The Seattle Seahawks will host the New England Patriots in the 2026 season opener at Lumen Field. The 2026 NFL regular season will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The game is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock. This matchup marks the first time the NFL has opened a regular season on a Wednesday since 2012.

The contest serves as a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which was also played between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX.

This is the third time in NFL history that a Super Bowl rematch will open the season. The last time a Super Bowl rematch opened the NFL season was in 2016.

The complete 2026 NFL regular-season schedule was released on May 14. PureSource News reported on 2026-05-15 that the Seahawks released their full 2026 NFL season schedule.

The 2026 NFL regular season consists of 272 games. Each NFL team plays 17 regular-season games. Each NFL team receives one bye week during the regular season.

Preseason activities include the 2026 NFL Hall of Fame Game, which features the Carolina Panthers against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio. During halftime of that broadcast, NBC analysts Devin McCourty and Mike Tomlin discussed the impact of the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini controversy on the Patriots.

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed a scandal involving former NFL reporter Dianna Russini in April. He stated he took accountability, left the team for the final day of the draft to be with his family and begin counseling, and returned a couple of days later.

Following the season opener, the San Francisco 49ers will play the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET in Melbourne, Australia. That game will be broadcast on Netflix.

The Denver Broncos will play the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, Sept. 14 at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 season opener.

The selection of a Wednesday night for the season opener breaks a long-standing pattern of Thursday night debuts, marking the first such scheduling decision since 2012. The league continues to utilize high-profile rematches to launch the campaign, with this event representing only the third instance in NFL history where a Super Bowl matchup opens the regular season.

The broader schedule includes international expansion with a game in Australia and a total of 272 games across the league. Off-field narratives, including personnel controversies addressed by coaching staff, remain part of the pre-season discussion as teams prepare for the 17-game slate.

Why It Matters

The decision to open the 2026 regular season on a Wednesday breaks a long-standing pattern of Thursday night debuts, marking the first such scheduling shift since 2012. By selecting a Super Bowl rematch for this historic date, the league continues a rare precedent used only twice before to launch the campaign. This configuration sets the tone for a 272-game slate that also includes international expansion with a broadcast in Australia.