It may be too early to definitively rank the 2025 Seattle Seahawks, winners of Super Bowl LX, among the greatest teams in NFL history. But that didn't stop ESPN from doing exactly that.
In a recent ranking by NFL analyst Aaron Schatz, the 2025 Seahawks ranked No. 3 among the 60 Super Bowl champions. It's a stunning placement—and notably higher than any Super Bowl-winning San Francisco 49ers team.
The 1991 Washington Redskins and 1985 Chicago Bears claimed the top two spots, respectively. The highest-ranked 49ers team was the dominant 1989 squad, which landed at No. 4.
It's worth noting that Schatz's rankings rely heavily on his proprietary DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric, which evaluates teams based on play-by-play efficiency while adjusting for situation and opponent quality.
Here's where the 49ers' five Super Bowl championship teams ranked:
- 1989 49ers: No. 4
- 1984 49ers: No. 12
- 1994 49ers: No. 18
- 1988 49ers: No. 28
- 1981 49ers: No. 55
According to Schatz, both the 2025 Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams have graded out as top-10 teams since 1978, measured by DVOA. He also cited Seattle's strength of schedule and the fact that its three losses came by a combined nine points.
"Seattle's 41-6 victory over the No. 6-seed 49ers in the divisional round was the strongest single game of the season played by any team," Schatz wrote. "Then came a 31-27 NFC championship win over the No. 5-seed Rams. Finally, the Seahawks dispatched the Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX and claim their second title.
"There's a big DVOA gap between the 2025 Seahawks and our top two teams. Only one non-Super Bowl champion would fall into this space, the 2007 Patriots at 50.8%. The last two teams are clearly the top teams of the Super Bowl era, and each has its own good arguments for why it should be No. 1."
While the 2025 Seahawks were undeniably talented and fielded an impressive and punishing defense, ranking them above every 49ers Super Bowl champion is certain to spark debate. Metrics like DVOA offer valuable context, but relying heavily on a single analytical model can yield surprising—and controversial—results, as seen in Schatz's ranking.
Comments