Full 2026 NFL schedule unveiled; Patriots-Seahawks in Week 1 - ESPN

The Seattle Seahawks will begin defense of their Super Bowl title against the team they defeated to win it.

Seven months after downing the Patriots to capture Super Bowl LX, the Seahawks will welcome Drake Maye and New England to Lumen Field for the 2026 NFL season opener on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The matchup was among many notables unveiled Thursday night as NFL teams posted their schedules on social media followed by the league's full announcement of its 272-game slate.

It will be the third time the regular-season opener will be a repeat of the previous season's Super Bowl matchup, with the last coming in 2016, when the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers after defeating them in Super Bowl 50 earlier in the year.

Seattle will look to do the same to coach Mike Vrabel and New England, and history is on its side. Since 2004, 21 defending champs have played in the opener and have gone 16-5.

It will mark the 12th Super Bowl rematch in the following season and the fourth straight season to feature one. The defending champions have an 8-3 record in the previous meetings.

«Yes, it was definitely a key data point for us,» NFL executive Hans Schroeder told the Associated Press. «We saw what a big draw that was and so we just thought it was really fun. I think it's been a decade since we did Denver and Carolina in Super Bowl 50 and came back in Week 1 the next year. We thought it was a fun way to start the season again with New England in Seattle, coming off that Super Bowl, certainly a ton to play for. Let our fans see if they play again.»

The rare Wednesday night opener is to accommodate the first regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia. That contest between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers takes place the