Week 1: Super Bowl Rematch Opens the Season as Patriots Visit Seahawks
The New England Patriots open the 2026 season at Seattle on Wednesday, September 9, a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which the Seahawks won 29-13 in February. Both teams went 14-3 last year. Seattle brings back Sam Darnold and a Mike Macdonald defense that lost Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen in free agency, while running back Zach Charbonnet opens on the PUP list and Kenneth Walker left for Kansas City, leaving a committee of George Holani, rookie Jadarian Price and Emanuel Wilson. New England pairs Drake Maye, the MVP runner-up, with A.J. Brown, acquired from Philadelphia in June, though rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson had not returned to practice as of midweek after an ankle scare.
First Week 1 Super Bowl rematch since 2016
Seattle has won the last four meetings, including the title game, and this is New England's first game ever played on a Wednesday.
Seattle's backfield is a committee
With Walker gone and Charbonnet out at least four games, the champions open the year without an established lead back.
Maye gets his new No. 1 target
Brown reunites with Mike Vrabel, his first NFL head coach, and gives Maye the kind of outside receiver the 2025 offense lacked.
AI Prediction
Patriots 
Seahawks Seattle's defense and home field carry the champions
Macdonald's unit held New England to 13 points in February, and Lumen Field in a season opener is one of the harder road environments on the schedule.
New England's offense is better than the one Seattle beat
Adding Brown to a Maye offense that produced 31 touchdowns last year narrows the gap enough to keep this inside a field goal.
Seattle's roster churn caps the confidence
Losing Walker, Mafe, Woolen and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in one offseason is real attrition for a champion, and the backfield committee is unproven.
Both teams enter healthy at quarterback. The lean is on Seattle's defense and home field, but the roster turnover on both sides keeps this a medium-confidence call.
Seahawks Leaders
Patriots Leaders
Venue
Closing Line
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Seahawks Injuries