For much of the first three quarters, the Super Bowl showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots was a snooze fest. Points seemed impossible to come by, New England\u2019s offensive line looked like a set of traffic cones, and Seattle couldn\u2019t convert solid drives into touchdowns.<\/p>\n
There were fireworks in the final frame, but there was much to take away from those first three kinda-dull quarters. If the Green Bay Packers want to take the next step in 2026, they must recognize key takeaways from the Seahawks and Patriots.<\/p>\n
Seattle and New England have premier cornerbacks in Devon Witherspoon<\/a> and Christian Gonzalez<\/a>.\u00a0What really rubs salt into the wound is that the Packers selected\u00a0Lukas Van Ness<\/a> at No. 13 overall in 2023, and Gonzalez went four picks later to the Patriots.\u00a0Should\u2019ve, would\u2019ve, could\u2019ve. The Packers didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Gonzalez has developed into one of the premier cornerbacks in the NFL in just a few short seasons. He made two incredible plays to prevent the Seahawks from scoring even more.\u00a0One came on a deep shot to\u00a0Rashid Shaheed,<\/a> where Gonzalez cut underneath the route at the end to get a pass breakup.<\/p>\n Paying Christian Gonzalez is off-season priority number one. One of the best Patriots playoff performances over three games ever. <\/p>\n And I’ve seen all of them that matter. <\/p>\n \u25b7 Rasheed Shaheed \u2014 ZeeBee (@BellinoZee) February 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Later, Sam Darnold<\/a> targeted Jaxon Smith-Njigba<\/a> in the end zone on what looked like a routine pitch-and-catch for a touchdown \u2014 that is, until Gonzalez cut in front for another pass breakup and a near interception.<\/p>\n OTRA VEZ CHRISTIAN GONZ\u00c1LEZ \ud83d\udd12\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf4<\/p>\n El CB de ra\u00edces colombianas vuelve a prevenir un TD de Smith-Njigba.#MundoNFL<\/a> #NEPats<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/d80O1ULFaZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mundo NFL (@MundoNFL) February 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n On the opposing side was Witherspoon, who graded out as the top cornerback in the league this year, according to Pro Football Focus. There are many ways to win a championship, but Seattle and New England showed the critical importance of having a true No. 1 cornerback.<\/p>\n Even if the Packers can\u2019t accomplish that in the offseason, it behoves general manager Brian Gutekunst to take another swing. Signing<\/a> Nate Hobbs<\/a> last offseason didn\u2019t work<\/a>, but that can\u2019t deter Green Bay from trying again this time around. Nobody is saying the Packers have to find a Witherspoon or Gonzalez. There aren\u2019t many cornerbacks like them. But Green Bay shouldn\u2019t try to run it back with the same top three cornerbacks it rolled with in 2025. It didn\u2019t work<\/a>.<\/p>\n Secondly, Seattle\u2019s investment in special teams is more than admirable. No team in the league spent more on its kicker and punter in 2025 than the Seahawks. Seattle invested over $9 million in Jason Myers<\/a> and Michael Dickson<\/a> alone. Myers earned<\/a> $5.2 million in 2025. Dickson was the highest-paid<\/a> punter in football.<\/p>\n Myers went five for five on field-goal attempts in the win, and Dickson stuck three punts inside the 20-yard line, including a crucial one inside the five-yard line.<\/p>\n On top of that, go back to the divisional round win against San Francisco.<\/p>\n The Seahawks and 49ers had just squared off<\/a> in Week 18 for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Seattle won that affair, 13-3. Going into the playoff tilt just a couple of weeks later, both sides knew points would be hard to come by. How big was it, then, when Shaheed housed the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to put Seattle up 7-0? It sucked the life out of the San Francisco sideline, and Seattle never looked back.<\/p>\n Seattle finished the season ranked first in the NFL in EPA on special teams. They\u2019ve made a significant investment in that area, and it paid off. Green Bay ranked 25th.<\/p>\n Some will argue special teams can\u2019t win you playoff games, but nobody can argue that they can\u2019t lose you games. Green Bay is the poster child for that hard truth. Try as we might, fans haven\u2019t forgotten the recent litany of special-teams travesties: The botched onside kick recovery<\/a> in the 2014 NFC Championship, the blocked punt that buried the Packers in the 2021 Divisional Round, or, most recently, kicker Brandon McManus<\/a> missed<\/a> both his field-goal attempts and an extra point in this year\u2019s Wild Card loss.<\/p>\n Brandon McManus last 3 kicks<\/p>\n Missed FG \u2014 Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) January 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Come hell or high water, the Packers have to figure out what has plagued their special teams for decades. At minimum, they need to add a legitimate returner in the offseason and figure out if McManus is the answer at kicker. Daniel Whelan<\/a> is a stud at punter. That box is checked off.<\/p>\n Seattle proved this entire postseason how valuable a top-tier special teams unit is. They made the investments to make it happen, even trading a future fourth- and fifth-round selection to land Shaheed at the trade deadline this year.<\/p>\n The Packers have so much going in the right direction. They have the quarterback. They have one of the best defensive players in the league in Micah Parsons<\/a>. There\u2019s All-Pro talent elsewhere with Xavier McKinney<\/a> and Zach Tom<\/a>. Still, some things have to get better.<\/p>\n Watching the Super Bowl, it was never more evident how important special teams are and how much an alpha at cornerback can make a difference.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\u25b7 Cooper Kupp
\u25b7 Jaxon Smith-Njigba pic.twitter.com\/3XtTfLRoHS<\/a><\/p>\n
Missed extra point
Missed FGpic.twitter.com\/0sllQDtjPU<\/a><\/p>\n