtually every preseason ranking, but behind the LA Rams.
- The Ringer ranks Seattle No. 2, calling the Seahawks a "bona fide championship front-runner" with the league's best defense, an elite receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and little reason left to doubt quarterback Sam Darnold.
- BetMGM gives Seattle 12-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, behind the Rams, Bills and Ravens.
- PFF's Week 1 model, published Tuesday, ranks Seattle No. 2 but gives the Seahawks a 9% chance of winning the Super Bowl, behind the Rams at 14%.
Go deeper: Seattle faces a particularly tough road just getting out of its own division, per AP NFL writer Rob Maaddi.
- He predicts Seattle will finish third in the NFC West behind the Rams and the 49ers, though he expects the Seahawks to make the playoffs as a wild card.
Between the lines: The skepticism isn't really about whether Seattle is good. It's about whether the Seahawks can navigate a loaded division after losing several key pieces from last year's championship team.
- Former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is gone, as are running back Kenneth Walker III and defenders Riq Woolen, Boye Mafe and Coby Bryant, CBS Sports notes.
- Meanwhile, the Rams added star defenders Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie and brought eight-time All-Pro Aaron Donald out of retirement.
Yes, but: At this point last year, Seattle was a long shot entering the 2025 season at roughly 60-to-1 to win the Super Bowl, while ESPN gave them just a 33.5% chance of even reaching the playoffs.
The bottom line: The odds are one thing, but they can't predict what will happen on the field.