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Are the Seahawks entering their final stand?

Norm Hall / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It wasn't long ago that the Seattle Seahawks were well-positioned to be the NFL's next dynasty. Seattle submitted one of the most impressive performances in football history with a 43-8 rout of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Armed with an elusive, dual-threat quarterback in Russell Wilson and one of the best defenses of all time, the team was bound for perpetual greatness.

But football players age quickly and cruelly, and nearly four years later, the Seahawks could be entering their last stand for a shot at a second Super Bowl victory.

ESPN The Magazine published a bombshell article by Seth Wickersham Thursday, alleging that Richard Sherman can't get over the team's tormenting loss in Super Bowl XLIX. A brief recap: with the ball at New England's 1-yard line, Wilson threw an interception on a slant route, sealing a crushing 28-24 defeat. The broadcast cut away to a devastated Sherman, whose dejected visage has come to represent the Seahawks' inability to capitalize on their immense talent since 2013.

Sherman remains one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks, earning his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl nomination in 2016, but the passing of time is inflicting a heavy blow on the rest of the vaunted "Legion of Boom," which once rendered Peyton Manning stunned at the height of his powers. The indefatigable Earl Thomas broke his leg in December, ending his streak of consecutive games played at 118. Kam Chancellor fended off myriad ailments throughout the past two seasons, and his replacements failed to replicate his impact. Seattle drafted four defensive backs in 2017 - the first sign from management that its legendary secondary may be at the end of its peak.

Jimmy Graham, Eddie Lacy, Justin Britt, and Chancellor are slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2017 season, while a host of other players will be lobbying John Schneider for more lucrative contracts if they excel this fall. Seattle drafted most of its homegrown talent from the 2010-2013 draft classes, and, save for Frank Clark, hasn't generated a bona fide star since. The once young and immensely talented Seahawks are now the elder statesmen of the NFC, and their window to capitalize will likely close after the 2018 season.

The Seahawks used to be the clear-cut most talented roster in the NFC, but the New York Giants spent $200 million on their defense last summer, then added Brandon Marshall this spring. The Atlanta Falcons hired former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their head coach, engineered an MVP season from Matt Ryan, and are also fuming from a harrowing Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. The Green Bay Packers still have Aaron Rodgers and his rotating cast of weapons, while the Dallas Cowboys are powered by the three-headed monster of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot, and Dez Bryant. The NFC is No Country for Old Men.

A combination of ego and the random variation football entails ensnared a potential dynasty in the making. The talent the Seahawks have cultivated is aging, and there's a new generation of stars looking to prove themselves. We may be witnessing the tail end of Seattle's peak - a haunting tale of how time passes us all by.

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