Seahawks schedule: Super Bowl LX rematch vs. Patriots set for opener, report says

13 May 2026, 15:38 by Bob Condotta · The Seattle Times

It appears we know the answer to one of the biggest questions about the Seahawks’ 2026 schedule — who they will play to open the season on Sept. 9 at Lumen Field as they begin defense of their Super Bowl title.

And it will reportedly be a rematch of the Seahawks’ 29-13 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots last Feb. 8 to capture the second Lombardi Trophy in club history.

NFL reporter Jordan Schultz leaked Wednesday afternoon that the Patriots will come to Lumen Field for the first game of the NFL season, as well as the first time the Seahawks have ever played on a Wednesday.

Kickoff is set for 5:20 p.m. on NBC/Peacock for a game that will be highlighted with the unveiling of the Super Bowl banner.

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There was also a report later Wednesday from Dave “Softy” Mahler of SportsRadio 93.3 KJR that the Seahawks will host the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas at Lumen Field, which will be a Friday.

The NFL has three games slotted for that day, the first two on Netflix and the night game on Fox. That would obviously be a rematch of the NFC title game as well as two memorable regular-season games last year.

The report that it will be the Patriots for the regular-season opener was a bit of a surprise as there had been much speculation in recent weeks the Bears were more likely to be the opponent.

That was in part due to speculation the league might not want the lingering controversy surrounding Pats coach Mike Vrabel to potentially cast a shadow over the game. As a result, there is likely to be plenty of attention on how the Patriots respond in their first game of the season.

But despite the Vrabel controversy and that the Super Bowl was a relative rout, the league couldn’t resist the allure of having the first game of the 2026 regular season be a rematch of the last game of the 2025 season.

FanDuel listed the Seahawks as a 4.5-point favorite shortly after the report leaked.

Heading into Wednesday there had been only four teams on Seattle’s home schedule who remained available to play in the opener — the Patriots, Bears, Cardinals and Chargers. But it had been generally considered a two-team battle between the Patriots and Bears with the NFL ultimately siding with New England.

It will be the first rematch of a Super Bowl in the regular-season opener since 2016, when Denver beat Carolina 21-20 after beating the Panthers 24-10 the previous February. It is only the second Super Bowl rematch in a season opener since the NFL adopted the Kickoff Game concept in 2002 with the Super Bowl champ hosting the regular season opener.

It will be the first time the Patriots have played in Seattle since the 2020 season when the Seahawks pulled out a 35-30 win after stopping quarterback Cam Newton on a run from the 1-yard line as time expired.

The Seahawks have hosted the opening game of the regular season once before in 2014, following the first Super Bowl win for the franchise the previous February against Denver.

That year, the NFL could also have scheduled a Super Bowl rematch for the season opener as Denver was on Seattle’s home schedule. Instead, the NFL pitted Green Bay against the Seahawks, a game Seattle won 36-16. Seattle then hosted Denver in week three, a game the Seahawks won 26-20 in overtime.

The 2026 opener is being played on a Wednesday because the Rams and 49ers are playing the first-ever NFL regular season game the following night in Australia (Friday morning in Melbourne but timed to be a regular Thursday night game in the U.S.).

It will be the first time the regular-season opener has been on a Wednesday since 2012 when the Giants hosted Dallas, a game moved so as not to conflict with President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.

It will be just the fifth NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1950 and the first for the Seahawks.

Seattle’s opponents were set at the end of the 2025 season via the league’s scheduling formula. But the NFL waits until the spring to set dates, gametimes and TV/streaming to try to create what it feels are the best matchups for ratings purposes and to satisfy all of its various media partners.

The rest of the Seahawks’ 2026 regular-season schedule is slated to be unveiled at 5 p.m. Thursday but a few matchups could leak earlier.

The news of the opener came a few hours after it had also been confirmed that Seattle will not play an international game this season. There had been two possibilities remaining until Wednesday — games against Washington in London and the 49ers in Mexico City. But Seattle was not selected for either game.

As the defending Super Bowl champs, the Seahawks are likely to get a number of games in prime time, possibly approaching the record of seven handed to Kansas City last year.

Aside from New England, Seattle’s other home opponents for the 2026 season are: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and the Chicago Bears.

Seattle’s road opponents are: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers.