{"id":106374,"date":"2026-02-07T23:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T05:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=106374"},"modified":"2026-02-08T12:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:52:10","slug":"how-high-can-seahawks-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"How high can Seahawks fly?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Morgan
\n<\/b>Medill Reports<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2014 Eight players in Super Bowl LX were named to the Pro Bowl, six of them Seattle Seahawks, which might indicate why they\u2019re favored by 4.5 points, according to ESPN\u2019s betting line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Offensive fireworks are expected to be on full display as keys to Seattle\u2019s passing attack include Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the AP offensive player of the year, and Super Bowl LVI\u2019s Most Valuable Player, Cooper Kupp. Disrupting the leaders of Seattle\u2019s air raid will be critical to a New England victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith-Njigba said he and his teammate benefit from each other’s presence, as the pair have combined for more than 2,300 receiving yards this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe draw eyes pulling the defense, it springs me open and likewise,\u201d Smith-Njigba said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seattle’s defense dominates with 47 sacks on the season. Head coach Mike Macdonald has an opportunity to make history by becoming the only head coach who doubles as the defensive playcaller to win a Super Bowl, despite facing off against the coach of the year in New England\u2019s Mike Vrabel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV said their defense\u2019s versatility gives the group a sharper edge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we flow and get to the ball and how relentless we’ve been (has) been the biggest thing,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seattle\u2019s defense, nicknamed \u201cThe Dark Side,\u201d has held opponents to fewer than 17 points per playoff game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe practice the look so much, once you get in the flow of a game, we already know what’s supposed (happen),\u201d Jones said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has bounced around the league. After being the New York Jets\u2019 third overall choice eight years ago, he was then traded to the Carolina Panthers and\u00a0 made stops in San Francisco and Minnesota prior to becoming a Seahawk and throwing 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions this season, resulting in a Pro Bowl nod.<\/span><\/p>\n

New England’s offense is no slouch, averaging more than 130 yards rushing per playoff game. Seattle defensive end Leonard Williams said the heavy group upfront has earned his respect.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re physical, but so are we,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThey try to win the game in the trenches and we believe in that same motto.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Defenders are locked in on extinguishing New England’s ground game, which has been a pillar of the team\u2019s success throughout the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they run the ball is super aggressive, the offensive line does a great job, and when you have two (running) backs that can make one guy miss, that helps,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some defenders say they would rather deal with the pass than the rush.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we stop the run, get them in the obvious passing situations; we\u2019ll benefit a lot from that,\u201d linebacker Harold Landry III said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brock Morgan is a sports media specialization graduate student at Medill.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brock Morgan Medill Reports\u00a0 SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2014 Eight players in Super Bowl LX were named to the Pro Bowl, six of them Seattle Seahawks, which might indicate why they\u2019re favored by 4.5 points, according to ESPN\u2019s betting line.\u00a0 Offensive fireworks are expected to be on full display as keys to Seattle\u2019s passing attack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":765,"featured_media":106375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5545,5543,31,5546,5544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2026","category-msj26","category-sports","category-super-bowl-lx","category-winter-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nHow high can Seahawks fly? - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How high can Seahawks fly? - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brock Morgan Medill Reports\u00a0 SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2014 Eight players in Super Bowl LX were named to the Pro Bowl, six of them Seattle Seahawks, which might indicate why they\u2019re favored by 4.5 points, according to ESPN\u2019s betting line.\u00a0 Offensive fireworks are expected to be on full display as keys to Seattle\u2019s passing attack […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-08T05:55:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-08T18:52:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/Morgan-tank-lawrence.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1126\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"632\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"elisesantos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"elisesantos\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/\",\"name\":\"How high can Seahawks fly? - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/Morgan-tank-lawrence.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-08T05:55:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-08T18:52:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/2b7368e566ace4684ef3041502e9e5f2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/how-high-can-seahawks-fly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/Morgan-tank-lawrence.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/Morgan-tank-lawrence.png\",\"width\":1126,\"height\":632,\"caption\":\"DeMarcus \u2018Tank\u2019 Lawrence, one of eight players in Super Bowl LX named to the Pro Bowl, responds to questions during media availability Feb. 4. 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