The 2026 NFL season opens Wednesday night with a rematch of Super Bowl LX, as the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots. Seattle won last season’s championship game 29–13, setting up an immediate opportunity for New England to answer.
Seattle’s title defence: The Seahawks return home as defending champions after a 14–3 regular season. Their defense remains the foundation of the team, while Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba lead the offense.
New-look Patriots: New England also went 14–3 last season. Drake Maye enters his next season with additional weapons, highlighted by offseason addition A.J. Brown.
Super Bowl revenge: Seven months after Seattle dominated New England in the championship game, the Patriots get their first chance to respond.
Matchup to Watch
Patriots offense vs. Seahawks defense
Maye’s ability to handle Seattle’s pass rush and secondary will be critical. New England’s revamped offensive line and receiving corps should give Maye more opportunities to attack downfield.
On the other side, Seattle will test a Patriots defense that must prevent explosive plays from Smith-Njigba and the Seahawks’ receiving corps.
Injury Watch
New England center Ben Brown has been ruled out with a knee injury, while running back TreVeyon Henderson remains uncertain because of an ankle injury. Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori is limited, and safety Ty Okada has also been dealing with an injury.
Kickoff: Wednesday, September 9 — 8:20 p.m. ET
Prediction
Seahawks 27, Patriots 23
Seattle’s home-field advantage and championship-caliber defense give the Seahawks the edge, but expect Maye and Brown to make this considerably more competitive than the Super Bowl.
