Seahawks’ fatal flaw Patriots must exploit in Super Bowl LX

Super Bowl LX feels like a rematch written by fate. It arrives with history humming beneath every snap. On one sideline stands New England, who is chasing another chapter in its evolving dynasty. On the other is Seattle, a franchise finally staring down the ghosts of its past. This is not just a championship game but a reckoning. The Seahawks have built a juggernaut worthy of the sport’s grandest stage. However, no team reaches February without cracks. For the Patriots, the path to a Lombardi doesn’t require reinvention, just precision. Now, one fatal flaw in Seattle’s armor offers exactly that.

Reinvention to dominance

The Seahawks’ 2025 campaign was defined by a ruthless defensive identity. They also had an offensive transformation few saw coming. Under second-year head coach Mike Macdonald, the “Dark Side” defense became the NFL’s gold standard. They suffocated opponents to a league-best 17.2 points per game. Leonard Williams was a wrecking ball inside, and Devon Witherspoon erased passing windows. Seattle played with a speed and physicality that recalled, but didn’t necessarily replicate, the Legion of Boom.

Offensively, the Seahawks detonated expectations. After moving on from DK Metcalf and Geno Smith, Seattle placed its faith in Sam Darnold. Seattle fans watched him author the best season of his career. Darnold eclipsed 4,000 passing yards while Jaxon Smith-Njigba exploded into superstardom. the latter led the league with a franchise-record 1,793 receiving yards. The result was balance. The Seahawks had a 14-3 regular season record, an NFC West title, and the conference’s No. 1 seed for the first time in over a decade.

Postseason proved legitimacy

Seattle’s playoff run erased any lingering doubts. The Seahawks opened with a ruthless 41-6 dismantling of the 49ers. They exposed a depleted rival with surgical efficiency. That victory set the stage for an NFC Championship showdown with the Rams. That game demanded nerve as much as talent. In a 31-27 thriller at Lumen Field, Seattle’s defense delivered the defining moment. They had a fourth-down stop that sealed their first Super Bowl berth in 11 years.

The result was poetic symmetry: a rematch with the Patriots in Super Bowl LX. This game offers Seattle the chance to finally overwrite the most painful chapter in franchise history.

What a Super Bowl win would mean

For the Seahawks, a Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LX would represent the ultimate reset. It would bury the shadow of Malcolm Butler and the goal-line heartbreak of Super Bowl XLIX that has lingered for over a decade. A victory would validate Macdonald’s defensive blueprint. It would also cement Darnold’s career resurrection and elevate JSN into the league’s true elite.

More than that, it would redefine Seattle’s legacy, from a brilliant burst in the 2010s to a sustained modern powerhouse. Beating New England on this stage would finally replace trauma with triumph. It would close the Legion of Boom era not with regret, but with renewal.

The fatal flaw

That said, Seattle’s roster is elite but not flawless. The Patriots’ clearest path to victory begins in the trenches, specifically inside.

Yes, Seattle’s tackles, Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, have played at a high level. Still, the interior of the offensive line has been inconsistent all season. Guards Grey Zabel and Anthony Bradford have struggled with power and counter moves. That’s particularly true against teams that can collapse the pocket from the middle.

This matters because Darnold’s renaissance, impressive as it has been, still carries a familiar vulnerability: pressure up the gut.

Interior pass protection

The numbers tell the story. Bradford allowed 28 pressures during the regular season. That was in the bottom half among guards league-wide. In the NFC Championship Game, he surrendered six pressures and a sack as the Rams repeatedly attacked the A-gaps.

This isn’t just physical but psychological. Darnold led the NFL in fumbles (11) and finished third in interceptions (14). When edge pressure gives him escape lanes, he thrives. When interior pressure compresses the pocket, old habits resurface. His footwork rushes and eyes drop. Decisions become high-variance.

Collapse the pocket from the middle, and Seattle’s explosive passing game is forced to operate on a shortened clock.

How New England can exploit it

This is where the Patriots’ identity under Mike Vrabel becomes decisive.

The Barmore-Williams tandem

New England must lean into Christian Barmore and Milton Williams as the fulcrum of the game plan. Their goal isn’t just sacks but disruption. If they can reset the line of scrimmage and get into Darnold’s lap, the timing of Seattle’s offense collapses before JSN, Cooper Kupp, or AJ Barner can fully stress coverage.

Interior pressure neutralizes speed. It forces checkdowns and invites mistakes.

The Mike Vrabel special

Vrabel’s calling card has always been simulated pressure. Showing blitz, then rushing four while dropping into coverage, is designed to confuse interior linemen and quarterbacks alike. Against a guard group that has struggled with communication, these looks can produce exactly what New England wants. They will get hurried throws into crowded windows.

That’s where turnovers live.

Secondary soft spots

On the other end of the field, Seattle’s defense is elite but not impenetrable.

Tight ends and running backs:
The Seahawks play nickel at one of the highest rates in the league. They prioritize wide receiver shutdown. The trade-off is vulnerability underneath. New England must feature Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper heavily. That could force Seattle’s linebackers and safeties to tackle in space.

Special teams discipline:
Seattle’s reliance on Rashid Shaheed for explosive hidden yards cannot be ignored. One undisciplined lane could erase an entire quarter of defensive dominance. New England’s coverage units must be flawless.

Championship margins

Super Bowl LX won’t be won with spectacle. It will be decided in inches, angles, and pressure points. Seattle is deeper, faster, and more balanced than it’s been in years. At the same time, interior pass protection remains the crack beneath the polish.

If the Patriots exploit it, history won’t repeat itself. It will rhyme, with a painful ending for the Seahawks.

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