The Seattle Seahawks have had plenty of successful teams since they were founded in 1976, especially in recent years. Over the course of their first 44 years in the NFL, the Seahawks have been able to win one Super Bowl.
On the other hand, they've come close to securing Super Bowl victories on two other occasions. Nevertheless, even though the Seahawks have fallen short of winning multiple Lombardi trophies, they've deployed some talented teams over the year.
In the last decade alone, Seattle has been able to advance to the playoffs eight times. Heading into the 2020 NFL season, the Seahawks are fixated on returning to the Super Bowl. With that in mind, here are the five greatest teams in Seattle's franchise history.
1983
Back in 1983, Chuck Knox was entering his first season as the head coach of the Seahawks. It's safe to say that he exceeded expectations in his first year, leading the team to a 9-7 record, Seattle's first winning record since 1979.
Despite being a Wild Card team, the Seahawks were able to advance to the AFC Championship game in 1983. This was before Seattle was moved to the NFC West in 2002.
However, in that conference championship, the Seahawks were defeated by the Los Angeles Raiders, 30-14. Still, the 1983 team — led by Curt Warner and Steve Largent on offense — is a notable one in Seattle's history.
1984
Just a year after Knox took the Seahawks to the conference championship, Seattle would continue to improve. After a 9-7 finish in 1983, the Seahawks boasted a 12-4 record in 1984, a franchise-best at the time.
Unlike the 1983 squad, the 1984 team relied upon Dave Krieg and Largent to lead the charge on offense. Despite boasting one of the best offenses and defenses in 1984, the Seahawks were eliminated in the Divisional round of the postseason.
Nonetheless, the 1984 team was one of the best teams that Seattle has seen in franchise history. Even though they didn't return to the AFC Championship game, the 1984 team was still better than the 1983 team.
2005
Prior to the 2005 NFL season, the Seahawks were unable to reach the Super Bowl. From 1989-1998, Seattle didn't even make it to the playoffs. As a result, they went through three different coaches in that span.
Then, after a 10-year drought of not reaching the postseason, the Seahawks found a successful coach in Mike Holmgren. In his seventh season at the helm, Holmgren led Seattle to a Super Bowl in 2005.
That year, the Seahawks — led by Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander — were able to set a new franchise record with 13 wins. Similar to previous years, Seattle was unable to take care of business, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL.
2014
Heading into the 2014 NFL season, the Seahawks were reigning Super Bowl champions for the first time in franchise history. Therefore, there were high expectations for the team to successfully defend their NFL title.
With Russell Wilson under center and Marshawn Lynch bulldozing defenders at running back, Seattle was able to finish with a 12-4 record in the regular season. Additionally, the “Legion of Boom” secondary was still alive and well. And as expected, the Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.
In the waning moments of the Super Bowl, it felt like the Seahawks were poised to become back-to-back Super Bowl champions, having a chance to slay the New England Patriots in 2014. However, seeing Malcolm Butler intercept the ball in the end zone will forever be etched in Seattle fans' minds. If the Seahawks would have handed the ball to Lynch, they would likely have two Super Bowl rings.
2013
It's hard to argue that the 2013 team wasn't the best in Seattle's franchise history. Wilson was coming into his own in his second season in the NFL and Lynch was amid the peak of his career.
Again, the “Legion of Boom” that consisted of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas were wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. Thanks to their help, the Seahawks tied their franchise-best win-loss record, winning 13 games.
In their run to the Super Bowl, Seattle were considered underdogs to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Despite Denver's high-octane offense, the Seahawks steamrolled the Broncos by the score of 43-8. Given that the 2013 team possesses Seattle's only Super Bowl win, they are locked in as the top team in franchise history.
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