The Seattle Seahawks have spent the offseason celebrating a championship season, collecting their Super Bowl rings and preparing to unveil another championship banner. But as the 2026 NFL season begins, the defending champions know last year’s success means nothing once they step back onto the field.
“I don’t see a single person in the building patting themselves on the back for what we did last year,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “Everybody understands we have to start from the bottom again. If we want to get back to the top of the mountain, we have to earn it.”
Their title defense begins in fitting fashion–with a Super Bowl LX rematch against the New England Patriots, just seven months after Seattle dominated New England 29-13 to capture the Lombardi Trophy.
The matchup marks only the third time in NFL history that the Super Bowl participants have opened the following season against each other. It also happened in 1970, when the Vikings defeated the Chiefs after the merger, and in 2016, when the Broncos edged the Panthers 21-20.
Overall, this will be the 12th meeting between Super Bowl opponents in the following season, with the reigning champion winning eight of the previous 11 matchups.
The Patriots, however, insist Wednesday night’s opener isn’t about revenge.
“This is our chance to start the season the right way against the team we’re facing,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “People can call it a revenge game, but I don’t see it that way. They won the championship, and we can’t change that. This is about starting a new season.”
What you need to know
New England Patriots (17-4) at Seattle Seahawks (17-3)
When: Wednesday, 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Betting line: Seahawks -3.5
Last meeting: Seattle defeated New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
All-time series: Seahawks lead 12-9.
Drake Maye pass intended for Mack Hollins INTERCEPTED by Josh Jobe. No return. Touchback.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Mack Hollins for 12 yards to the Sea16.
Patriots timeout.
Drake Maye sacked at Sea27 for a loss of 6 yards.
Drake Maye rush to the left for 6 yards to the Sea21.
Patriots timeout.
Drake Maye pass to the left to DeMario Douglas for 1 yard to the Sea27.
Seahawks timeout.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 8 yards to the Sea28.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Mack Hollins for 11 yards to the Sea36.
Seahawks timeout.
Two Minute Warning.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Hunter Henry for 10 yards to the Sea47.
Drake Maye sacked at NE43 for a loss of 2 yards.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Lan Larison for a loss of 2 yards to the NE45.
Penalty: Illegal Plyr Downfld on Patriots (Alijah Vera-Tucker) -5 yards.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 12 yards to the Sea48.
Drake Maye rush to the right for 5 yards to the NE40.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the left intended for Romeo Doubs.
Drake Maye pass to the middle to Mack Hollins for 19 yards to the NE35.
Drake Maye sacked at NE16 for a loss of 1 yard.
Penalty: Holding on Patriots (Will Campbell) -10 yards.
Jason Myers kicks off to the NE0. Lan Larison return for 27 yards to NE27.
Jason Myers 26 yard field goal attempt is GOOD.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the left intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the right intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba defensed by Christian Gonzalez.
Penalty: Delay of Game on Seahawks -5 yards.
Drew Lock rush to the left for 14 yards to the NE3.
Penalty: False Start on Seahawks (Anthony Bradford) -5 yards.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Cooper Kupp for 11 yards to the NE12.
Drew Lock pass to the left to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 11 yards to the NE23.
Drew Lock pass to the right to AJ Barner for 9 yards to the NE34.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for 4 yards to the NE43.
Drake Maye pass intended for DeMario Douglas INTERCEPTED by Julian Love and returned for 13 yards.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the right.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the middle for a loss of 4 yards to the NE22.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 5 yards to the NE26.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the middle for 7 yards to the NE21.
Jason Myers kicks off to the NE2. Lan Larison return for 22 yards to NE24. Penalty: Illegal Block on Patriots (Gabe Jacas) -10 yards.
Jason Myers extra point is GOOD.
Drew Lock pass to the left to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Emanuel Wilson rush to the right for no gain to the NE45.
Jadarian Price rush to the left for 4 yards to the NE45.
Jadarian Price rush to the left for 5 yards to the NE49.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 13 yards to the Sea46.
Drake Maye pass intended for Romeo Doubs INTERCEPTED by Nehemiah Pritchett and returned for 30 yards.
Corey Kiner rush to the right for 1 yard to the Sea45.
Drake Maye pass to the right to DeMario Douglas for 8 yards to the Sea46.
Drake Maye pass to the middle to Rhamondre Stevenson for 11 yards to the NE46.
Penalty: Illegal Block on Patriots (Will Campbell) -10 yards.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 1 yard to the NE45.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Rhamondre Stevenson for 17 yards to the NE44.
Penalty: False Start on Patriots (Morgan Moses) -5 yards.
Jason Myers kicks off to the NE3. Kyle Williams return for 29 yards to NE32.
Jason Myers 30 yard field goal attempt is GOOD.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the left intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Penalty: Illegal Shift on Seahawks -5 yards.
George Holani rush to the right for 4 yards to the NE7.
George Holani rush to the middle for 2 yards to the NE11.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Cooper Kupp for 24 yards to the NE13.
Drew Lock pass to the left to Jadarian Price for 2 yards to the NE37.
Seahawks timeout.
Drew Lock pass to the middle to Jadarian Price for 4 yards to the NE39.
Mitch Wishnowsky punts for 46 yards to Sea48. Rashid Shaheed return for 9 yards to NE43.
Penalty: Delay of Game on Patriots -5 yards.
Drake Maye pass to the middle to Rhamondre Stevenson for 6 yards to the NE11.
Drake Maye pass to the right to DeMario Douglas for 1 yard to the NE5.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the middle for a loss of 2 yards to the NE4.
Michael Dickson punts for 46 yards to NE6. No return.
Drew Lock pass to the middle to Rashid Shaheed for 4 yards to the Sea48.
Penalty: Encroachment on Patriots (Milton Williams) 5 yards.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the middle intended for Rashid Shaheed.
Jadarian Price rush to the left for a loss of 3 yards to the Sea39.
Drew Lock pass to the middle to Brady Russell for 13 yards to the Sea42.
Andy Borregales kicks off to the Sea-1. Rashid Shaheed return for 30 yards to Sea29.
Andy Borregales 50 yard field goal attempt is GOOD.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Rhamondre Stevenson for 5 yards to the Sea32.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Rhamondre Stevenson for a loss of 5 yards to the Sea42.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for no gain to the Sea37.
Penalty: Roughing Kicker on Seahawks (Chazz Surratt) 15 yards.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the left intended for A.J. Brown.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 6 yards to the NE48.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the right.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Hunter Henry for 13 yards to the NE42.
Jason Myers kicks off to the NE0. Kyle Williams return for 29 yards to NE29.
George Holani rush to the middle for 4 yards to the Sea26.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the right intended for George Holani.
Seahawks timeout.
Drew Lock pass to the left to AJ Barner for 4 yards to the Sea22.
Seahawks timeout.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 6 yards to the Sea18.
Patriots timeout.
George Holani rush to the right for 1 yard to the Sea12.
Patriots timeout.
George Holani rush to the right for 4 yards to the Sea11.
Mitch Wishnowsky punts for 40 yards to Sea7. No return.
Seahawks timeout.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 2 yards to the Sea47.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Rhamondre Stevenson for 5 yards to the Sea49.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the right intended for DeMario Douglas.
Drake Maye rush to the left for 16 yards to the NE46.
Two Minute Warning.
Corey Kiner rush to the left for 1 yard to the NE30.
Drake Maye pass to the left to A.J. Brown for 14 yards to the NE29.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Hunter Henry for 3 yards to the NE15.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 4 yards to the NE12.
Michael Dickson punts for 42 yards to NE8. No return.
Penalty: Offside on Seahawks (Anthony Bradford) -5 yards.
Drew Lock pass to the middle to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 21 yards to the NE46.
Penalty: False Start on Seahawks (AJ Barner) -5 yards.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 5 yards to the Sea38.
Penalty: False Start on Seahawks (Abraham Lucas) -5 yards.
Drew Lock sacked at Sea38 for a loss of 7 yards.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for 8 yards to the Sea45.
Drew Lock pass to the left to Brady Russell for 7 yards to the Sea37.
Andy Borregales kicks off to the Sea3. Rashid Shaheed return for 27 yards to Sea30.
Andy Borregales extra point is GOOD.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Eli Raridon for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Penalty: Pass Interference on Seahawks (Josh Jobe) 34 yards.
Drake Maye pass to the left to DeMario Douglas for 5 yards to the Sea36.
Corey Kiner rush to the right for 3 yards to the Sea41.
Drake Maye pass to the right to A.J. Brown for 5 yards to the Sea44.
Drake Maye rush to the right for 6 yards to the Sea49.
Corey Kiner rush to the middle for no gain to the NE45.
Drake Maye pass to the left to Lan Larison for 11 yards to the NE45.
Drake Maye pass to the left to DeMario Douglas for 5 yards to the NE34.
Corey Kiner rush to the right for a loss of 1 yard to the NE29.
Corey Kiner rush to the right for 7 yards to the NE30.
Michael Dickson punts for 46 yards to NE23. No return.
Drew Lock incomplete pass to the left intended for Cooper Kupp.
Emanuel Wilson rush to the left for 3 yards to the Sea31.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for 2 yards to the Sea28.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for 12 yards to the Sea26.
Mitch Wishnowsky punts for 46 yards to Sea14. No return.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for a loss of 1 yard to the NE40.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 2 yards to the NE41.
Drake Maye pass to the left to A.J. Brown for 7 yards to the NE39.
Drake Maye rush to the middle for 3 yards to the NE32.
Drake Maye pass to the right to Mack Hollins for 9 yards to the NE29.
Michael Dickson punts for 50 yards to NE20. No return.
George Holani rush to the right for 1 yard to the Sea30.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for no gain to the Sea29.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 8 yards to the Sea29. Tackled by Robert Spillane.
Jadarian Price rush to the left for 7 yards to the Sea21. Tackled by Craig Woodson.
George Holani rush to the left for 4 yards to the Sea14.
Drew Lock pass to the right to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 8 yards to the Sea29. Tackled by Robert Spillane.
Jadarian Price rush to the left for 7 yards to the Sea21. Tackled by Craig Woodson.
George Holani rush to the left for 4 yards to the Sea14. Tackled by Christian Barmore and Elijah Ponder.
Mitch Wishnowsky punts for 45 yards to Sea10. Rashid Shaheed – no return.
Drake Maye incomplete pass to the right.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for a loss of 3 yards to the NE45. Tackled by Uchenna Nwosu.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 3 yards to the NE26. Tackled by Nehemiah Pritchett.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 2 yards to the NE23. Tackled by Julian Love.
Drake Maye rush to the middle for 10 yards to the NE21. Tackled by Ernest Jones IV.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the middle for 3 yards to the NE11. Tackled by DeMarcus Lawrence and Jarran Reed.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the right for 3 yards to the NE26.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the left for 2 yards to the NE23.
Drake Maye rush to the left for 10 yards to the NE21.
Rhamondre Stevenson rush to the middle for 3 yards to the NE11.
Michael Dickson punts for 43 yards to NE8. No return.
Sam Darnold sacked at Sea49 for a loss of 5 yards.
Sam Darnold incomplete pass to the right intended for Rashid Shaheed.
George Holani rush to the middle for 9 yards to the NE46.
Penalty: False Start on Seahawks (Eric Saubert) -5 yards.
Sam Darnold pass to the middle to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 13 yards to the Sea50.
Jadarian Price rush to the right for 13 yards to the Sea37.
Andy Borregales kicks off to the Sea2. Rashid Shaheed return for 22 yards to Sea24.
Key player: Seahawks RB Jadarian Price
The Seattle Seahawks let Kenneth Walker III, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, walk in free agency to the Kansas City Chiefs. To help fill that void, they used the final pick of the first round in the NFL Draft on Jadarian Price.
While some analysts viewed the selection as a reach, Seattle believes Price has the talent to become a difference-maker. The former Notre Dame running back spent much of his college career sharing the backfield with Jeremiyah Love, but now he’ll have the chance to prove he can handle a featured role.
That opportunity comes sooner than expected. With Zach Charbonnet sidelined for at least the first four games of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL, Price is expected to carry a significant workload right out of the gate.
For a Seahawks offense built around the running game, Price will be one of the most important players to watch in September. If he thrives in an expanded role, he could establish himself as a long-term centerpiece of Seattle’s backfield, even after Charbonnet returns.
Key storylines
- The Patriots have dropped four of their last five season openers, while head coach Mike Vrabel owns a 2-5 record in Week 1.
- Drake Maye finished runner-up for NFL MVP after leading the league in completion percentage (72%) and passer rating (113.5) while throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns.
- New acquisition A.J. Brown makes his Patriots debut after arriving from Philadelphia. He has topped 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in six of his first seven NFL seasons.
- Seattle has won five of its last seven season openers and is 1-1 in Week 1 under head coach Mike Macdonald.
- Quarterback Sam Darnold enters the season after back-to-back campaigns with 14 victories and 4,000-plus passing yards, joining Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to accomplish that feat in consecutive seasons.
- The Seahawks forced 28 turnovers during the 2025 regular season–the second-most in the NFL–and remarkably committed zero turnovers throughout their Super Bowl-winning playoff run.
- Seattle also led the NFL by allowing opponents to convert just 32.1% of their third-down attempts, showcasing one of the league’s most dominant defenses.
The Seattle Seahawks have spent the offseason celebrating a championship season, collecting their Super Bowl rings and preparing to unveil another championship banner. But as the 2026 NFL season begins, the defending champions know last year’s success means nothing once they step back onto the field.
“I don’t see a single person in the building patting themselves on the back for what we did last year,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “Everybody understands we have to start from the bottom again. If we want to get back to the top of the mountain, we have to earn it.”
Their title defense begins in fitting fashion–with a Super Bowl LX rematch against the New England Patriots, just seven months after Seattle dominated New England 29-13 to capture the Lombardi Trophy.
The matchup marks only the third time in NFL history that the Super Bowl participants have opened the following season against each other. It also happened in 1970, when the Vikings defeated the Chiefs after the merger, and in 2016, when the Broncos edged the Panthers 21-20.
Overall, this will be the 12th meeting between Super Bowl opponents in the following season, with the reigning champion winning eight of the previous 11 matchups.
The Patriots, however, insist Wednesday night’s opener isn’t about revenge.
“This is our chance to start the season the right way against the team we’re facing,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “People can call it a revenge game, but I don’t see it that way. They won the championship, and we can’t change that. This is about starting a new season.”
What you need to know
New England Patriots (17-4) at Seattle Seahawks (17-3)
When: Wednesday, 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Betting line: Seahawks -3.5
Last meeting: Seattle defeated New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
All-time series: Seahawks lead 12-9.
Matchup to watch
Christian Gonzalez vs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
One of the night’s marquee battles will feature Patriots shutdown corner Christian Gonzalez against reigning AP Offensive Player of the YearJaxon Smith-Njigba.
Both players signed lucrative contract extensions during the offseason after standout 2025 campaigns. Smith-Njigba finished with 119 receptions, 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, while Gonzalez earned Pro Bowl honors and recorded seven pass breakups and one interception during New England’s playoff run.
The two also crossed paths in the Super Bowl, where Gonzalez largely kept Smith-Njigba in check, allowing only one completion while breaking up three passes, including a potential touchdown.
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Drew Lock rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Sea19.