The stage for Super Bowl LX has been set. It will feature the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in a rematch of their instant classic 11 years ago.
Only this time, you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody who had either of those teams penciled in as title contenders before the season.
The Patriots won four games in 2024. They were riding a new head coach and second-year quarterback, while also taking advantage of one of the easiest paths to the Super Bowl we've ever seen.
Seattle's path was much more unorthodox. They emerged from mediocrity purgatory. They didn't have a last-place schedule. Their quarterback isn't a shiny new toy on a rookie contract, and their head coach isn't an offensive play design boy wonder.
Commanders should seriously consider adopting Seahawks' blueprint for success
They're in the Super Bowl because they made every right move in constructing their roster. And the Commanders should take notes.
The Seahawks have been led primarily by their defense, which leads the league in fewest points allowed. This is despite a unit that lacks big-name superstars or high-profile draft picks, aside from cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Mainly, it's been elite scheming by Macdonald and the youth of Seattle's roster, allowing them to fly around the field.
All of Seattle's top seven leading tacklers are 26 or younger. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV is the unit's leader, a revelation ever since he was traded from the Tennessee Titans in 2024. General manager John Schneider has hit on recent draft picks such as Byron Murphy and Nick Emmanwori in the first two rounds. Tyrice Knight, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen are success stories for the later rounds.
The only two greybeards on Seattle's defense are Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence. Both are still performing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level.
Offensively, they have a superstar wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a fearsome backfield tandem with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet (though the latter is out for the rest of the playoffs). Again, high-impact young players.
Quarterback Sam Darnold was the final piece of the puzzle, added to a team looking to go from average to a contender. Unlike Washington with Jayden Daniels, the Seahawks don't need him to be a superhero. They just need him not to throw games away.
The way the Seahawks have built their Super Bowl roster should serve as a blueprint for the rest of the league. When young players can step in and be productive right away, rebuilds don't have to take very long. They don't even have to be full-blown rebuilds, in the scorched-Earth, purge everything and stockpile top draft picks sense that you see in other sports.
In the NFL, you can go from being helplessly average to a title contender in a short amount of time. You can get better without having to get worse first. But it requires building your roster the right way, something the Commanders have not done.