The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks have their first opponent of the 2026 NFL season.
Game 1 of 17 for the Seahawks and the first of 272 NFL regular season tilts will be on Wednesday, September 9 at Lumen Field in Seattle. The opponent? Well, I think this should be a familiar foe given what just happened three months ago in Santa Clara.
Who will the Seattle Seahawks play to open the 2026 season?
As was revealed by NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Seahawks will rematch the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots at 5:20 pm PT on NBC (also streaming
on Peacock). Of course, before a ball is kicked, Seahawks fans will get to witness the franchise’s second Super Bowl banner unveiled.
You know the deal by now. The Seahawks lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl 49 over a decade ago in their quest for a second Lombardi Trophy. With a wholly new set of players and coaching staffs on both sides, Super Bowl 60 went Seattle’s way in a 29-13 blowout.
The Patriots went from worst to first in the AFC East last season under head coach Mike Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye. They took advantage of a soft schedule and bested the competition in the AFC, albeit with the huge asterisk of Bo Nix not being available for the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Soft schedule or not, New England is looking to build off of last year’s successes and not have that dreaded regression that hits so many Super Bowl losers.
New England’s biggest offseason addition (up to this point) is former Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs. They also got some offensive line help by signing former New York Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. Former Seahawks defensive end Dre’Mont Jones inked a three-year contract in free agency.
Anyway, can anyone fill us in on what the main story has been about the Patriots offseason?
When is the last time an immediate Super Bowl rematch occurred in Week 1?
The 2016 season began with the Denver Broncos taking on the Carolina Panthers, coincidentally also after the Broncos won the Super Bowl over the Panthers in Santa Clara. Denver won the rematch 21-20, albeit with Trevor Siemian at quarterback after Peyton Manning retired.
When will the rest of the Seahawks’ 2026 regular season schedule be revealed?
All will be known on Thursday, May 14 at 4:30 pm PT. Don’t be surprised if several games are leaked beforehand.
