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Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates on the podium after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Emmanuel Acho Somehow Not Impressed by Seattle Seahawks' Success

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Michael Hanich | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 9:00 AM ET

The Seattle Seahawks have been consistently one of the best teams in the league early on in the 2025 NFL Season. As it got closer to the playoffs, the Seahawks stood out, finishing the regular season with the third-ranked scoring offense and the top-ranked scoring defense.

The Seahawks entered the playoffs with an overall record of 14-3 and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. They dominated NFC West rival in the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional Round and then the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the thrilling NFC Championship. Finally, the Seahawks are coming into Super Bowl LX as the favorites against the New England Patriots.

While many are impressed with the Seahawks’ potential Super Bowl run, there is a small percentage that are not impressed with them at all. FOX Sports analyst and Speakeasy co-host Emmanuel Acho took it a step further by not discrediting the Seahawks but the teams they lost to.

"The reasons I want to say Mike Vrabel has been more impressive is that he was able to capitalize in the moment. Shoutout to you for being the king to capitalize on the moment. The moment for the AFC was there for the taking. Josh (Allen), Lamar (Jackson) gone, (Joe) Burrow gone, (Patrick) Mahomes gone and Vrabel you got there."

"You got there with a roster with maybe two All-Pros?.....You got there with some castaways. To me, what Vrabel is able to do is more magnificent even if Mike Macdonald's path was harder, Shady I just respect the fact that we're gonna look back and say 'yo how the hell does somehow win a Super Bowl on Mahomes' watch, oh Mahomes got hurt that year.' To me, for Vrabel, you went and got it, bro."

Overall, Acho is saying the path for Vrabel and the Patriots is more respectful, considering they didn't have to face four of the best quarterbacks in the league to get to Super Bowl LX. Forget the lack of respect on the path with Seattle having to face the 49ers and Rams for the third time in this season, this might be more disrespectful to the Patriots.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Patriots took down three incredibly efficient defenses in the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and Denver Broncos. While the quarterbacks of those teams were either young, inexperienced or hurt, the fact that Acho overlooks the product on the field with their defense or quarterback Drake Maye, with how good they were in those games.

Acho is essentially saying the Patriots wouldn't be in the Super Bowl if either three of the big four AFC quarterbacks were healthy, even though Allen was healthy and couldn't win the AFC East over New England.

Going back to the Seahawks, Acho and LeSean 'Shady' McCoy continue to thoughtlessly speak on Speakeasy of constant digs at the Seahawks and quarterback Sam Darnold. They have an LA-focused show often and really wanted the Rams to get to Super Bowl LX. They are willing discredit teams and players more than they are to praise them.

After the Seahawks' incredible 38-37 overtime victory in Week 16, Acho didn't so much praise the Seahawks' comeback as slam the Rams for giving up the 30-14 lead. They talked about the huge blow to their No. 1 seed chances, but again, Acho took his disrespect a little further and slammed the Rams' defense while also slamming Darnold on the side.

"Shame on the Rams' defense for allowing us to praise Sam Darnold and have a Tom Brady stat line."

The show might be called Speakeasy, but Acho and Shady don't speak with intelligence or proper insight. Don't expect a lot of praise from them if the Seahawks win Super Bowl LX, but likely focus on teams that blew their chance.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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