THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: How close are Seahawks from being Super again?

What do you think now?

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten emails asking: “How far away are the Seahawks from those Super Bowl teams?”

OK, let’s look for an answer in the wake of the Eagles blowing up the Chiefs’ shot at a three-peat with Sunday’s 40-22 romp.

To give you a fair verdict, we’ll match the Seahawks with both teams from Super Bowl LIX.

For starters, the Hawks are clearly missing some pieces on the offensive line, so they’re sort of simpatico with the Chiefs.

Except.

Kansas City has Patrick Mahomes, and three turnovers against Philly notwithstanding, he’s still the man.

It’s funny.

Mahomes has suffered two blowout losses in the Super Bowl (the other to Tom Brady and the Bucs), yet has brilliantly rallied the Chiefs to the Lombardi Trophy three other times.

The moral of that story seems to be that if you’re going to have a shot at beating Mahomes and the Chiefs, bulldoze that offensive line and make Patrick miserable.

Early and often.

There ARE some similarities between the Seahawks and Chiefs, but Geno Smith is not Mahomes.

So, if you’re seriously asking if the Hawks might be compared to the Super Bowl teams, picture the Eagles turning that manic pass rush loose against Geno.

Yikes.

MAHOMES and the Chiefs’ solid defense have given KC a chance in so many games — and Patrick simply wins in those scenarios, as the current 17-game streak in one-score games proves emphatically.

He’s one of one.

Jalen Hurts has immense skills of his own (as do a few other elite quarterbacks), and it’s ridiculously rare to win a Super Bowl without one of these special QBs.

By the way, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has made it plain that he plans to roll with Geno.

"Yeah. Heck yeah, man," Macdonald said last weekend on a Seattle TV show. "Geno's our quarterback. I don't understand the conversation.

“It's pretty obvious this guy is a heck of a quarterback. He's our quarterback.

“We love him. Can't wait to go to work with him."

Speaking of Coach Mac, you’d have to say that the Seahawks suffer from comparison to the Chiefs in another, meaningful way.

From the top down.

Ownership, general manager, head coach.

Kansas City’s trio — Clark Hunt, Brett Veach, Andy Reid — is rock-solid and clearly among the best in the game.

They’ve restocked, reloaded and rebounded from year to year, and proven their worth by reaching seven straight AFC championship games.

Meanwhile, the Seattle group of Jody Allen, John Schneider and Macdonald needs time.

Schneider, at least, has proven that he knows his way around the league, having been involved in the drafts and personnel decisions that got the Seahawks to two Super Bowls — but his most critical recent call involves Macdonald.

A first-season report card would be pretty decent, and Macdonald’s defensive chops really popped up in the back half of last year.

But now the Seahawks need to score points.

THAT WAS an issue in Philadelphia, too.

The Eagles ALSO boast a terrific front office and coaching staff (which will likely lose former Boise State QB Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator to the Saints’ top job). Philly cycled through quarterbacks before and after onetime backup Nick Foles outgunned Brady to win a Super Bowl seven years ago.

Finally, the offense exploded for real when the multitalented Hurts took the job from Carson Wentz in 2021.

Then, this past off season, GM Howie Roseman signed Saquon Barkley and the Eagles became close to unstoppable.

Roseman’s true genius, though, was building from the front.

He drafted/signed top-drawer linemen to slug it out on both sides of the ball.

The mauling Eagles O-line averages 6-foot-6, 338 pounds, and that gang has made life fun for Hurts, Barkley and Co.

The whole world saw what the defense could do on Sunday, as the pass rush made it almost impossible for Mahomes to throw, sacking him six times and setting up a pair of picks.

Without blitzing.

The Seahawks face a similar challenge on what they hope is an upward trajectory.

Schneider and Macdonald absolutely must create a useful offensive line, and they’ll almost surely address that need with the No. 18 pick (and more) in April’s draft.

Assuming they can do it, one giant question would still remain.

Where do they find a quarterback for the future?

Major issues.

Are they the distance between the Hawks and a Super Bowl?

Pretty much.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”