Entering the 2004 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks were the trendy pick to represent the NFC in the upcoming Super Bowl. They were coming off a narrow loss to the Green Bay Packers in the previous postseason, their relatively young offense led by Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander had another offseason under their belts, and Ray Rhodes chose to stay in Seattle to coordinate the defense again rather than bolt to a different NFL team for a chance at another head-coaching stint. As a result, it appeared as if Mike Holmgren had all the pieces in place to lead Seattle to championship glory.