Aaron Donald coming out of retirement to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams is the kind of NFL news that doesn’t require much analysis from Seahawks fans.
The appropriate response is simply: Oh, come on.
Donald is back after sitting out the past two seasons, joining a Rams defense that also added reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. Even at 35, Donald remains one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, with 111 career sacks, eight first-team All-Pro selections and three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
So yes, the Rams are terrifying.
They still shouldn’t automatically be considered better than Seattle.
Los Angeles has received most of the offseason attention, and understandably so. Garrett is coming off a 23-sack season, Donald could still have plenty left, and Matthew Stafford returns after winning MVP. The Rams have enough star power to make a Pro Bowl roster nervous.
But Seattle has something Los Angeles doesn’t: proof that its formula already works.
The Seahawks went 14-3 last season, won the NFC West and finished with the best point differential in football at plus-191. Los Angeles went 12-5 and finished at plus-172. Seattle also ranked first in overall DVOA, slightly ahead of the Rams, and finished No. 1 in defensive DVOA.
That defense is the biggest reason Seattle should remain the NFC West favorite.
The Seahawks allowed an NFL-low 17.2 points per game while holding opponents to just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt. They ranked first in scoring defense and produced one of the best defensive DVOA seasons since the metric began tracking teams in 1978.
Most of the foundation remains intact.
Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Ernest Jones IV, Devon Witherspoon, Nick Emmanwori, Julian Love and several other key contributors are back. Seattle lost some defensive depth, including Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant, but Bryant was the only defensive starter from Super Bowl LX who departed.
That continuity matters in Mike Macdonald’s system. Seattle didn’t dominate defensively because one player wrecked every snap. The Seahawks created pressure, confusion and bad decisions from everywhere.
Los Angeles may now have the two scariest individual pass rushers in football. Seattle may still have the better overall defense.
There’s also the matter of what happened when these teams actually played.
Seattle and Los Angeles met three times last season. The Seahawks won two, including the NFC Championship Game, and outscored the Rams 88-85 across those meetings.
Even Seattle’s lone loss, 21-19 in Los Angeles, wasn’t exactly a sign that the Rams overwhelmed them. The Seahawks outgained Los Angeles 414-249 and controlled the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Sam Darnold threw four interceptions, two of which handed the Rams short fields that turned into touchdowns.
Seattle cleaned that up in the rematch, beating Los Angeles 38-37 in overtime. Then the Seahawks beat the Rams again, 31-27, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
That doesn’t guarantee anything in 2026. It does make the idea that Los Angeles has suddenly jumped far ahead of Seattle feel premature.
The Seahawks have legitimate questions too.
Kenneth Walker III is gone after rushing for more than 1,000 yards and winning Super Bowl MVP. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left for the Raiders. Seattle also enters the season with uncertainty at running back.
But Sam Darnold returns after throwing for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a monster season in which he led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards and won Offensive Player of the Year.
Nobody should argue Seattle has a better offense than Los Angeles. The Rams led the NFL in scoring last season, and Stafford remains one of the league’s best quarterbacks.
The stronger argument is that Seattle remains the more complete team.
The Seahawks had the NFL’s best defense, one of its best special-teams units, the best overall DVOA and the best point differential. They went 14-3, won 10 straight games to finish the season and eventually beat Los Angeles when the stakes were highest.
The Rams absolutely improved. Garrett is a game-changer. McDuffie addresses a weakness. Donald returning could turn an already talented defense into something ridiculous.
But Donald is also 35 and hasn’t played since the 2023 season. Los Angeles also gave up Jared Verse and significant draft capital to acquire Garrett, so this isn’t simply last year’s Rams plus a bunch of superstars.
Seattle doesn’t have the flashiest offseason story.
It just has the better recent résumé.
The Rams may have won the headlines. They may even have the higher ceiling.
But until Los Angeles proves otherwise, the NFC West should still run through Seattle.
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