Super Bowl Rematch Opens the Season: Seahawks Host Patriots in NFL Kickoff
Seattle beat New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. Seven months later, the two teams open the 2026 season against each other at Lumen Field — a rematch this rare almost never happens.
The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday night with a matchup the schedule-makers couldn't have scripted better: the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots at Lumen Field, a direct rematch of Super Bowl LX. Seattle won that game 29-13 back in February, sacking Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times and forcing three turnovers. Now the two teams open the season against each other instead of waiting a full year for a possible do-over — a genuinely rare scheduling coincidence in the NFL.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET / 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC. Sam Darnold, once a journeyman backup written off after his time in Carolina, gets a chance to open a title defense on the same field where he became a champion. Across the field, Drake Maye — the 2025 MVP runner-up — enters healthy for the first time in months after playing through a right shoulder injury that flared up in the AFC Championship and lingered all the way through the Super Bowl, when he reportedly took a pain-killing injection just to take the field.
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The Patriots didn't stand pat after the loss. New England used the offseason to add wide receiver A.J. Brown, fellow receiver Romeo Doubs, offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, and defenders Dre'Mont Jones and Kevin Byard — genuinely deepening a roster that already reached the Super Bowl. The question is whether that new talent can solve the problem that ended their season: pass protection. Maye was sacked 21 times overall last year, six of them in the Super Bowl alone, against a Seattle front that finished the season with four different players logging six or more sacks.
Vegas isn't picking a toss-up rematch. Seattle opened as roughly a 3.5-point favorite, and in a survey of 58 national experts, 48 picked the Seahawks to win again — about 83%. MVP odds at DraftKings currently list Darnold (+115) and Maye (+240) as the top two favorites for the award, with Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+550) close behind.
What to watch Wednesday night
Kickoff at Lumen Field. NBC has the broadcast for the league's marquee season-opening game.
Watch whether New England's rebuilt offensive line can keep Maye upright against the same Seattle pass rush that sacked him six times in February.
Darnold has a chance to open his title defense with a statement win over the same team he beat to get the ring.
A Super Bowl rematch to open the very next season is rare enough that it's happened only a handful of times in NFL history. Whichever way it goes, both teams will play the next 16 games with this result already hanging over the rest of their year.
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Sources: NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, The Ringer