Mark your calendars, Seattle Seahawks fans! You’ll get to see the Super Bowl champions begin the 2026 NFL season a day earlier than normal.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that the Seahawks will host the season opener on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 5:20 pm PT on NBC/Peacock. Usually the Thursday after Labor Day is the NFL’s curtain raiser, but the league has got the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers heading to Melbourne, Australia, for what is technically a Friday morning game in Melbourne but a Thursday evening
kickoff at 5:35 pm PT.
The NFL press release said kickoff will be in Seattle, so don’t worry about a Week 1 road game. For other Seattle sports teams, there will have to be some schedule adjustments. The Mariners’ Sept. 9 home date with the Texas Rangers will likely be moved up from it’s 6:40 pm PT first pitch, while the Sounders (who share Lumen Field with the Seahawks) will need to reschedule their MLS home game against Sporting Kansas City to another day. It’s certainly not unusual for soccer matches to be rescheduled for a variety of reasons.
We don’t know who the Seahawks will play on opening night until May, but we can cross off the 49ers and Rams. That leaves the NFL with the remaining seven options, and it’s realistically six once we cross off the Arizona Cardinals.
Potential Seahawks opening night opponents
- Arizona Cardinals
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- New England Patriots
- Chicago Bears
Given the Cowboys already were the opening opponent for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, the appetite for an immediate Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots might not be strong, and the uncertainty of Patrick Mahomes’ Week 1 readiness with the Kansas City Chiefs, I think that narrows the options down to the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears. My strong belief is it will be the Bears, especially after the thrills they gave us last season. The New York Giants have some intrigue with John Harbaugh’s debut, whereas the Chargers… I mean I don’t really have anything for you there. I’ll never turn down a chance to give Jim Harbaugh an L.
Once again, get hyped! The Seahawks will be back in your lives even sooner than expected.
