One team presents the biggest obstacle to the Seattle Seahawks returning to the Super Bowl next season.
It isn’t defending champion New England or resurgent Dallas.
It’s the Seahawks.
Seattle faces what will feel like the longest offseason in the franchise’s 39-year history. It’s one that will test the team’s mettle and cohesion more than any in-season drama the Seahawks have overcome.
There won’t be much healing from the Seahawks’ narrow loss and the play call that will remain a topic of debate for months to come.
The media will ask about it during offseason workouts this spring.
They’ll ask about it at mandatory minicamp in the summer.
And throughout training camp and the preseason, the wounds will continue to be reopened.
The “what ifs” about not giving the ball to running back Marshawn Lynch could fester.
Multiple Seahawks openly questioned Pete Carroll’s play call immediately after the game. Carroll, Russell Wilson and Earl Thomas now must keep the locker room from becoming infected with divisiveness.
The Seahawks will also be fighting against history. Only seven teams have returned to the Super Bowl after losing the previous year, the most recent being Buffalo in 1994. Of those, only Dallas in 1971 and Miami in 1972 have won.
Seattle, however, does have some things working in its favor. Nearly all of its key players will be back. Cornerback Byron Maxwell and guard James Carpenter are the only starters who could leave via free agency.
And Seattle is still young. Its average age of 25.65 is seventh-youngest in the NFL.
But despite having nearly the same roster, the Seahawks will be a different team in many ways next season.
The Legion of Boom will be the Legion of Mend. Defensive backs Thomas, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Jeremy Lane will all be recovering from offseason surgeries.
Seattle’s defense will also be without defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and linebackers coach Ken Norton, Jr., who took jobs in Atlanta and Oakland, respectively.
Seattle will no longer be the hunted. Without a second championship, there will be no talk of dynasties or of where the defense ranks in NFL history.
For Seattle, that might be a good thing. Both individually and collectively, the Seahawks have shown they thrive when others doubt them.
This past season, they played their best football in the second half, when some had written them off after a 3-3 start.
Las Vegas oddsmakers have Seattle as early favorites to win Super Bowl 50. But to do so, the Seahawks much recapture their underdog mentality.
