Have you ever had a dream so good that you just wanted to go back to sleep to keep the vibes going? What if it got even better? That’s how the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl wins have felt, as a fan and native son of Seattle.
From a team (and city) that, at times, felt anonymous to the national spotlight growing up, it has been a thrilling ride. There have been twists and turns, but the last ~22 years of Seahawks football has been pretty incredible theater.
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Choosing between the Hawks’ first and second Super Bowl titles feels like picking a favorite in the original Star Wars trilogy: I go back and forth for different reasons. Winning a Lombardi Trophy should not be taken for granted— but it won’t stop us from dreaming and watching!
Repeating as champs is historically difficult (8 teams have successfully defended their title), and the Seattle Seahawks will need any edge possible. With the release of the 2026 NFL schedule, it looks like there may be one advantage headed the defending champions’ way.
This chart shows that, in relation to their given opponent each week, the Seahawks sit on the advantageous side of rest. They have a +8 net rest figure that lands tied for the 6th-highest rest differential in the league.
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What is rest differential? As an example: if the Hawks played the previous week on a Sunday, and the opponent is coming off of a Monday night game, then Seattle has a +1 day’s rest advantage for that week. The +8 is the total advantage they have over the course of the season.
Notice that the Chicago Bears have the largest net rest differential advantage, set for a +15. The Seahawks’ rivals were not so fortunate in this category: The Arizona Cardinals scored a +1, The San Francisco 49ers are the only team that is dead even with a 0, and the Los Angeles Rams were handed a -6 net rest difference (a certain disadvantage in some measure).
The chart notes that these figures are not necessarily final, as the late season TBA games were considered a wash. Still, the numbers shouldn’t move all that much.
Of course, Mike Macdonald’s team is 15-2 on the road over the last two seasons. This charted stat isn’t the reason they’ll get the job done again, but it should only help. Let’s hope that more rest means an easier job game-planning, recovering from injury and chasing a back-to-back Super Bowl.