A year ago, the Seahawks wrapped up their first season under head coach Mike Macdonald having won 10 games and narrowly missed the postseason.

Macdonald was encouraged in one sense, saying after the season ended, "We're just really optimistic, fired up for what's ahead of us with the direction our team is going… I'm excited about the foundation that we've been able to lay."

But Macdonald was also disappointed because he goes into every season with the highest of expectations.

"Well, I wanted to win the Super Bowl," Macdonald said last January in his year-end press conference after his first season. "In order to do that, you've got to win games, then you've got to make the dance. You want to win your division, you've got to win your conference, then you want to win the Super Bowl. We did a lot of the first goal, we won 10 of our games; we didn't achieve any of the other goals, so ultimately, we fell short."

The following season, the Seahawks and Macdonald most definitely did not fall short. In his second season as a head coach, Macdonald led the Seahawks to a 14-3 regular-season record, allowing the Seahawks to check off those boxes he mentioned a year earlier like winning the division and homefield advantage, which in turn helped them win the NFC championship at Lumen Field before defeating the Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

And while the confetti has (presumably) been cleaned off the Levi's Stadium turf and the parade is over, that doesn't mean we should stop celebrating a dominant, championship season, so with that in mind, it's time to take a look back at the season that was and hand out some awards with Seahawks.com's 2025 Season Honors. Oh, and unlike most awards, we're including the postseason rather than just going regular season only, because when you win the Super Bowl, why in the world wouldn't you want to take that into consideration?

Important disclaimer: These are very unofficial honors selected by a writer who might not really know what he's talking about, so please take all of this with a grain of salt.

Offensive MVP: QB Sam Darnold

Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the league's leading receiver and the AP Offensive Player of the Year, could easily be the choice here, but we'll get to him in a second, and instead when it comes to most valuable, we're leaning into positional value and postseason performance, in addition to Darnold's overall strong body of work, to give him the slight edge.

Darnold, who given the team's success and the position he plays, will go down as the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history, led his team to 14 regular-season wins for the second year in a row after doing so with the Vikings in 2024, and he again earned Pro-Bowl honors after throwing for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading four game-winning drives in the regular season. But what really puts Darnold over the hump in terms of his value to the team was what he did down the stretch, playing four straight turnover-free games starting with a Week 18 win that allowed the Seahawks to clinch the NFC West and No. 1 seed, and ending with a Super Bowl victory, helping the Seahawks become the first team to win the Super Bowl without committing a turnover in the postseason.

And oh, by the way, Darnold did that while playing all three postseason games with an oblique injury suffered two days before the divisional round. Thanks to the Seahawks dominant play on defense and special teams, Darnold didn't have to put the team on his back for most of the closing stretch, but in an NFC championship game shootout with the Rams, Darnold was able to go toe-to-toe with the league's MVP, Matthew Stafford, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns in what was likely the most important individual performance any player had for the Seahawks all season on their way to a title.

Defensive MVP: The Dark Side

Sorry, but there's just no way to pick one MVP on a defense that was defined by unselfish play, depth and talent at all three levels.

Take the Super Bowl, for example. Running back Kenneth Walker III was a deserving MVP, but if you wanted to give it to a defensive player to reward a dominant effort on that side of the ball, who would you give it to? Devon Witherspoon would have been a worthy choice after he had a sack and multiple pressures that led to incomplete passes, as well as a hit on Drake Maye that knocked the ball loose for a Uchenna Nwosu pick-six. You could also make a good case for Derick Hall, who had two sacks and forced fumble, or for Byron Murphy II, who had two sacks and a fumble recovery while also doing the outstanding work he always does to stop the run, or to Ernest Jones IV, who had a team-high 11 tackles and one tackle for loss, or to Leonard Williams, who didn't jump off the stat sheet, but whose work on the line opened up so many pass rush opportunities for his teammates, or to Nwosu and Julian Love, who both had crucial takeaways, or to… OK, you get the point.

And that's how the Seahawks were on defense all season long. In addition to all of those players mentioned above, the Seahawks also got great play all season from the likes of DeMarcus Lawrence, another outstanding free-agent addition, Coby Bryant, Drake Thomas, Jarran Reed and so many other players.

All season long, members of the Dark Side defense took pride in how close they were as a group, and in how unselfishly they played, so it's only fitting that at the end of the season, there is no one individual player awarded, but rather the whole unit.

Special Teams MVP: P Michael Dickson and K Jason Myers

A tie? After giving the previous award to the entire defense? Talk about taking the easy way out, right? But when you win the Super Bowl, a lot of players are worthy of recognition, and as was fully on display in the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have two of the very best in the NFL at what they do in punter Michael Dickson and kicker Jason Myers. Myers, who made a Super Bowl record five field goals in Seattle's 29-13 win over the Patriots, led the NFL in scoring during the regular season with 171 points, and postseason included, he had 206 total points, the most in single season in NFL history, postseason included, surpassing the 198 points scored by Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson during his MVP season in 2006.

Dickson, meanwhile, had three punts downed inside the 10-yard line in the Super Bowl to cap yet another outstanding season that saw him earn second-team All-Pro honors.

Offensive Player of the Year: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Again, you could make a great case for MVP for Smith-Njigba and get very little pushback. The third-year receiver led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards while playing in an offense that had the fourth fewest pass attempts in the NFL.

Smith-Njigba's 10-catch, 153-yard, one-touchdown performance in the NFC championship game demonstrated how dominant of a player he can be, but his willingness to run routes to get teammates open or to block in the run game while catching four passes in the Super Bowl showed another important side of Smith-Njigba, a team player who cared far more about winning a title with his teammates than the impressive numbers he put up.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: G Grey Zabel

The Seahawks knew they needed to get better up front if they were going to improve on that front, and they started that process with a change to their coaching staff, with hires like offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and offensive line coach John Benton helping pave the way for improvement for the players already on the team. But when it came to upgrading the talent on the roster, the Seahawks were relatively quiet in free agency, instead investing their first-round pick in North Dakota State's Grey Zabel. It became evident from the day he arrived in Seattle that Zabel was going to be Seattle's starting left guard, and he thrived in that role, emerging as one of the league's best young guards while starting all 20 games, playoffs included. Zabel proved to not only be a stilled tactician and physical presence, he also helped set the tone with his attitude and confidence.

Receiver Tory Horton, who had five touchdown catches and a 95-yard punt return touchdown in the first eight games of the season, would have been in position to push Zabel for this award had he played the whole season, but unfortunately his rookie campaign was cut short by a shin injury.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: S Nick Emmanwori

When the Seahawks selected Zabel with the 18th overall pick, another player with a first-round pick still on their draft board was South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. Armed with extra picks from trades that sent DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh and Geno Smith to Las Vegas, the Seahawks tried to trade back into the end of the first round to get Emmanwori. That trade didn't end up happening, but John Schneider and company kept working the phones early in Day 2, and eventually were able to move up to the No. 35 overall pick to select Emmanwori.

Emmanwori's rookie season got off to an unfortunate start when he suffered a high-ankle sprain a few plays into the season opener, causing him to miss nearly all of that game and the following three contests. But once he returned, it became clear why the Seahawks were so eager to add a rare athlete like Emmanwori, who has the size, strength and toughness to play in the box or at the line of scrimmage, as well as the athleticism to cover tight ends and receivers in the slot. Thanks in large part to the versatility and flexibility of both Emmanwori and Devon Witherspoon, the Seahawks were able to play the highest rate of nickel (five defensive backs) or dime (six defensive backs) defense in the NFL in 2025 while at the same time holding opponents to a league-low 3.7 yards per rush attempt.

Despite missing almost four whole games, Emmanwori finished his rookie season with 81 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and an interception.

Best Free Agent Addition other than Sam Darnold: OLB DeMarcus Lawrence

The Seahawks had an incredible start to the new league year in 2025, signing Sam Darnold, DeMarcus Lawrence and Cooper Kupp days apart, three players who played critical roles in their Super Bowl run.

Lawrence, a four-time Pro-Bowl selection in 11 seasons with the Cowboys, added a fifth with the Seahawks in 2025, playing a vital role as both a playmaker and tone-setter for the league's best defense. Lawrence's standout year with the Seahawks included three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two of which he returned for touchdowns in the same game, 6.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits.

Best Newcomer: WR/KR/PR Rashid Shaheed

As if adding three standouts in free agency wasn't enough, John Schneider added one more before the trade deadline, sending fourth and fifth-round picks to New Orleans for receiver and standout returner Rashid Shaheed.

Shaheed, who earned Pro-Bowl honors as a returner for the second time in his career, didn't put up huge numbers as a receiver, catching 15 passes for 188 yards, but his presence on the field helped open things up for the passing game as well as the run game because of how teams had to respect his field-stretching speed. But, of course, where Shaheed really made his impact was on special teams.

Shaheed returned a kickoff 100 yards to open the half in a win at Atlanta, helping break open what to that point was a close game, then two weeks later, he helped spark a comeback from a 16-point deficit by returning a punt 58 yards for a score in Seattle's Week 16 win over the Rams. Finally, Shaheed set the tone in a blowout divisional round win over the 49ers by taking the game's opening kickoff 95 yards for a score.

Most Valuable Player beyond the box score: WR Cooper Kupp

As mentioned earlier, Kupp was one of three standout free agents who contributed to a championship season, but to understand just how much the veteran receiver meant to the team, it's important to look beyond his modest stats. Yes, Kupp showed he is still a very productive player, leading the Seahawks in receiving yards in both their divisional round win over the 49ers and their Super Bowl win, making him the first player in league history to lead two different teams in receiving in a Super Bowl win. But while Kupp's 47 regular-season catches for 593 yards, were a big part of Seattle's offensive success, those numbers don't come close to telling the whole story of the Yakima native's impact on the team in his first year in Seattle.

One of Mike Macdonald's most meaningful compliments is to call a player a force multiplier, and that term fits Kupp as well as anyone on the team. In addition to making plays as a pass catcher, he spent all season helping the receivers and quarterbacks around him better, he made big contributions in the run game as a blocker, he helped coaches on both sides of the ball thanks to his rare football knowledge, and he provided an important veteran presence on an otherwise young offense.

Most important late-season surge: RB Kenneth Walker III

The Seahawks made it clear from the moment they made a change at offensive coordinator last year that they wanted to run the ball in 2025, but for much of the season, they struggled to find consistency in the ground game.

That began to change late in the season with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet leading the way as the Seahawks rushed for 160 or more yards in each of their final three games of the regular season, but just when it looked like the Seahawks were going to be at their best in the postseason, they lost Charbonnet to a knee injury in the divisional round.

While Charbonnet's presence was certainly missed, Walker made sure the ground game was still in great hands, capping a strong finish to the season with a Super Bowl MVP performance, rushing for 135 yards while adding 25 receiving yards against the Patriots. Walker, who had his second 1,000-yard season in his four-year career, had at least 100 scrimmage yards in five of Seattle's final six games, playoffs included, including 313 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and 104 receiving yards in three postseason games.

Most important postgame press conference: Ernest Jones IV has Sam Darnold's back after what ended up being the last loss of the season.

Leadership comes in all sorts of forms, and for the Seahawks the more passionate type of leadership often comes from middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who in addition to being one the defense's best players, is also one of its most important leaders.

And the value of Jones' leadership was never more apparent than when, following a Week 11 loss to the Rams in which Darnold threw four interceptions, Jones made a point of standing up for his quarterback rather emphatically in his postgame press conference.

The way the Seahawks battled and nearly came back to win—they missed a 61-yard field goal as time expired—and the way the team rallied around Darnold, helped set the tone for a finish to the season in which the Seahawks would not lose another game.

"It's funny, if you took a straw poll from the guys around the team, I think that game was a game where it really came into focus about what type of team we could be," Macdonald said ahead of the NFC championship game. "We have a special group that was resilient as heck and had each other's backs and were going to stick up for each other and fight like heck for 60 minutes and really becoming the team we wanted to be. We started to have some real evidence of it, even though it wasn't really the outcome we wanted. So kind of glad that it happened. It stunk in the moment, but given where we are at now, that was an important part of our season that I felt like something maybe we had to go through to get to the point we are now."

Best Play, Offense: Darnold to Smith-Njigba for 42 yards, followed by a 14-yard TD connection between those two a few plays later in the NFC championship game.

The Seahawks were so good on defense and special teams for most of their late-season run that they didn't always need a ton of big numbers out of the passing game, but that wasn't the case when they hosted the Rams in the NFC championship game. And in what was to that point the biggest moment of the season, the two offensive players who had helped carry the load all season, Darnold and Smith-Njigba, both came through with huge games. While it's hard to point to the single best play that either player made in that game, the key moment might have been the end-of-half sequence in which Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba deep down field for a 42-yard gain, with Smith-Njigba having to survive a hard hit to secure the catch. Then a few plays later, with Smith-Njigba lined up in the backfield, a wrinkle the Seahawks used several times in that game, he was able to get open for a 14-yard touchdown, one of three touchdowns Darnold threw in the game while under pressure. That quick-strike drive, which took only 34 seconds, allowed the Seahawks to take a 17-13 lead into halftime and they would never trail again.

Best Play, Defense: Devon Witherspoon causes chaos, leading to Uchenna Nwosu's pick six in Super Bowl LX.

There were a ton of defensive highlights for the Seahawks during the 2025 season, including three defensive touchdowns in the regular-season—Ernest Jones IV's 85-yard pick-six and DeMarcus Lawrence's two fumble return scores—but when you score a touchdown in the Super Bowl, that's going to be the top defensive play.

Witherspoon, who the Patriots had no answer for as a blitzer, caused havoc throughout the game, including a sack and multiple hits on Drake Maye, and he capped it off with a fourth-quarter hit on Maye that was initially ruled a sack and forced fumble before later being changed to an interception. Either way, he made the play happen, and Nwosu showed good hands and speed to pluck the loose ball out of the air before racing 45 yards to the end zone. The Seahawks were already in control prior to that play, but Nwosu's touchdown all but put the Super Bowl victory on ice for Seattle.

Witherspoon was also a key part of one of the biggest defensive plays of the season two weeks earlier, breaking up a fourth-down pass in the end zone late in the NFC championship game. That play also featured a very heads up play by DeMarcus Lawrence, who recognized before the snap that running back Kyren Williams was going to be uncovered as the hot read out of the backfield. So rather than rush Matthew Stafford as expected, Lawrence dropped into coverage alongside Julian Love, taking Williams away as an option before Stafford eventually had to settle for a contested pass over the middle, which Witherspoon broke up to preserve the lead.

Best Play, Special Teams: Rashid Shaheed sparks a rally with his punt return touchdown vs. Rams.

There were a lot of special teams highlights for the Seahawks this season—they score five touchdowns and got great play out of their specialists—so it's tough to choose, but the play that will probably be remember most was Rashid Shaheed's 58-yard punt return touchdown against the Rams, one of his three return touchdowns after joining the Seahawks in a midseason trade, along with two kick return scores.

Shaheed's touchdown was so significant in part because of how bleak things looked moments earlier. After the Rams built a 16-point lead with a fourth-quarter touchdown, the Seahawks drove deep into Los Angeles territory before Sam Darnold was intercepted in the red zone. At that point, the Seahawks chances weren't looking good, but after a quick stop by the defense, Shaheed worked some magic to make it a one-score game. Another quick stop by the defense led to another punt, and after a Shaheed 31-yard run, Darnold hit AJ Barner for a touchdown, which was followed by a bizarre two-point conversion to tie a game the Seahawks went on to win in overtime.