The 2026 NFL season is finally here.

After 213 days of waiting, we get to watch the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks open the season with a chance to keep their crown, as they'll take on the defending AFC champion New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl LX. 

In the unusual Wednesday night season-opener, we're getting a chance to watch some of the best units in the league, as well as some of the NFL's premier stars, do their thing on the biggest stage. The marquee matchup is the Seattle defense against the new-look New England offense, but the battle on the other side of the ball is nothing to sneeze at, either. 

Before we take a look at some of the key storylines, here's a look at how you can watch the game.

Where to watch Seahawks vs. Patriots live

Key storylines

  • Super Bowl Rematch: In case you forgot, it was just seven months ago that the Seahawks defeated the Patriots, 29-13, in Super Bowl LX. For what it's worth, there have been 11 previous instances of the two Super Bowl teams from one season playing against each other the following season, and the Super Bowl winner is 8-3 in those contests. Opening the new season with a rematch of the previous season's final game is even more unusual. It's only happened twice before, in 1970 and 2016. The Super Bowl winner went 1-1 in those two games. The Pats will be looking to buck some history in this game.
  • Star WR-CB Matchups: There are two star-studded wide receiver-cornerback matchups to look forward to in this game, as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and A.J. Brown will likely see a whole lot of Christian Gonzalez and Devon Witherspoon, respectively. JSN, Gonzo and Spoon all got paid this offseason, and they'll be looking to make their teams look smart for handing them big checks. Smith-Njigba is coming off a season where he won Offensive Player of the Year, but he only had 4 catches for 27 scoreless yards in the Super Bowl, so he'll surely want to put forth a better effort here. Brown is coming off a relatively down season, having averaged his fewest yards per game since his rookie year, but pairing with Drake Maye could reinvigorate him and lead to a much better year. The corners, meanwhile, will be looking to prove that they, not the other guy, are the league's best at the position. We might not see pure shadow coverage from either of them, but they're definitely going to be matched up plenty with the opposing team's star. 
  • TreVeyon Henderson Injury: Henderson suffered an ankle injury in late August and has yet to resume practicing. He was ruled out for the season opener, which leaves the Patriots relying on just Rhamondre Stevenson, Corey Kiner and possibly practice-squad running backs Hassan Haskins and Lan Larison in the backfield. Stevenson played the lions' share of snaps in the Super Bowl as he emerged as New England's most reliable back down the stretch of last season, but Henderson brings an explosive element to the offense that the Patriots will certainly miss now that he's not able to make it onto the field in Week 1. It could be tough sledding on the ground against Seattle's defensive front.
  • Nick Emmanwori Injury: The Seahawks lost two important pieces of their secondary when both Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen left the team in free agency. They could be without another key piece on Wednesday night, as Emmanwori missed much of the offseason program and was limited in practice throughout this week before being listed as questionable. He's incredibly important to Mike Macdonald's defense due to his versatility. His combination of size and speed allows Seattle to stay in nickel or dime looks on pretty much every snap and still contain opposing run games, and he's agile enough to stick with tight ends and a fair amount of receivers coming out of the slot -- especially when Seattle plays zone coverage. If he's unable to play in this game, it would be a big benefit to the New England offense.  
  • Will Campbell bounceback: Campbell had a really tough time down the stretch of last season after he came back from a knee injury. It got pretty ugly during the playoffs, and especially in the Super Bowl, where he allowed an incredible 8 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. Prior to the injury, though, Campbell had played quite well and showed that he could handle himself at tackle despite concerns about his relatively short arms. He allowed 25 pressures through the season's first 12 games, then yielded 20 in his final five appearances. He has a chance to redeem himself here in the rematch now that he's fully healthy, but he'll still be dealing with what is again expected to be a ferocious Seattle pass rush. 
  • Seattle's New OC: The Seahawks improved dramatically on offense last season under former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was hired away this offseason as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He's being replaced by former San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach and run game coordinator Brian Fleury, who is expected to use many of the same concepts as Kubiak while also iterating on them and bringing some new ideas to the table. Fleury is a first-time coordinator, though, and it remains to be seen how this transition goes for a team that is also breaking in a new running back in Jadarian Price after the offseason departure of Kenneth Walker III. Fleury has an interesting test in store for him in Week 1.

Prediction

The strongest unit in this game, on either side of the ball, is the Seattle defense. Even with Drake Maye being afforded a pair of new targets in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, it could still be a struggle for the Pats on that side of the ball, simply because the Seahawks present so many challenges given their ability to stop the run with light boxes and keep the roof on the passing game with zone coverages. The Seahawks could experience some early issues offensively as they break in a new coordinator and running back, but the connection between Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba should still be going strong. In the end, we're rolling with the home team to defend its crown and take home the victory in Week 1.

Pick: Seahawks 23, Patriots 17

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