The NFL season is in the books after the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. The story of this game was the dominant Seattle defense that gave the Patriots offense fits the entire game.
The Seahawks were led by their defense throughout the postseason, but this group came up big when Seattle needed it the most, forcing three turnovers. Defense is also how the Patriots made their Super Bowl run. Offense is always exciting, yet this season showed again that defense wins championships.
The Dallas Cowboys have a big decision to make regarding George Pickens, but after this contest, perhaps they should be more open to the idea of trading Pickens for more defensive help than Jerry Jones and Co. have been.
Seahawks SB Win May Have Opened the Idea for Cowboys to Trade George Pickens
For years, it seemed like offensive minds ran the NFL and won Super Bowl titles, with Andy Reid and Sean McVay leading that charge. That wasn't the case this season, as both Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel were defensive-minded guys. The Seahawks consistently put Drake Maye under duress, sacking him six times.
It's already been reported that the Cowboys are expected to place the franchise tag on George Pickens. This comes one year after trading for the young receiver, giving life to Pickens' outstanding 2025 campaign. In his first season in Dallas, the former Georgia standout posted career-highs in targets (137), catches (93), receiving yards (1,429), and touchdowns (9).
He delivered everything that Dallas could have asked for and more, especially when CeeDee Lamb was sidelined. The WR duo of Lamb and Pickens is one of the best in the league, but there's no telling if it will be a long-term one. The fact that Dallas has already made it known they're giving him the franchise tag shows they may not want to extend him.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also suggested that Dallas may be open to a trade. During an appearance on NFL GameDay Morning, Rapoport said, "The Cowboys have shown a willingness to trade their star players for significant draft pick compensation. Maybe those players have the same agent in David Mulugheta. I'm just saying, it's an interesting situation to consider."
Dallas already handed Lamb a four-year, $136 million extension in 2024, so you can already assume the front office would not want to do that again. This is especially true when considering the holes that remain on the defensive side of the ball.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, putting up 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, but he was held in check in the Super Bowl. He finished with four catches (10 targets) for 27 receiving yards.
Stefon Diggs was another big-money WR who got $63.5 million from New England, yet he finished with three catches for 37 receiving yards in the Super Bowl. In the biggest game of the season, these highly paid WRs didn't always make much of an impact.
Instead, it was the defenses that were in control, and that could open the door for the Cowboys, considering a Pickens trade this offseason. They already have one big WR contract on the books. It'll be interesting to see if they want another after watching how this Super Bowl unfolded.