Virtually nobody outside of the Pacific Northwest had the Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl when the NFL season started in September. In 2026, the LA Chargers are hoping they can follow the same trajectory.
Watching Seattle completely outmatch the New England Patriots was bittersweet for Chargers fans. On one hand, the Seahawks beat the very team that knocked the Bolts out of the playoffs just days after Justin Herbert got unexpected revenge over Drake Maye in the MVP voting. On the other hand, the difference in how the Chargers and Seahawks played against the Patriots makes it seem like the former is a mile away from contending.
While the optics are not great regarding the 2025 season, they couldn't be better for the 2026 season. In many ways, the Chargers are looking in a mirror that projects the future with the Seahawks. Now it's up to the Bolts to execute this offseason.
Seahawks just gave the Chargers their Super Bowl roadmap
Seattle may have looked far more polished than the Chargers in the NFL Playoffs but the similarities are easy to spot between the two sides. Both teams have a top-tier defense that can win games on its own with a Harbaugh-like culture that tends to lead to winning football.
The Chargers have a literal Harbaugh in Jim, who will be coaching his third season with the Bolts. The Seahawks have a Harbaugh disciple in Mike Macdonald, who coached under both brothers and brings the same culture-setting tone in his own unique way.
Offensively, Seattle has a quarterback under center with a lower ceiling than Herbert, although you can make the case that the last two years Sam Darnold has been in the same class as Herbert. Seattle has Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kenneth Walker, but the Chargers have a deep receiver room (that will only get better with experience) and a running back who can be far better than Walker in Omarion Hampton.
Heck, even the play-callers are somewhat similar. Klint Kubiak has ties to the Shanahan tree and instantly became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after winning the Super Bowl. Mike McDaniel has his own ties to the Shanahan tree, and will almost certainly become a head coach again after 2026 if the Bolts are successful.
The similarities are easy to spot, but Seattle also showed the Chargers what needs to improve to make a Super Bowl run. It starts with the offensive line. The Seahawks don't have a world-beating offensive line, but they had one good enough to support a strong rushing attack while giving Darnold enough time to be successful.
On paper, it shouldn't be that hard for the Chargers to create an offensive line that's good enough. After all, the team already has the best young tackle duo in the sport in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. Adding the right pieces this offseason, mixed with better injury luck, is the Chargers' recipe.
Seattle also executed in the margins where the Chargers struggled in 2025. The Seahawks' special teams unit is one of the best in the sport and is certainly far better than the unit the Chargers rolled out in 2025. It won't be the main difference between winning a Super Bowl and losing in the first round, but it is a difference.
Perhaps the Chargers should've hired Jay Harbaugh to run special teams after all.
If the Chargers continue to commit to the defensive side of the ball, get Herbert more protection and just clean up the sloppy areas of their game, they are not that far off from doing what the Seahawks just did.
Nobody thought a team led by Sam Darnold and his ghosts could make a legitimate Super Bowl run. And quite frankly, there may not be many people who think Herbert can do it after his three playoff stinkers. But just like the Seahawks this year, the Chargers are in line to shock the world in 2026.
It all comes down to having a strong offseason.