Dysfunctional, washed up, overrated, figured out.

The Seattle Seahawks were all but written off as Super Bowl contenders after their Week 5 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, dropping them to 3-2. The loss marked just the second defeat at CenturyLink Field since 2012 for the Seahawks, who were previously seen as unbeatable at home.

In the 30-23 upset, the Seahawks' offensive multi tool, Percy Harvin, was held to -1 yards on three catches and three rushing attempts. It marked the fourth straight game Harvin had been held to 50 yards or less and his third straight game without a score.

In order to fix what was rumoured to be a "troublesome" locker room situation, general manager John Schneider traded Harvin, whom he acquired a year and a half earlier for three draft picks (including a first rounder), for just a conditional fourth-round pick.

The move stunned the football world, and some members of the Seahawks, a few of whom voiced their displeasure for the move. Then, while in a state of free-fall and with Harvin on the other side of the country in New York, the Seahawks watched as the lowly St. Louis Rams pulled out every special teams-trick they had in a 28-26 upset the following Sunday.

At 3-3 and with the Arizona Cardinals beginning to take a stranglehold on the NFC West, the Seahawks looked like a wild card team at best.

The team relied on their defence to defeat the Carolina Panthers 13-9 in Week 8 and held off a late charge by the Oakland Raiders for their second straight win in Week 9.

In Week 11, the Kansas City Chiefs used their dominant run game to wear down the Seahawks defence in a 24-20 win. That loss, however, would prove the Seahawks last of the season.

The Seahawks defence regained their shutdown form and Marshawn Lynch led the ground attack as Seattle won six straight games to claim the NFC West title and the NFC's top seed. The Seahawks held opponents to 14 points or less in each of those final six games, and seven or less points in five of those games.

Though Russell Wilson passed for more than 300 yards just once in the win streak, the Seahawks gained at least 124 yards on the ground in each game and topped the 150-yard mark on four occasions.

The Seahawks were the beneficiaries of a schedule back-loaded with divisional games, facing both the Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers twice in those final six games to reclaim the NFC West lead. In gaining home field advantage through the playoffs, the Seahawks received help when the Green Bay Packers suffered a surprising defeat to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15.

As things began to head south, the Seahawks parted ways with their most versatile threat and one of their most valuable assets for almost nothing in return. At first glance, the move could have been seen as the Seahawks throwing in the towel on the 2014 season. But Schneider is smarter than that and the Harvin trade, in time, appeared to save the Seahawks rapidly fading Super Bowl repeat hopes.

Without Harvin and without drama, the Seahawks got back to their roots as a run first team – Beast Mode was reborn with Lynch, who was quiet during the team's early season struggles, climbing the ranks and joining the game's elite runners by year's end – and now have a chance to become the first repeat champions since their Super Bowl opponent, the New England Patriots, accomplished the feat in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Meanwhile, Harvin is already a month deep in the offseason program.