The seahawks schedule 2026 begins with a rare matchup: the Seahawks are expected to open at home against the New England Patriots on Sept. 9 at Lumen Field. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET, and the game will launch Seattle’s season against the team it beat 29-13 in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.
Patriots Return to Seattle
Jordan Schultz reported Wednesday afternoon that the Patriots will come to Lumen Field for the first game of the NFL season. That puts a Super Bowl rematch in the spotlight immediately, with Seattle opening the year against a franchise it also beat 35-30 in Seattle during the 2020 season.
The opener is scheduled for Sept. 9, and it carries a few firsts for Seattle. The Seahawks have never played on a Wednesday, and this would be the first time they have opened a season on that day. Seattle has hosted the regular-season opener once before, in 2014, when it beat the Green Bay Packers 36-16.
Wednesday Night at Lumen Field
The Wednesday slot is tied to the league’s broader schedule setup. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are set to play the first-ever NFL regular-season game the following night in Australia, and Seattle’s opener fits into that shifted calendar. It would also be the first Super Bowl rematch in a regular-season opener since 2016, when Denver beat Carolina 21-20 after the Panthers had lost the championship game 24-10 the previous February.
Seattle’s recent history against New England adds another layer. The Patriots have not played in Seattle since the 2020 season, when the Seahawks pulled out the 35-30 win after stopping Cam Newton on a run from the 1-yard line as time expired. Mike Vrabel now coaches the Patriots, and the opener will be one of the first major checkpoints in the Seahawks’ 2026 schedule release.
Seahawks Schedule Release
The rest of Seattle’s 2026 regular-season slate will be unveiled Thursday at 8 p.m. The opener gives the Seahawks a marquee home game right away, a Wednesday-night start, and a familiar opponent that has already crossed paths with them in the Super Bowl and in Seattle in 2020.
