May 14, 2026, 07:38 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions
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. The NFL was set to unveil its full, 272-games schedule for 2026 at 8 p.m. ET.
The last time the regular-season opener was a repeat of the previous season's Super Bowl matchup was 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 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.
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 following day, Sept. 10, for U.S. audiences, and will be one of a record nine international games this season, which were announced Wednesday.
The last time the NFL season started on a Wednesday was in 2012 to accommodate then-President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention the following day.
Several other marquee 2026 games were announced earlier this week, including the first "Sunday Night Football" matchup between the John Harbaugh-led New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13, and the first “Monday Night Football” game between the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 14.
The final day of the regular season will be Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027. Just over a month later will be Super Bowl LXI, set to take place Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California (ESPN/ABC).
