Super Bowl LX: 10 things to know about the Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks stormed through the 2025 season with a 14-3 record under second-year coach Mike Macdonald and was the NFC’s top-seeded team heading into the postseason.

Celebrating their 50th season as a franchise, the Seahawks are returning to the Super Bowl for the fourth time after winning their two playoff games. They are hoping to erase the sting of their previous appearance in the NFL’s marquee game.

Their opponent on Sunday, the New England Patriots, hung an agonizing defeat on the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. New England rallied from a 10-point deficit and led by four points in the final minute, but a long pass had Seattle in striking distance inside the Patriots’ 1-yard line.

The NFL’s best running back, Marshawn Lynch, had gained 4 yards on the previous play, and it looked as if the “Beast” would get the ball again.

But quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back to pass, and a throw intended for wide receiver Ricardo Lockette on a quick slant was intercepted by rookie Malcolm Butler at the goal line. New England held on to win, 28-24.

Since that loss on Feb. 1, 2015, the Seahawks have beaten the Patriots in three meetings. The two teams have met 20 times (including Super Bowl XLIX), with Seattle holding an 11-9 edge.

A year earlier in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defensive backfield —cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Byron Maxwell, and safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas — smothered the Denver Broncos in a 43-8 rout. The tone was set on the first play of the game, when a snap sailed over the head of Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and into the end zone. The loose football was recovered by Denver running back Knowshon Moreno, and Seattle defensive end pounced on him for a safety.

The Seahawks are hoping to return to the NFL’s summit. They own a 416-376-1 regular-season record and are 19-19 in the postseason.

Here are 10 things to know about the Seattle franchise, past and present.

Beginnings

The Nordstrom Family was granted ownership of an expansion franchise in Seattle on Dec. 5, 1974, and was represented by Lloyd W. Nordstrom. The family owned 51% of the team. Seattle made its NFL debut in the fall of 1976, but Lloyd Nordstrom died in January 1974 of a heart attack while vacationing in Mexico.

Seattle’s first regular-season victory in the NFL came on Oct. 17, 1976. The Seahawks topped fellow expansion team Tampa Bay 13-10 and stood at 1-5. The Buccaneers (0-6) would lose 20 more games before finally tasting victory in 1977.

The Seahawks began play in the NFC before switching to the AFC in 1978. In 2002, the franchise returned to the NFC.

In 1983, the team hired former Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills coach Chuck Knox, who led them to a surprising berth in the AFC Championship game. Seattle would also reach the postseason in 1984, 1987 and 1988.

Darnold shines

Quarterback Sam Darnold excelled in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago. He completed 25 of 26 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns and did not throw an interception.

It was a game of vindication for Darnold, who was the No. 1 pick (and third overall) of the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft. He will also become the first quarterback from the University of Southern California to start a Super Bowl game.

After three years with the Jets, Darnold bounced from Carolina to San Francisco to Minnesota before coming to Seattle. He had a breakout season as the Vikings’ starter in 2024, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, but Darnold became a free agent and Minnesota did not pursue him.

With the Seahawks in 2025, Darnold threw for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Seeing ghosts

During the early part of his career in New York, a Darnold quote went viral when he struggled against the Patriots in a Monday night game in 2019. He threw four interceptions and lost a fumble during a 33-0 loss.

Darnold was wearing a microphone for the game, and while studying a microphone on the sideline, he confessed that he was “seeing ghosts.”

Ties to the ‘Marlboro Man’

Fun fact. Darnold’s grandfather, Dick Hammer, was the “Marlboro Man,” the rugged-looking, square-jawed man who graced billboards, newspaper and magazine ads wearing a cowboy hat with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Hammer also played on USC’s Final Four basketball team in 1954 and was a member of the U.S. Olympic volleyball team at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also appeared as a fireman in nine episodes of the television series “Emergency!” in 1972.

He died in 1999, when Darnold was 2 years old.

Letter perfect

Here is some weird alphabetical trivia. The Seattle Seahawks are the only team in the NFL with the same first three letters in their city and team name.

The 12s

The Seahawks became the first professional sports team to retire a jersey in honor of their fans. No. 12 — signifying the 12th person that cheered on the 11 players on the field — was retired on Dec. 15, 1984, in Seattle’s regular-season finale at the Kingdome against the Denver Broncos. In 2003, the Seahawks introduced a new pregame ceremony, called “Raising the 12 Flag.” That is where a special guest raises a flag on a deck inside the stadium just before kickoff.

Some of the notable people who have waved the flag include the Pike Place Fish Mongers, women’s soccer star Hope Solo, University of Washington coach Don James, former Seahawks coaches Jack Patera and Chuck Knox, Seattle SuperSonics coach Lenny Wilkens, musician Dave Matthews, NBA legend and former Sonics coach/general manager Bill Russell, and Mariners Hall of Famers Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr.

How loud are the 12s? The crowd’s noise after a run by Marshawn Lynch in a 2010 NFC wild card game was so intense, it registered on a local seismograph. The play is now known as the “Beast Quake.”

Mama Blue

From the team’s inaugural season in 1976 until her death in March 2023 at the age of 92, Patti “Mama Blue” Hammond was a diehard Seahawks fan who sported a blue wig and feather boa. She became the first Seahawks fan to raise the 12 Flag before kickoff. In 1999, she and fans from other NFL teams were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Key members

In addition to the No. 12 for the fans, the Seahawks have retired four uniform numbers: Defensive back Kenny Easley (45), offensive tackle Walter Jones (71), wide receiver Steve Largent (80) and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy (96). The Seahawks Ring of Honor has 15 members, including the four whose numbers were retired. The others are quarterback Jim Zorn, cornerback Dave Brown, broadcaster Pete Gross, running back Curt Warner, defensive end Jacob Green, quarterback Dave Krieg, coach Chuck Knox, team owner Paul Allen, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, coach Mike Holmgren and running back Shaun Alexander.

Bill ‘The Beerman’ Scott

The beloved beer vendor at the Kingdome led cheers for Seahawks and Mariners games at the Kingdome for two decades. He had two trademark calls as he hawked beer in the stands: One was “Freeze your teeth and give your tongue a sleigh ride.” The other was much more poetic:

“He who has something to sell/And goes and whispers in a well,

“Will never gather in the dollars/As he who climbs the stairs and hollers:

“COLD BEER!”

Scott died of colon cancer in 2007. He was 58.

Super Bowl results

How the Seahawks fared in their previous Super Bowl appearances.

• Super Bowl XL (2005): Lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-10.
• Super Bowl XLVIII (2013): Defeated the Denver Broncos, 43-8
• Super Bowl XLIX (2014): Lost to the New England Patriots, 28-24.

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