Locking in for a deep playoff run is nothing new for Jalen Sundell.
The Maryville native has won every step along the way during his football career — starting as a Spoofhound, then with perennial contender North Dakota State.
That's continued in the NFL.
Sundell and the Seattle Seahawks find themselves just two wins away from an appearance in the apex of the sport — the Super Bowl.
Despite being overlooked by many entering the season, the Seahawks reached the highest win total in franchise history posting a 14-3 record to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
"We play with a chip on our shoulder," Sundell said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. "I don't know if it's because we want to prove the media wrong. We just believe in ourselves and we believe in what we can do. We just take it one day at a time, one play at a time. We don't look at much more than that."
Sundell earned the right to start at center in his second season in Seattle, continuing a career that's seen him excel every step along the way. The standout offensive lineman earned a high school state championship at Maryville and was the Missouri Class 3 Offensive Player of the Year in 2017.
He continued to dominate at North Dakota State, paving the way for one of the top rushing attacks in the nation, earning All-America honors, and winning a pair of national titles at the collegiate level.
Now he's a stalwart on an offensive line that's raised the bar for the Seahawks in 2025. Seattle claimed its first NFC West title since 2020 thanks in part to a jolt from an offense that jumped from 18th in the NFL in scoring last year to third this season at 28.4 points per game.
"Those coaches and programs that I played at, what they instilled: the values of doing things the right way, hard work, details and small things matter. I wouldn't have been able to have the success that I've had without those coaches and programs."
"I owe a lot of success to those guys for sure."
Sundell and the Seahawks will matchup with division rival San Francisco Saturday night at Lumen Field.
