Seahawks-Patriots: 10 most important players
Which Seahawks and Patriots will carry the burden of winning or losing the Super Bowl?
The Seattle Seahawks were too well-rounded for most teams to compete with this season.
If the Seahawks gave out one game ball after every win and the ball had to go to the player who did the most to win, how many different players would have game balls for 2025?
We know the obvious answers like Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Ernest Jones (Week 13 NFC Defensive Player of the Week), but they’re not alone. Would Jason Myers have a game ball? Yes. Rashid Shaheed? Yes. Kenneth Walker III? Yep. DeMarcus Lawrence? You bet.
What about Michael Dickson? He was unbelievable in the NFC Championship. Cooper Kupp? All 5 catches he had in the divisional round against the 49ers were important. Leonard Williams? He’d have to have at least one in there during his All-Pro season. Nick Emmanwori had a game with 4 pass breakups. Devon Witherspoon had a game with a pick and a fumble recovery. Drake Thomas had a huge interception off of Brock Purdy in Week 18.
The biggest flaw in my argument is that I’ll end up naming more than 19 Seahawks for a possible 19 game balls.
How about heads up recoveries from George Holani (Steelers) and Zach Charbonnet (Rams)? I have yet to get to Byron Murphy, Ty Okada, Coby Bryant, A.J. Barner, Tory Horton, Uchenna Nwosu, Jarran Reed, Josh Jobe, Riq Woolen, Julian Love, or the offensive line! Derion Kendrick had two picks! Nehemiah Pritchett had one of Seattle’s most impressive plays of the season! Brady Russell, Jake Bobo, Dareke Young and Chazz Surratt were consistently showing up on special teams! Tyrice Knight had a game with two forced fumbles! Eric Saubert for two!
There was a time not long ago when the best players on the Seahawks would have been something like Walker, Charles Cross, Reed, Nwosu, and Dickson, and they might have made the playoffs as a wild card.
Now Seattle is in the Super Bowl not just because they have the Offensive Player of the Year and a really good quarterback, but also because this team has fortified the dependability of every role on the depth chart.
The New England Patriots will be facing the deepest roster in the NFL this season. Between the Patriots and Seahawks, these are the super-sized “10 most important” players in Super Bowl LX: